Where do I start

[Justin's Dad]

Hey guys, I have a 1999 Chevy Venture and like most it's become very needy. She sat in the driveway for at least a year to a year and a half until I came up with the money to replace the lower intake manifold gasket . Fortunate for me it didn't happen until 80,000 miles. I never added a fuel conditioner before starting her up after a long hibernation period. My fuel pump took a dump about a week later . This may or may not be because the fuel may have gone bad.

Anyway for the current situation. The Tranny, Engine, and fuel pump runs strong. I felt what was best described as a flow restriction upon excelleration. I took it to a local guy and he cleaned out the fuel injectors, wrong! and I was out $100. I took it to the dealer for diagnostics $108.00 later he tells me that the fuel filter was clogged (replaced no charge) but it didn't fix the problem. The next thing tested was the catalytic converter. They wanted $1200.00 to replace the system, no thanks! I took it to a local mieneke and they changed the catalytic converter by itself for $235. That fixed the problem by about 95%. Money situation is tight for now so I have to wait a week to change the 02 sensors at $106 a piece.

Can anyone tell me if they've been down this road before? It seems like the answer is in the exhaust portion of the system. Can an 02 sensor restrict excelleration?

-Rick

[Justin's Dad]

I just found the answer to my question and i'll post it here to help anyone else going through this

An additional consequence of any oxygen sensor failure may be damage to your car's catalytic converter - a very expensive way to find out your oxygen sensor needs replacement

Here's what I came up with on my research. I hope it can help other people going through this.

http://www.autohausaz.com/html/emiss...n_sensors.html

[wphall]

Sorry to hear of all your trouble.

Any time a vehicle sits for a very long time things can take a dive.

[Justin's Dad]

Originally Posted by wphall

Sorry to hear of all your trouble.

Any time a vehicle sits for a very long time things can take a dive.

Thanks, I changed the O2 sensors but I still have a slight hesitation problem and it's making the vehical burn more fuel than it used to. I read a thread on this board where a guy changed everything having to do with Cylinder #2 (which is my problem also) and it turned out to be a sticky valve. So I plan on checking that first before spending money replacing anything. I strongly believe that could be it due to it sitting for so long. Having the fuel pump take a dive, the fuel filter clogged, the cat clogged, it just seems to hint in the direction of a sticky valve. I have an appointment for tomorrow afternoon he's gonna check compression, etc..

[cjstew4]

I had a sticky lifter (don't know if related to the valve) that felt like I was running on 3 cylinders on my 97. After 3 oil changes within 2 wks with various supposed oil treatment products, the only one that finally did the trick was Risoline. That saved me hundreds in a possible bigger repair. May want to try a the 5th qt being Risoline in your next oil change. I now put in Risoline as the last qt in every other one of my oil changes.

[Justin's Dad]

Update: My mech says he found the compression to be normal. He says he did find arcing in the wires so he replaced them. i'm heading over to pick it up and do a test drive. i'll keep you guys posted. For shop mechanics on this board is it abnormal for a mech not to take a car he worked on for a test drive? If i'm working on a car I'd deff like to see if it's working before calling a customer. because if the customer finds the problem still exists he may lose confidense in me as his mechanic. On the flip side I can see it being a liability issue especially with the INS Co. let me know what's the norm.

[Justin's Dad]

OK about 10 hrs worth of running around at top and low speeds put it through the mill and great news, she's running like new again!! The final touch was bad plug wires.

So lets see from last summer til now this is my total (Parts and labor) on this car.

Lower Intake Manifold Gasket $700
Fuel pump $500
Crank Sensor $190
Catalytic Converter $170
O2 sensors $235
Replaced Spark plug wires $50

I don't plan to get rid of it yet