QuestionQUESTION: Hello Roland...
(asked this question of another gentleman, but he said it was outside of his expertise... I'm hoping you can assist...Thanks)
I have a 89' Chrysler LeBaron, with 339,000 miles. I've owned this vehicle for the last 15 years. Between my ex and I, we've replaced just about everything this car has on it. Recently the car started running very badly, especially at higher speeds (55-60). It would shudder and hesitate, and the gas mileage took a nose dive. It had been a while since a tune up, so I took it in and had the cap/rotor/plus/wires/oil replaced. And the shop recommended a fuel injector service, and then told me that they noticed that my catalytic converter was broken. So I authorized those repairs. When I got the car back it seemed to be running better, but the sound of the engine when climbing hills and it downshifted seemed a good bit noisier than before. I chalked that up to the new converter. Now the car is running poorly again at higher speeds (3 weeks ago it was worked on), and the gas mileage is not as good as it should be. It normally gets about 27 and it's getting 19. To top it off, there is also some sooty residue on the tailpipe. That's never happened before with this car. I checked the spark plug wires for tightness, and the car seems to be idling correctly most of the time... except sometimes when I start it, it's idle is very high. And yet other times... the idle will be high... then low... then high again... and I'll have to tap the gas a few times to get it to settle down. It's inconsistent to say the least. Except that most of the time the idle is ok. It's when it's running at 60 miles an hour that the engine is shuddering, the shudder is especially strong when I reach those higher speeds and I back off the accelerator. But even when I back off the accelerator, it will shudder at running speed.
I'm wondering if any of this sounds like the oxygen sensors have gone bad... or maybe something was damaged when they replaced the catalytic converter?
I'm going to take it back to the shop... but I wanted your thoughts first. Needless to say, after replacing the engine, transmission, paint, and just about everything under the hood, over the years... I love this car. Nothing will make me happier than getting the odometer to roll over to 400,000. Hope you can help.....
Kindest regards,
Victrinia
ANSWER: Hi Victrinia,
I have an '89 also, a non-turbo. Is yours a turbo?
The quickest way to start toward a solution would be to ask the engine controller whether it sees any problems and thus has a fault code stored in its memory. Use the ignition key:"On-off-on-off-on and leave on" doing that in 5 seconds or less. Then watch the check engine light, which remains "on", to begin to flash, pause, flash, etc. Count the number of flashes before each pause, then repeat the readout to assure an accurate set of counts. The last two sets of flashes will be 5 in each. If you combine the numbers in pairs in the order of appearance you will have any 2-digit fault codes. The last will always be 55 because it is the code for 'end of readout'. You can then either write back with the codes, or go to www.allpar.com/fix/codes.html for a list of codes.
If you have a non-turbo there is of course only one injector and you can see whether it is malfunctioning by removing the lid of the air filter/intake housing (but do this carefully observing the various vacuum hoses). Then with the engine idling look at the throttle plate which is directly beneath the injector to observe if it spray pattern is fine and symmetric. If it show assymettry or droplets or drips when a helper turns off the engine then either the injector is wornout or its o-rings are leaking.
But first check for all the possible codes. There are several possible codes that would implicate the O2 sensor.
Roland
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Roland...
I know you didn't invent the "magic"... but thank you so much for telling me how to get the codes out of the car! You are marvelous. My lil' Chrysler isn't a turbo either, and it's been my daily driver for the whole time I have had it. It's a darn fine car.
The codes I got out of it were 12... 23... 25... 34... and 21. And while it seems that 21 seems to indicate that indeed I am having an O2 sensor issue, I'm not sure what code 34 means. Any thoughts?
When I was reading the codes off... it seemed VERY consistent with the problems I've been having with the car.
Will having a faulty O2 sensor cause the vehicle to generate the soot at the exhaust pipe? Seems to me it probably would...
I truly appreciate your help.
With gratitude,
Victrinia
AnswerYes, the O2 sensor not working properly can very well cause an improper air/fuel mixture which would produce soot and poor mileage. It could well be that its wires have fatigued and broken, or the sensor is shot. In either case a new sensor is probably needed.
The 23 code, throttle body temp sensor, will also give that mixture problem, but the accompanying issue with the code 25-automatic idle speed motor however leads me to suggest that for those two you might well take a look at the harness of wires at the thottle body which serve those items. That area is exposed to a lot of heat from the exhaust manifold underneath any they may be producing those codes because the insulation on the wires that are attached to them has melted and caused short circuits between the conductors. So check those wires before assuming that the temp sensor or ais is bad. If you find that to be the case it may be possible to separate the wires and epoxy coat them so that a new harness or splicing is unnecessary.
The 34 says there is a problem with either the wiring for the vacuum or vent solenoid of the speed controller. If you are having trouble with using the cruise control, that would be the likely reason.
So, see how things go after looking into these repairs.
Roland
