2002 kia sportage

This AM doing 75mph started running rough and had funny smell kind of like exhaust. Engine light blinked. lost a little power.

These sugestions were made to me
a, change plugs & wire
b,clean air filter
c,cat. converter

Any other ideas?
Where do we start?

Thank you,
mollynewt

any trouble codes?

Thank you for replying but we are old folks and no idea what that means.
Molly

goto your local autozone and they'll hook up a handheld computer called OBD II scanner to your vehicle

autozone is one of the few stores that will do this for you FREE as a service to the Do It Yourself customer

then, write down the trouble code(s)

have them CLEAR the codes

see if the SAME CODES come back

then go from there on the diagnosis process

of course, you'll need someone who is competent enough to check for vacuum & exhaust leaks, ground wires and other things that the normal driver doesn't want to know about their own vehicle maintenance...

spark plugs, if never changed, is part of that maintenance & you're probably overdue

mileage over 100,ooo miles means that you're way overdue for a timing belt change & if that snaps/breaks, you're out for a costly engine repair and/or replacement

all those things you listed are good possibilities, but not a guarantee that it'll fix your problem.

since most vehicles past 1996 are run by the OBDII system now, having a good wire connection to the battery & having clean ground wires from the engine to the body will help keep the car's computer to get the correct signals from the various sensors... that's a good and easy way to start if you have loose or corrosion at the battery cables.

PS: it's one of the reasons why i stayed away from Kia / Hyundai because their timing belt intervals are 60,ooo miles or every 5/6 years

& any model that hasinterference engines, you'll have to be sure to keep up with the maintenance of that important belt...

Thanks again. The plugs were soaked in oil so we are looking now for directions to replace head gasket. We are real good with old cars but learing our Kia.

Can you tell me where to look?

One guy told me we had to buy a new motor. Another told me to buy rings when we buy gaskets.

Do agree with any of that?

Molly

whoa, did the mechanic proved that your head gaskets are blown? compression & leakdown test???

why did they recommend a new engine? unless the current one already had a snapped timing belt... if they're just "guessing" stay far away from them & get someone else to prove their diagnosis with some facts.
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usually, oil-soaked spark plugs are condition of a leaky VALVE COVER gasket

if the mechanic doesn't have one of those obd II scanners, then just goto autozone and get it done for free & post the codes

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as far as service manuals, free autozone.com haynes/ chiltons type manual for you to look at online

you just need to register/ log on the site & enter your year, make, model

click on repair info

click on "view vehicle repair guide"

http://repairguide.autozone.com/znetrgs/repair_guide_content/en_us/images/0996b43f/80/20/17/82/medium/0996b43f80201782.gif

You are GREAT. We are DIY ers. We can not afford any other way and we have a lot of experience. I laughed at the guy who told me to buy new motor. I encluded that in case I was wrong.

We are sure it is head gaskets. What we don't know is if we should put new rings in while we are at it. We are buying the whole kit. Top and bottom gaskets.

All maitance is always up to date. We just do it.

Thanks for the manual link. I found one online manual you have to pay for.

Molly

well, you can still log on for free...

well if you're sure the head gaskets are done (you confirmed that ~ how?) then hooking up the scanner is of no use at the moment...

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apparently too late for maintenance; your engine is most likely blown... so those mechanics are trying to save you money by getting a donor engine instead of the labor to change out the gaskets

in that case, you'll have to change out the timing belt, water pump, thermostat, hoses, drive belts, etc... & now see why they recommending getting a donor engine

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just to do the gasket by itself is ~$1300-1500 at a dealership ; $600+ at an independent shop... then you have to add all those other things i listed... can reach up to over $2000 easily
good luck