Odd engine problem

Hey all,
I've got a '98 ZX2 wth just over 112,000 miles on it. Yesterday as I was driving, the 'Serivce Engine Soon' light popped on on my dash, curious thing is, I just had a bunch of maintainance done less than 6 months ago (new timing and serpentine belts, new water pump, coolant flush, and a couple of other things I don't remember) and I just got my oil changed a couple of weeks ago.
The other thing is, my engine has been idling (sp?) REALLY rough as of late and I can't help but feel that the two are related.

I've already put over $1000 into this car over the last 6 months and I'd rather not take it into the shot AGAIN this soon, any clues as to what might be wrong?

Thanks!

Check for broken or loose vacuum hoses, or any other potential vacuum leak. Outside of that, a wild guess would be that the IAC motor might be malfunctioning, keeping it from metering air correctly at idle. Sometimes you can pull it off and clean the pintle to restore normal operation. Could be an EGR fault too. If it doesn't close completely, it will cause rough idle and set a code. See if AutoZone will pull the code for you, then let us know what it indicates, we can tell you more.

omg only 11k on a 98 zx2? did you guy it used or new? if it was used i'd think someone tampered with the odomiter lol

omg only 11k on a 98 zx2? did you guy it used or new? if it was used i'd think someone tampered with the odomiter lol

That was my bad, I dropped a place value. I've edited my original post with the correct milage.

I figured that was the case, since it had all that work done. It was either you misquoted the mileage, or got screwed REALLY bad by a shop.

i'd say it could be the vct but that isnt active at idle. i'd see if i can get a code

i think there is a recall on the rough idle when i go to work tomorrow i will check and post again later

Okay, of all the wierd things. The 'Service Engine' light turned off on it own when I was driving back from lunch today. Wierd...

the car has a rough idle no matter what though, but a good set of FordRacing wires really makes a difference

Could be an EGR fault too.IIRC cars equipped with VCT do not have EGR.

I would say check your PCV valve.

Yup, I forgot that (VCT) about these. A malfunctioning PCV would fall in the vacuum leak catagory. It's a possibility.

there is a recall
take it to the dealer and they will take care of it for you

i thought i had a problem with my vct solenoid. the car would hesitate and jerk just after shifting gears. i replaced the coil thinking that could be the problem. it didn't. it felt like a timing problem to me, i just didn't want to admit it. the problem cropped up just a few days after an oil change. i put in 10w-40 instead of the usual 5w-30. but thinking i had a problem with the vct, i pulled it off and cleaned it. (this was part of a timing belt change, getting the vct solenoid off isn't that difficult, but you need to remove the exhaust camshaft.) there are oil passages inside the vct solenoid that port oil under high pressure to retard the exhaust cam. those passages are relatively large and i doidn't find them to be clogged or anything. i laid an ohmsmeter across the terminals of the solenoid and read it to be about 5 ohms. (3-6 ohms is normal according to somewhere on the web.) so i put everything back together with a new timing belt and timing components. (you can get the tensioner and 2 new idler pulleys in a kit at advance that comes with great instructions for less than 100 bucks btw.) this time i filled the car back up with 5w-30 instead of the 10w-40. it runs great now. i believe the problem was with the thickness of the oil i used and nothing else. i would recommend to anyone out there who suspects a vct probelm, change the oil and run some 5w-30 and see what happens. you may save a big headache.