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Hello everyone! This is my first post on this forum. I have been on here multiple times to look up information, but now I have my very own questions.
Two months ago I had to get a lot of work done on my 96′ Dodge Stratus (ES 4cyl 2.4L). The radiator motor fan was dead, every single engine mount was broken, and there is something wrong with the emissions that had occurred around then…
I got the radiator fixed immediately and the mounts shortly after. My car has a terrible shake in the wheel when idling (the steering wheel moves up & down at least 1 cm & it makes the old dash make noise). I can’t figure out what’s wrong with it… I thought fixing the engine mounts (ALL 3) would fix this problem but NOOOOOPE.
Also, my emissions are terrible from what I understand. I live in Mobile, Alabama, so my emissions don’t really matter that much (Alabama doesn’t check for emissions, brake lights, or any safety features on a car truly). However, even though I wanted to get whatever it was fixed, the mechanic said it would cost more to fix it than what it was worth…
My tailpipe produces a nice diesel-black carbon deposit on the end of the tailpipe. Also, you can smell carbon monoxide in the air whenever my car runs. However, no smoke of any color comes out of the tailpipe. I’m not sure what this means, but I believe the fuel is running very rich and destroying my fuel economy.
I drive only city. The car is supposed to get 18 city. I do get a little over that, but I used to be able to get 280 to a tank with 12 gallons, and now I get 260 to a tank with 14 gallons. Obviously, something is happening with this car. The part in the emissions that is broken, if I remember correctly, had something to do with one of the following: carbon chamber, combustion chamber, ECM, carbon filter, etc. I can’t remember what they said, but it was one of the terms I mentioned. I think it was part of the ECM, not the ECM itself. Anyways, like I said, they said the repair would be more costly than what I would be saving in gas.
Few more car specs: 114k Miles, change oil every needed interval (car recommends 7500 miles, I usually do 3k on nonbrand conventional or 5k on conventional or 6k on synthetic), keep an eye on all fluids. The car is a little noisy but I figure that’s because it’s sooooo old.
EDIT: Here is a video I recorded this morning (2/12/13). Hopefully this can help out a bit…
http://youtu.be/zDZL2Ngq0cc
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I can’t see the videos. It’s just blank space with the grey background of the forums…
My check engine light was on whenever they checked it out. However, they cleared the light and it hasn’t come back on since…
he posted the power balance test video, throttle body cleaning video, engine performance issue videos all can be found on youtube.
i dont remember if its a part of the performance issue videos, but you should defiantly check for a bad vacuum line somewhere or a disconnected wire to a sensor or spark plug. Dont know how well it works on modern cars, but if you run the engine at night with no lights around and the hood closed, you can sometimes see if theres a break in the plug wired or coil by seeing a slight blue flash in the engine compartment. its the ignition system arcing where it shouldnt and might cause a miss.
Funny. I actually cleaned out my throttle body today because it was a bit sluggish, but now whenever I take off it doesn’t skip part of my pedal pressing (doesn’t skip RPM’s from like 1000 to 2000). Whenever I hit the peddle to the metal, I hear the engine rev up but no real power gain until 1-2 seconds afterwards. This may be normal, but I have no clue.
I’ll watch the other videos. It’s raining outside (ON MARDI GRAS TOO!!!!) so I can’t go out and look for sparks right now.
EDIT: Just watched all the videos. The only thing it could possibly be is an air leak or fuel filter if it’s in the top of the engine compartment.
I may make some film tomorrow and show everyone what’s going on under the hood (if it doesn’t rain on me). I will try to power balance it as well, but I’m not sure if that’s safe to pull my spark plug boots while it’s running…
I uploaded a video (in original description @ bottom). Hopefully this can help. Can I pull my spark plug boots safely on this vehicle?
Just watched your video.I would suggest also looking for
vacuum leaks.especially around some of those hoses.to do
the power balance test.you would remove the wires at the
coil one at a time.not the spark plug.For safety you can
pick up a fuse puller at any home center to pull the wires from
the coil.http://www.emedco.com/safe-t-grip-fuse-puller-fpll2.html?kw={keyword}&gclid=CKPE4IXfsbUCFYWo4AodkWwAeA
[quote=”college man” post=49675]Just watched your video.I would suggest also looking for
vacuum leaks.especially around some of those hoses.to do
the power balance test.you would remove the wires at the
coil one at a time.not the spark plug.For safety you can
pick up a fuse puller at any home center to pull the wires from
the coil.http://www.emedco.com/safe-t-grip-fuse-puller-fpll2.html?kw={keyword}&gclid=CKPE4IXfsbUCFYWo4AodkWwAeA[/quote]
I will check for leaks in the future whenever I have the money to buy something. Also, are you saying pull the wires from the spark plug boots? I don’t know exactly what these coils are… Also, I would like to add that Dodge Stratuses are known to have a shimmy in the wheel, I just wasn’t sure if my amount was normal or not… I’m pretty sure all cylinders are performing up to snuff.
Was the exhaust fine? What was that high pitched squeal/whoosh noise when I run the car? Is the clicking the fuel injectors or what?
Thank you!
I’d say there’s a pretty good chance you have an engine miss causing the vibration. When I’m confronted with that I focus on the engine before the engine mounts. If you have a rough running engine as you do you want to address the engine first before heading for the mounts.
As for you not being able to see the videos you might want to check and see if your browser is updated or refresh the page. The videos actually play off of YouTube so if you can watch YouTube videos you should be able to watch the videos here on the forum. Now lets get back to your engine problem.
Looks like you’ve got some new ignition parts and that was a great start but I’m with College man on looking for vacuum leaks. These can cause all kinds of problems similar to what you describe so I think that’s a good place to start looking. As stated in the Engine Performance video series, try to stay away from complicated theories about what the issue is. Start with the basics, use common sense, and take things one at a time. Actually I think starting with a power balance might be a good place to start. That way if you have a problem cylinder you can track it down easier. In your case I would probably pull the plug wires out one by one with some plastic pliers. I might even loosen them all first so that I didn’t have to pull too hard when I cancelled a cylinder.
FYI I’m usually back on about page 10 of the forum so if you ‘bump’ something you actually reset it in the cue meaning that you’d be starting it all over again.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Okay.
What I’ve done so far:
* Power Balance Test
* Combustion Leak Test
* Replace spark plugs (because I destroyed them on combustion test)
* Sealed up some holes in the vacuum system
* Checked coolant, oil, etc. All good!All I haven’t done is look for vacuum leaks. However, I do not have the money to do a vacuum leak test (can’t buy the fluid at this time).
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