AirCare = our emmissions testing rip-off here in British columbia - http://www.aircare.ca/ For 1998 and newer cars they just hook up a OBD reader to the vehicle and verify that there are no errors recorded in the system, and that the car runs through it's own diagnostics cleanly. For older vehicles they analyze the exhaust with a sniffer. And for both types of vehicles they only charge $45 every 2 years.
Now that my car was just run through the test, one of my neighbours informed me that AirCare is being closed down in September. Glad to see it gone - it was a glorified tax grab, and a giant waste of time.
Problem is solved - no more intermittant cyl #1 misfire - ran the car through our rip-off AirCare system and it passed just fine. Washed and waxed the car - and it now looks so good I may just keep it for another 204,000 KM!! Now I gotta get off my a$$ and do that long needed oil change.
Thanks again to all who responded with tips, hints and advise, and to Disturbing Motorsports for their prompt service.
Thanks Alain95i4, Darktengu and Sroufe7 - I installed 4 new ACCEL injectors (21 lb ones) from Disturbing Motorsports yesterday afternoon - and installed a new valve cover gasket at the same time. That was a great tip on removing the valve cover as that sure did give some extra room for getting at the injectors and fuel rail. I took my time and got the whole thing done in about 3 hours. Now to get it out for a longer test drive (a spin around the block yesterday seemed promising, but I need to get it up to temp and give it a good run) - and then change the oil.
Here's a tip back - when reinstalling the bolts that attach the fuel supply to the fuel rail, use allen-head bolts to replace the small bolts - a t-handle wrench holds the allen-head bolt quite securely and makes it much easier to get it started in the threads.
thanks again
Tom 98 ES Avenger - Black is the ONLY color!!
ps: great service from Disturbing - they are now on my favorites list, and will definitely use them again
From working in the parts industry [not the only one here who has], i can tell you, sometimes remanned isn't what you want to go with, unless it has a lifetime warranty. I haven't heard of CVU [unless it's known by another name] so i can't really say if they are great quality or not. I'm just picky about what i put in my engine when it comes to reman.
Just my opinion.
if there is a brand new one available for just 10% more on the price, i'd go for the new one.
Up here in Canada, the injectors go for over $140 each from the dealers. The price for those CVU units is for 4 injectors with a 7yr guarantee - so seems almost good to be true (even if they are remanufactured units). Well, I will have to ponder over that a bit more.
After fighting with an intermittant p0301 code for some time, I have traced it down to fuel injector #1 having a 6 ohm resistance rather than the ~12 ohm spec. No. 1 plug also shows it is running rich, and there is a definite smell of raw gas when the vehicle is first started. Runs like gang-busters with full throttle but one can feel the missfire when cruising under 3000 rpm.
Does anyone have first-hand experience in replacing the injectors, and can provide some details on what is needed to get them out and replaced?
I'm going to go a completely different route then Nykon on this one, well not COMPLETELY but just different. How long have you had the car? Why do you think the engine is bogging down?
Our cars have speed sensitive steering so if you're going slow and start to accelerate, or if you go from quick to slow rapidly and try to steer it'll feel like the powersteering is kicking out, when really it's just slow to catch up. That would also explain why it only lasts a second or two.
Just a different possibility.
Well, I've owned the car since new (1998) and it now has 199,000 KM on it (~120,000 miles) - so I guess I can say I'm pretty familiar with the car and the what to expect out of it.
When I say bogging down, I mean it drops all power and cannot accelerate, and it becomes non-responsive to the accelerator (punching the throttle does absolutely nothing), then all of a sudden it catches again, and goes like gangbusters. It's like the fuel or ignition is suddently cut off for a second or two - but when it catches again, there is no backfire, just the ability to accelerate again.
I have not noticed the stearing locking up or getting difficult to turn when this occurs - mind you I am generally in the middle of the corner, and am not having to put much more input into the steering.
Does that make sense? And do you still think it is related to the steering? (The belt checked out ok, but the power steering fluid is a touch low, so will top that off today, and test it).
cool, I didn't mean it to be insulting when I said that just for the record, there are a lot of people out there that just have no clue how to shift correctly.
Another question, does your car do this whether your tank is full or empty or does it change with the level of your fuel?
