- This topic has 36 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 11 months ago by
.
-
Topic
-
First some info about the car. 2000 Chevy Cavalier Z24 2.4L with 4T40E transmission. 155,000 miles on the car. There are no problems with acceleration or maintaining speed. Engine idle does stay high if you are driving and put it in neutral. RPM’s are higher the faster you are going. A week after I got the car it gave a code for a bad knock sensor. I don’t remember what the code was. Knock sensor was replaced and code never came back. The only code I get now is P0300. I replaced the spark plugs with NGK Laser Iridium plugs. The idle was still bad and still getting P0300. I was going to clean the EGR valve today. The car doesn’t have one. I found what looked like a mounting location for a part that is no longer installed. It is on the front of the block on the drivers side. there are 3 holes for bolts to go in and one hole that is about 10mm wide that goes into the block. I have found and fixed several vacuum leaks already and used brake cleaner to find any that are left with no luck. The car looks like it had been sitting for a few years so I planned on replacing parts to avoid any future problems. I started with the IAC and TPS. It looks like the camshaft housings were both removed at one time due the all of the blue “gasket” oozing out where a real gasket should be. Recently changed the headlights and found out they were not even the correct bulbs. On top of that they were being held in with zip ties. I am not looking forward to finding the next “repair” the previous owner made. Any help I can get would be greatly appreciated.
-
Replies
-
It also doesn’t say EGR on the emissions sticker under the hood. It says CATALYST with SFI/O2S/HO2S/TWC under it. Think I remember reading somewhere that it would be on the sticker if it was factory installed.
Looked real quick that engine supposedly did not have an egr. Can you tell if that larger hole terminates or goes back into manifold? If it did have an egr there could be an exhaust leak ahead of the o2 sensor causing it to freak out and cause some of the durability issues you describe. Plus that would be a pretty good vacuum leak as well even though that style was electronic controlled egr.
It goes in about six inches. Can’t tell if it stops after that or not. If the EGR was eliminated shouldn’t there be a block-off plate installed over it?
Exactly, that was a screwy year almost a split some of the early “T” engines were egr some were not. I believe you are walking down the path to your solution!
Lucky for me I run a CO2 laser at work and can cut out a plate for $0. Just have to get the measurements and program it.
Do you know anybody in the industry? If you could have your car smoke tested that would make life simpler. I’m old and lazy and love my smoke machine for these cases.
Unfortunately I’m not from around here so I don’t know anyone with one. I would love to have one of my own. I think it would pay for itself just with this car. Yeah I can pick one up at a parts store for cheap. I won’t be using any of that blue junk in the tube. I have enough of that on the engine already.
Very helpful . I made the cost up in one week when I bought it. Amazingly simple and easy to use added a lot of versatility and capability to the shop. Good job not using the dreaded “blue glue”as everyone around here refers to it as. Let me know how things work if that doesn’t quite get it we’ll brainstorm some more.
I have a gasket ordered and will be at the parts store tomorrow. In the mean time I decided to try something. I got some aluminum tape and put it over the holes for the EGR valve. The idle has improved, but it is not there yet. The idle is still low and has a loping action. I can also now hear hissing sounds coming from around the intake area. Could sealing these holes make other vacuum leaks easier to detect? I plan on going over the area very well this weekend to find any more leaks and hope that vacuum leaks are my issue.
That should help a lot. If you have a massive leak the small one may not show as easily. Its all about “unmetered air”, the car is trying to compensate for what it sees in the end and it knows what the MAF is telling it as to what is coming in but in the end the unmeasured air from the leaks are causing it to try to compensate. I’m glad you’re seeing some results. Also try to be sure to look for your leaks with a cold engine that way any swelling will be minimized (helps for looking for exhaust leaks too). Be sure to look and listen for any exhaust leaks as well they sound like a hiss at times instead of a click or pop. And like I was telling you earlier if the leak is ahead of the o2 sensor it can cause a headache as well.
Yeah the exhaust is another area that needs to be repaired. Haven’t gone under the car to find it but there is a leak somewhere in the system. That is also on the gremlin list.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.