Chrysler Repair: 97 2.5L V-6 rough idle/stalls when put in gear, chrysler sebring coupe, throttle position sensor


Question
ok 97 chrysler sebring coupe v6 24 valve 2.5l.i bought this car 3 months ago it had a bit of rough idle but not to bad the guy i bought it from put new temp sensor,throttle position sensor,new plugs and wires,and one of the o2 sensors all gave no change to idle problem idle got much worse starting surging in park and in drive so changed the o2 sensor thats inbehind the motor and i changed iac valve car then ran great for 20 min then back to the rough idle prob exept worse cars stalls as soon as i put it in drive and once i get moving the transmission wont go into overdrive car revs high now so then i changed gas filter car ran awesome for 180 km and back to the way it was i am lost and i cant afford a mechanic cause they soak me for more than i can afford.hopefully you can help

Answer
Hi Alan,
Have you tried to get fault codes using the ignition switch? "On-off-on-off-on and leave on" doing that in 5 seconds or less elapsed time. Then watch the check engine light, which remains 'on', to see it begin to flash, pause, flash, etc. Count the number of flashes before each pause. Then repeat the process to be sure you have an accurate repeatable set of flash counts. Tell me the counts in order of appearance and we'll go from there to see what to do next.
One thing you might do right away is to check the egr valve to make sure that its stem is closing via internal spring-action to a dead stop. It is located under the coolant filler tube, and it has a round vacuum operated top, a body of the valve mounted in the small exhaust pipe that splits off from the front exhaust manifold and a flange in between those two parts. Inside the flange is the valve stem which has a slot into which you can insert the tip of a screwdriver to move the stem back and forth. It should close to a dead stop by the internal spring action. If not then spray the stem with WD-40 where it enters the valve body and work it back and forth to free-up the action.
Another area to check would be the outer edge of the intake manifold for a possible leak. Use a spray can of starter fluid and while the engine is idling apply very short spurts of fluid and notice whether the engine changes its idle speed momentarily which would be a sign of an air leak. Use very small squirts to avoid a fire.
Those are the things you can try now.
Roland
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