Np problem - wasn't taken as an insult at all.
Re: fuel level, yeah at first I thought it might be related to fuel level as the first two times it did it I was below 1/4 tank - but have been able to recreate the problem with a full or near full tank. So I ahve ruled fuel level out at this point.
This problem came on quickly as there was this one particular corner that I always threw the car thru, day after day, and all of a sudden I started having the problem.
But seriosly... if you are braking hard and going into a turn hard and then accelerating quickly again, what gear are you entering and what gear are you exiting the turn in?? Just a thought you might need to downshift and get your RPMs back up. If I remember right the powerband in my Avenger was from 3k up to 5500 rpm... Its a bit different in my eclipse but I know if I am not in my powerband in my Eclipse coming out of a turn it seems a bit sluggish.
Other than that, check your p/s fluid and I will think on this more after I get some coffee.
Thanks for the response Nykon - yeah I gotta learn to shift (LOL) - it's definitely not a situation where I am in too high a gear - usually this is occuring in 1st or 2nd gear - most likely 1st gear, with the rpm's up pretty good already. When getting back on the throttle part way thru the corner, it starts to accelerate, then the power just falls totally flat, and the engine just is not responsive to the throttle for a second or so. I'll be checking the power stearing fluid and belts today.
Cool - thanks for the responses guys. Let me answer your questions here:
Auto or Manual? >>> MANUAL
Define cornering hard? (like just taking a sharp turn, or while going on a freeway on/offramp kinda turn) >>> Sharp turn like exiting a driveway--- or charging into a 90 deg corner under heavy braking, slowing down to maybe 10-15 mph, and tossing the car into the corner (quite hard, but not quite enough to get the car sliding), back on the gas, and it will bog down momentarily (left and right turns)
how long since the plugs have been changed? >>> they are about 15000Miles old - can't remember the brand but they are platinum tipped if memory serves me right
how old are your belts? >>>> 40000KM (car has 199,000 KM now)
Does it feel like the engine is cutting out? >>> almost, but not quite - I can best describe it as "bogging out" - I invariably give it more throttle when it happens, and it doesn't respond for about a second, then the poweer comes back on suddently, as if nothing was ever wrong
How is your battery clearance under the hood? (I once had a car that every time I would turn left it would ground out and kill the motor) >>>> I checked that today actually, and it all looked just fine.
I am leaning towards something to do with the power steering valve or pump... but I am not ruling out other possibilities yet... let us know >>>>>> hummmmm I'll test that out if I can, as it does seem that I am throwing a lot of steering input into it at the same time as it goes into the corner....... you know, heavy braking (off throttle), off the brakes just as I crank in the steering, and then back on the gas........I've encountered the slow stearing pump lock up when having fun in the parking lot, but never had it bog down on me like this.
This is definately worth me checking into guys - I think you may have nailed it. I'll check my steering belt and fluid level tomorrow, and post the results. Thanks again. Tom
Lately my 98 Avenger has had problems with a sudden loss in power for about 1-2 seconds when cornering very HARD at low speed (~10-20 MPH). It happens so suddenly it's hard to see if any of the warning lights flash on, but as far as I can tell the tach still is active and reading correctly, and no warning lights come on. It happens when cornering both to the left and right, but like I said, ONLY when cornering really hard at LOW speed (can't get it to occur at higher speeds - not enough road )
At first I thought it felt like fuel starvation and I had an almost empty tank, but have since ruled out it being related to the amount of fuel in the tank, as it did it a few minutes ago with 3/4 of a tank of fuel. It sorta feels like like a fuel starvation problem where it just falls flat on it's face for a second, then the power comes back on.
I've recently replaced the ignition wires since the problem started to appear, as I was getting that danged intermittant missfire and the new wires cleared up that problem, but the loss in power thing is still there.
I've gone under the hood and wiggled as many of the wires/fuses/relays as I could find to see if it was related to a wiring problem, but could not get it to fail.
I just checked the OBD codes with a code reader - no errors recorded.
Generally it runs like a bear: pulls from 1500 RPM to red line under heavy load up a hill - which to me rules out a fuel filter (it was replaced some time ago, but is likely due again).
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