WHEELS
Northwest Herald / NWHerald.com
Friday, May 31, 2013 • Page E15
Odor develops after oil change in Cruze Since right after the first oil change in my new 2011 Chevrolet Cruze, there has been a hot oil odor. Our dealer has not found any oil leaks, but the workers have replaced all the seals and the thermostat housing. They also did some recall work. To this day, the hot oil odor continues. I called my local Chevrolet district office. They said I should trust my dealer to find the problem. Do you have any idea what causes the odor? – K.W., Hudson, Wis. For an odor such as this to persist, there must be an oil leak. Since there are no leaks, perhaps the odor is from the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. Maybe the heater and evaporator are in the need disinfecting as these units sometimes develop microbes that can cause an odor.
I have a 1998 Dodge Ram 1500 with a 5.9-liter engine, 5-speed transmission and 130,000 miles. It’s my work truck, and it’s in great condition. I follow the factory maintenance schedule and change the oil and filter every 2,000 to 2,500 miles. About a year ago, I had the intake manifold and throttle body gaskets replaced due to leaks. Until recently, it’s been running great. Right now, the check engine light is on and the engine runs rough, hesitates and sometimes stalls. This only happens after I have driven for a while, stopped for a short time and then restarted. This is an intermittent problem as it does not occur after each stop.
DR. GIZMO Phil Arendt I tried to fix the trouble by installing new spark plugs and wires. It runs a little better, but the main issue is not resolved I went to a repair shop. They did some tests and found the fuel pump is working fine, the engine is running to specifications and all the sensor and computers are working fine. The only thing that is questionable is an oxygen sensor does not respond as quickly as it should. The technician is not sure if replacing it will fix the intermittent trouble. Do you know what’s wrong or have any suggestions? – D.B., email The possibilities are endless, but considering age and mileage, it’s likely a poor connection is causing the trouble. A faulty ground or corroded connection in a plug might be the cause. Also, suspicion points toward a problem in the lazy oxygen sensor. There is more than one oxygen sensor in the system, but your technician knows which sensor seems to have a problem. It might be the one that is causing all of your concerns. If so, replacement will return your truck to full duty.
When I turn on the headlights in my 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis, the 4.6-liter engine stalls. I’m pretty handy when it comes to fixing cars, so I checked the fuel pump and found it did not meet pressure specifications.
It only produced 10 pounds. I replaced it. With the new pump installed, pressure was back to 35 pounds per square inch. Regardless, when I turn on the headlights, the pressure drops to zero and the engine stalls. Have you ever heard of anything like this before? – C.R.T., email The auto repair business is ever challenging, and change is constant. This symptom is certainly unusual but likely due to a poor ground connection. It’s time to study electrical diagrams to find the relationship between the fuel pump and headlamp circuit. It’s likely there is a common ground connection. It’s also possible a poor ground connection in one circuit creates a feedback in another circuit. Additionally, sometimes low voltage due to a faulty battery or alternator will cause trouble such as you describe. Tests might find this is the cause. Consider checking your local library as it might offer a free online repair manual or subscribe to one of the many online manuals to obtain diagrams to troubleshoot the circuits.
I have a 2002 Subaru Forester with 92,000 miles, a 2.5-liter engine and automatic transmission. It uses 2 quarts of oil every 500 miles. The engine does not leak a drop of oil, and I don’t see smoke from the exhaust. The engine runs great. What would cause this problem? – H.A., email The oil is not evaporat-
ing. It is being burnt by the engine. You don’t see smoke from the exhaust because of the action of the catalytic converters in the exhaust system. If you are mechanically inclined, to fix the trouble might be simple. Sometimes a condition such as this is caused by a faulty or clogged positive crankcase ventilation valve. Consider replacing it. Also, check the hose for blockage. You may need to replace the hose too. If the PCV system is not the problem, it’s time to visit a repair shop to have a pro perform tests on the engine starting with an oil consumption test followed by a cylinder leak down test, compression test, cylinder balance test and vacuum test. These tests will determine where trouble is inside the engine.
I own a 1999 Cadillac Seville with 125,000 miles. It is beautiful inside and out, but it has two problems. When the transmission is in park when I turn the key to start, the starter is dead. When this happens, if I shift into neutral and turn the key, the engine usually starts. If not, I have to shift back into park and into neutral again. The second problem is almost every time I drive, the engine stalls as if the ignition was turned off. When this happens, I roll to a complete stop and try to start the engine. It starts again as if nothing happened. I went to a dealer shop and independent shop to have these issues repaired. The dealer charged $650 for a tune-up
and two sensors. This did nothing to resolve the issues. The independent shop charged $75 to look over the car but could not find the trouble. They suggested the ignition switch might be the problem. It would be a shame to discard this car. Can you help? – E.L.D., Webster, Wis. It is possible the ignition switch is the root of the trouble. More testing is necessary. Definitely a technician needs to experience the trouble. Consider leaving the vehicle with the shop of your choice so a technician can see first-hand how the car reacts while test equipment is connected to it. He or she must drive the vehicle and try several starts under cold and hot engine temperature conditions. Additionally, test drives must be completed under conditions similar to when you experience the stalling. It is important for you to provide as much information to shop personnel about driving conditions so they can recreate conditions that induce the problem. Engine temperature, speed, traffic and weather conditions all contribute to how a vehicle behaves.
Intermittently, my 2006 BMW 325i stalls. I’ve already dumped a bunch of money into fixing this trouble to no avail. At an idle, the engine will try to stall, but if I hit the gas at the right moment, it comes back to life as though nothing happened. After this, the car drives normally until the next time it happens. It only happens at a stop and never tries to cut out
while driving. The check engine light has never turned on. My repair shop has tested computers and has received random codes, but even the codes are intermittent. They seem to be guessing as to what causes the trouble. They have replaced a battery sensor, two water pumps, fuel pump, alternator and much more. The problem persists. The car is in great shape. It has only 36,000 miles. I don’t want to get rid of it. Do you have any suggestions? – H.N., email Apparently you have spent a ton of cash, and the trouble evades repair. It also is apparent your shop is throwing parts in the vehicle in hope of curing the trouble without any success. Don’t despair. It’s time for a technician to look into poor wiring connections. There may be a loose ground connection. Perhaps a pin in a plug is loose. Maybe corrosion is affecting terminals in a plug, but at this point, throwing parts at the trouble just does not make sense. Consider taking the vehicle to a different shop if you desire a fresh set of ideas, but certainly the parts replacement plan is not the proper course of action to this repair. • Phil Arendt is a columnist, consultant and A.S.E.-certified master technician. Readers may send questions to Dr. Gizmo at P.O. Box 548, Cary, IL 60013 or drgizmo@drgizmo.ws. Information is available on his website, http://drgizmo89. blogspot.com.
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