Shop can't fix my car...what should I do?

GT98 · Jul 15, 2005

I bought my car in September of 02 from Carmax. She was in showroom condition, bone stock down to the air filter. About a month later (still stock) my car started acting weird, surging idle, and what seemed like the fuel being sporatically cut off under light acceleration and deceleration. Ultimately the check engine light came on and the problem was increasingly getting worse. I decided that I need to get to a shop to have some codes pulled and of course, before I could make it to the shop, the check engine light turned off and the car was running flawlessly. I didn't know what to make of it. So I just forgot about the problem until a few months later, the problem came back, CE light and all. After a couple hours of driving, the light turned off and the car was back to running normal. To make a long story short, I've been running an O/R H with MIL eliminators and 2 chambers for over a year now and the problem has just recently come back for the 3rd time since newbut is now worse then ever. The codes got pulled and it said that my TPS sensor is out of range and my O2 sensor is out of range b/c of the H pipe. Which I think is stupid b/c its been doing that since I owned the car. I took it to 2 shops. Both places said they can't fix the problem b/c of my H pipe which i think is total bulls*it. But they did tell me that the light went off again and the cars running fine. Go figure. I considering selling my car for something else but I just don;t know what to do. Sorry for ranting. Any ideas?

jimfitzgerald · Jul 15, 2005

Your car is illegal without cats and they are supposed to refuse to work on it. You have two choices to get it fixed. Put your stock H-pipe back on or take it to a performance shop who knows what they are doing. It looks like a pretty simple fix to me.

mity2 · Jul 15, 2005

so u have code saying ur O2 senser is out of range. and you have O/R H pipe. and u have MIL eliminater? are u sure that MIL eliminater is working? Sometimes CEL would still come on even with MIL eliminater
Ususally when you install O/R pipe, and not have MIL eliminater working right, then that would eventuary turn CEL on. then car would sort of "limp" mode - i think PCM would retard the timing.
as far as TPS goes... other then check voltage and make sure that its around 0.97V. otherwise, get new tps(>$50).

can you slap ur OEM catted mid-pipe on just get serviced?

hognutz · Jul 15, 2005

throw you stock midpipe on and take it in. problem solved. what is the big deal? did you get rid of your stock pipe? look for one on ebay or something for cheap. I kept my stock pipe in case I ever needed to take in or moved somewhere that had inspection.

Or better yet take this as an opertunity to learn a little bit but if you don't have any tools you will have to invest in some.

you have a code that says you TP sensor is out of range. pretty easy test with a volt meter. are you 100% positive the code was for the rear o2 and not the front o2 from one of the banks?

on a fuel injected car you should alwasy verify fuel presure. The IAC is problematic on these years as well.

I would be if you use the forums and good logic you could fix this yourself.

KronicRacer · Jul 15, 2005

ok fuel filter have you changed it?thos need to be changed every 30,000 miles

KronicRacer · Jul 15, 2005

when working on the fuel system disconnect the battery. if you do it yourself there might be a line lock on the fuel filter which requires a special too thats about 5 bucks from pep boys. mine needed it as do all the newer models. the older ones might just have a clip on them removeable with a small screw driver. also run some injector cleaner throught the system just to make sure

also check the pcv valve make sure its not clogged

location of the fliter is in the rear of the car infront of the gas tank. atleast thats where it was on the 01. not sure about 98.

GT98 · Jul 15, 2005

They never said they refused to work on it, but I'm sure thats the reason why they wouldn't touch it. Where is the TPS on the car? Also I'm not sure which 02 sensor it is. I do have MIL's and they work fine. If they didn't work the check engine light would be on all the time.

KronicRacer · Jul 15, 2005

do have any idea if the previous owner ever changed the fuel filter. i hope its not the stock filter(it is a 7 year old car now) that might be the root of the problem or part of it at this point

KronicRacer · Jul 15, 2005

that and spark plugs get those checked too places like auto zone have pull codes for free.

oohsoobad2 · Jul 15, 2005

I personally think MIL Elimanators are junk. I had two different sets that wouldnt work for me and two of my friends bought some and still have a check engine light on. I bought a chip to turn off the CEL. Sounds like you should do the same and get a new TPS.

