DeLo360
20+ Year Contributor
- 64
- 0
- Oct 29, 2002
-
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania
OK... kind of a long and weird problem... so lets begin.
The basics:
99 GS, 88K, bought the car with 52K and since then only one changed O2 sensor but i dont know which one. The O2 sensor was done at about 65K.
The problem:
At 77K, i had a seized motor on my hands. I purchase a used motor that had 78K on it, so for all purposes the used motor has basically the same mileage as that of the old, and the body of the car.
The motor transplant was done by a mechanic that is a close family friend.
Now... from the moment i got the car back and i took it on the highway, it threw out the CEL. I called the mechanic immediately, and he came to the house with his logger the next day.
Unfortunately for me, i had a loose battery terminal clasp and my battery was disconnected over night. When he showed up the next day, the CEL was obviously no longer "on" so he couldnt check what codes it threw out. However, he used his logger to see if the O2 sensors where working the way they should. They came out fully functional.
Since then, i have noticed a few things about the CEL:
The light only comes on when i am on the highway, and always goes out after driving around town for a short amount of time. This is ALWAYS the case. In fact, the light comes on the highway so religiously that on my way from home to school, i can actually pinpoint when its going to come on almost within seconds (about 2 miles after i get on the highway).
The only exception to this was ONE instance. I changed one of my belts. And started a 90 mile trip to the shore all on the highway. The light wasnt on when i started and it didnt come on all the way down to the beach. It, however, came on on the way back.
After i noticed the way the CEL behaved i took the car to autozone to have them do a free reading on the codes. They told me that it said both O2 sensors where failing. Kind of weird since i know at least one of them are no more then 15K old.
I also called the dealer to get a price quote on them checking it out, and they ended up telling me that once the CEL comes on it should never go back out. Which is definitely not the case in my situation.
Lastly:
i get pretty decent gas mileage... ~280 miles to the tank in combination of city and highway driving.
But i am noticing a subtle but noticeable smell of exhaust coming into the interior when i dont have the blower working. Also, from the rear of the car i can definitely notice a faint gas like smell comign form the exhaust.
Alright........ i think that is all for now... If you guys can give me anythign to work off of here that would be more then helpful. I really dont want to take this in to just get the problem determined.
OHH... one last thing... before i performed the engine transplant, i had the car sitting without being moved for about 1 year. Although the night i got it back after the transplant... i was tightening the batter terminal clasp and taped the computer with the wrench while it was attached to the positive terminal. There was a spark between the wrench and the computer. If anything i could have screwed something up with the computer but i really dont know. I just want to give you guys all of the information.
Ok thanks guys... i look forward to your replies... i'm up fro inspection this month... so i may need to get this fixed if its emmissions.
- Dave
The basics:
99 GS, 88K, bought the car with 52K and since then only one changed O2 sensor but i dont know which one. The O2 sensor was done at about 65K.
The problem:
At 77K, i had a seized motor on my hands. I purchase a used motor that had 78K on it, so for all purposes the used motor has basically the same mileage as that of the old, and the body of the car.
The motor transplant was done by a mechanic that is a close family friend.
Now... from the moment i got the car back and i took it on the highway, it threw out the CEL. I called the mechanic immediately, and he came to the house with his logger the next day.
Unfortunately for me, i had a loose battery terminal clasp and my battery was disconnected over night. When he showed up the next day, the CEL was obviously no longer "on" so he couldnt check what codes it threw out. However, he used his logger to see if the O2 sensors where working the way they should. They came out fully functional.
Since then, i have noticed a few things about the CEL:
The light only comes on when i am on the highway, and always goes out after driving around town for a short amount of time. This is ALWAYS the case. In fact, the light comes on the highway so religiously that on my way from home to school, i can actually pinpoint when its going to come on almost within seconds (about 2 miles after i get on the highway).
The only exception to this was ONE instance. I changed one of my belts. And started a 90 mile trip to the shore all on the highway. The light wasnt on when i started and it didnt come on all the way down to the beach. It, however, came on on the way back.
After i noticed the way the CEL behaved i took the car to autozone to have them do a free reading on the codes. They told me that it said both O2 sensors where failing. Kind of weird since i know at least one of them are no more then 15K old.
I also called the dealer to get a price quote on them checking it out, and they ended up telling me that once the CEL comes on it should never go back out. Which is definitely not the case in my situation.
Lastly:
i get pretty decent gas mileage... ~280 miles to the tank in combination of city and highway driving.
But i am noticing a subtle but noticeable smell of exhaust coming into the interior when i dont have the blower working. Also, from the rear of the car i can definitely notice a faint gas like smell comign form the exhaust.
Alright........ i think that is all for now... If you guys can give me anythign to work off of here that would be more then helpful. I really dont want to take this in to just get the problem determined.
OHH... one last thing... before i performed the engine transplant, i had the car sitting without being moved for about 1 year. Although the night i got it back after the transplant... i was tightening the batter terminal clasp and taped the computer with the wrench while it was attached to the positive terminal. There was a spark between the wrench and the computer. If anything i could have screwed something up with the computer but i really dont know. I just want to give you guys all of the information.
Ok thanks guys... i look forward to your replies... i'm up fro inspection this month... so i may need to get this fixed if its emmissions.
- Dave
