This j body is turning into a money pit - Page 2 - Maintenance and Repair Forum

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Re: This j body is turning into a money pit
Wednesday, October 01, 2014 5:40 PM
well, i have a coolent leak somewhere aswell, and had never had problems with overheating, so killing the car that way might not happen.

however, my z24 is running on 3 cylinders right now, i checked the coil with a coil test idea i found online, and all plugs arc. the cylinder im having troubles with is the second over from the timing chain cover, it floods out and just wont fire. and if anyone is familier with subarus and the famous roar they have,this is how mine is running; sounds nice, just deffinetly isn't right. now after testing the coil and the plugs all working normally and the cylinder filling up with fuel, i know im getting fuel and spark.
my thing is though, i dont know why it's filling up with fuel. my grandfather and i switched the injector with #3 from the timing chain knowing that this cylinder seems to be firing properly, i still had the issue.

heres the problems i was having, taking off in first gear it tends not to sputter, but 2,3,4,5th it sputters from 2k rpms, up to 3k. 5th is the only one that is horrible, when getting up to speed it tends to be bipolar on how much gas pedal it wants. to much and it wants to fall flat on its face, and to little well obviously your not gunna go anywhere. but 2nd 3rd and 4th all around 2.3k rpms it will drop off and pick right back up again, almost like a dead spot in the rpms. it has been progressivly been getting worse until monday. i started it up that morning and was running rough, give it a little gas and it cleans right up, well though this was the case monday after work, as soon as i get out and on the road it goes back to 3 cylinders, i drove it right to my grandparents to park and work on it. at stop signs it will roll blue coal, not oil though, rich rich riccccchhhhhhh gas smell. (i have no cat).

my only guess is a short in the injector wire, or the ECU does not want to run that injector properly. we tested the injector and it went above 12 volts, and if i think im correct this means the injector IS working correctly.

where should i check and what methods to use?

rick, i apologize for posting in your thread too but maybe we have the same issue? im not quite sure exactly what you mean by rough running...but mine is deffinetly having rough issues. it wants to stall at stop signs, and i gotta rev it up above 3 to have ANY power what so ever. especially to take off.


im also having a clunk noise, it seems to sound like something is hitting the floor board on the passenger side, but everything seems to be solid and fine, though i have not takin the tire off, im pretty sure it is not a wheel bearing or even a strut mount as i have dealt with the mounts on an alero and am familier with the noise.

i hope we can both get these issues solved as i love my cavalier, and want to do a turbo build. however its my DD and cant exactly boost a 3 cylinder thats supposed to run on 4 xD

Re: This j body is turning into a money pit
Wednesday, October 01, 2014 5:42 PM
ohhh, and i tried getting codes, however for whatever reason my OBD2 is not working. i have no idea why.
Re: This j body is turning into a money pit
Wednesday, October 01, 2014 8:19 PM
Yeah I don't drive very long distances to work either so I might be fine. The ignition in these cars are junk, I think replacing the coil with an external one and using spark plug wires helped alot. still not sure if my ignition control module is causing problems. Its very picky with plugs too I have found. I go it running like 99% perfect and now last little bit it runs a little bad when first started or when taking off from light after idling and sometimes a little hiccup when driving. But now it looks like a pretty bad coolant leak and the car already is full of problems so its not really worth it to just change the water pump, either spend 1000s and fix everything and pretty much rebuild the whole engine or just save my money and wait for it to die.

I used to like the cavalier too but losing faith in it. If I were to keep it, I'd do a ecotec swap and boost it. But because it is a DD, I am thinking something that is factory boosted may be better and also have a better aftermarket and support. I always have wanted a wrx or sti but been looking at neon srt4s recently too. Might lean that way to be easier on the budget. Another option, since I now have a good friend that works at Kia(where we just bought the wifes new car) is to get a brand new car. I was looking at the Forte Koups, for sure would be 6 spd manual, and either the 173hp 2.0 or the 200hp 1.6 turbo. It would probably be easier to get a loan on a new car and lower interest and longer term if needed but not sure about the Fortes. Want something with a bigger boosted 4 cyl and good aftermarket support. The 1.6 turbo has been out 2 years now in the kia and I don't even think theres an intake for it, no tuning or anything yet. But a car like the 15 WRX which got a new motor this year already has tons of aftermarket support.


2000 Cavalier Z24 5spd - Intake, Dynomax muffler, Hawk Pads, Powerslot rotors, Sportlines/Koni reds, Neon Coil, MSD 8.5 Wires - **SOLD**
2014 Kia Forte Koup SX 6spd - 1.6L Turbo - My new car
2015 Kia Sorento EX V6 AWD - Wifes Car

Re: This j body is turning into a money pit
Wednesday, October 01, 2014 8:29 PM
When checking injectors your not checking for volts but the real check is for ohms.The check should be in the the perimeter specs as stated by any general car manual.In short using a multimeter turn it to the ohms and I do not have the specs in should be in as it is too new for my books.I might check your tps as it can cause the car to idle and run pretty bad if faulty.Another thought might be checking your fuel pressure for your fuel pump while your at it.I am tired and long day outside working so these are some ideas.



Re: This j body is turning into a money pit
Wednesday, February 25, 2015 1:37 PM
You are right Rick, it is and will continue to be a money pit because you own a pre 2003 /eco car , these dated cavys are POS . My advise to you is get rid of it or do an eco 2.2 swap ASAP.


BLACKMANTIS
Re: This j body is turning into a money pit
Saturday, March 28, 2015 1:27 PM
hey the ob2 censor needs some help put a new gas cap on if there is not enough pressure in the t ank that will cause the check engine light to come on next try the cylatic converter t also check both upstreaam and dn stream o b sensors
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