GT98 · Jul 15, 2005

My bet is that the fuel filter hasn't been replaced since the car was bought new. I might as well change that out. What kinda tool do I need to change it? And where can I get the filter from?

RedBullitt · Jul 15, 2005

i agree, check that fuel filter. if thats not it, just swap the pipes and voila. if you dont have them, they are cheap off ebay or something like that, alot people give them away for free... so have a look.

BooWFO · Jul 15, 2005

GT98 said:
They never said they refused to work on it, but I'm sure thats the reason why they wouldn't touch it. Where is the TPS on the car? Also I'm not sure which 02 sensor it is. I do have MIL's and they work fine. If they didn't work the check engine light would be on all the time.

It's on the TB it is in the front only thing with wires going into it there. The wires you want should be the bottom 2 neg on bottom and pos on center. Turn key to on position but not running and check voltage. You want it as close to 1.0v as you can get without going over 1.0v. Also it's some like to clear the computer after doing it or before which ever you prefer or both. The little screws on the top and bottom of the TPS is what you loosen just a hair rotate it toward pass side to lower voltage toward driver side to increase. Or just go buy a new one put it in and adjust it.
Mils I've heard this before with the plug and plays, hence why I went with solder in mils. Also if it is front o2's they could be causing issues. But since the tps is cheaper and easier I would start there and then move to the more expensive troublesome items.
If the o2's are the originals in the front you may want to consider replacing them as a tune up item anyways. Same as the fuel filter and plugs, wires and etc.
I know it's not as much fun HAVING to work on the car versus putting on parts to make it faster but sometimes we have to.

KronicRacer · Jul 15, 2005

heres a picture of the tool also you need to depressurize the system before you work on it.... you need to do a scouting mission before you buy it (you may not need it) just to get an idea. i forgot the exact size.

there a moduel in the trunk area that is a reset button (driverside) for the fuel system if it shuts off. the plug almost resembles the MAF wiring clip in the front. dissconnect the clip from the reset button, that will turn turn off the fuel pump. once thats done

turn the car on and let it run. now it will do 1 of 3 things. 1 it wont fire 2 it will start then after 30 or so secs will die or 3 fire and keep going. if the 3rd one happens pay attention to the exhaust note. if it starts to sound like its cammed like a nascar racer shut it down. because at that point the system is depressurized and the engine is sucking the fuel in on its own without the aide of the fuel pump.
once that is done disconnect the battery lift the rear end to get some comfortable clearence to work.

the local part store may have the filter you need if not.l the dealer should specific to your model. im using a napa wix fuel filter on mine.

oohsoobad2 · Jul 15, 2005

I didnt think you need that tool to do a fuel filter. Ive replaced mine before and it just pulled apart ??

mity2 · Jul 15, 2005

they use wierd clip on the fuel filter. i think its pretty much impossible to take it aprt without the tool

mrvax · Jul 15, 2005

My guess:
1. Fuel filter
2. IAC valve

Like others said, put the stock H pipe on before you need service.

Mike97gt · Jul 15, 2005

oohsoobad2 said:
I didnt think you need that tool to do a fuel filter. Ive replaced mine before and it just pulled apart ??

not good.. the fuel filter has two lines attached too it with spring clips. what you said is impossible that thing must be pissing fuel out now.

Mike97gt · Jul 15, 2005

are you 100 percent sure about the cel being for the tps and rear 02's

if you are then i would first eliminate the cel with either a chip or mil elims. supposedly ford incorporated a limp mode that will cause a noticable driveability problem when a CEL is ignored for a long time. this is so you bring it in for the emmisions work needed..

after you fix that check the tps voltage and with the meter on it should sweep from .9X to about 5.00 WOT you want .9X at closed throttle..

if this don't fix it then drive it and have auto zone pull codes.. do not just get descriptions just code numbers. autozone diag is not wanted or needed.

Shop can't fix my car...what should I do?

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I like Pro3 and all I got was this crappy CT.

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I like Pro3 and all I got was this crappy CT.

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