Fenrir
Member
- Joined
- April 15, 2016
- Messages
- 46
- Reaction score
- 30
- City, State
- Colorado
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2000 Ford Explorer Sport
I've got an 00 Sport, it started acting up almost two years ago so I mothballed it and dumped some cash into my horrible little Pontiac. Horrible Pontiac is on it's last legs so I'm trying to dig back into the Exploder.
Change in running was sudden, coming up the hill one night something went screwy and it started idling really rough and misfiring, it gallops and rattles like a 3 legged drunk who's 10 minutes late to happy hour, it's like driving on a washed out dirt road... when driving on nice smooth blacktop.
Since it was over due for a tuneup I just started doing a process of elimination and did plugs, wires and coil one weekend, no change so I took it to one mechanic thinking I'd just pay someone else to fix it. He kept it a week before throwing his hands up and having me come get it (also tried to get me to buy one of his referb used cars he likes to sell), he said it could be exhaust related so I took it to one of the best exhaust shops in town, they scratched their heads, swapped a couple of parts that weren't terribly likely culprits, quoted me 3k to swap out the O2 sensors, then let it sit in their back lot for 3 months doing nothing with it before being kind enough to clear the codes out of the computer before I picked it up the day I finally got irritated enough to go and tell them I was taking it home now one way or another.
If memory serves it WAS throwing code for an upstream O2 sensor, I've been told by multiple more mechanically inclined folks that O2 would not make it run the way it is, so I'm kind of at a loss and really hoping someone might be able to point me at something stupid and relatively easy to try next.
Under 3k RPMs it runs like absolute ass. Oil pressure gage hops occasionally at idle especially when it's actively trying to stall. Over 3k RPM it runs smooth as butter.
IAC valve was replaced roughly a year before it went belly up, had another valve replaced around the same time and for the life of me I can't remember what the heck it was.
Has a Cat that's on it's way out but it still has good flow through.
Smells a little like sulfur from time to time, smells like it's cooking something plastic or electrical other times.
Occasional smoke/steam from under hood after coming up to running temps, can't seem to pinpoint the source.
Was smoked to check for vacuum leaks, none detected (or so they told me)
I've since talked to another mechanic who said to just drive it until it throws code again, I'm loathe to do this because of how poorly it's running, and how badly the exhaust is coming into the cabin (back glass needs a new hinge).
Any ideas? Thoughts? Anyone in/near Colorado Springs that would be willing to help a lady out? (my tool box is in Storage in Pueblo so my hands are kind of tied on DIY stuff)
Change in running was sudden, coming up the hill one night something went screwy and it started idling really rough and misfiring, it gallops and rattles like a 3 legged drunk who's 10 minutes late to happy hour, it's like driving on a washed out dirt road... when driving on nice smooth blacktop.
Since it was over due for a tuneup I just started doing a process of elimination and did plugs, wires and coil one weekend, no change so I took it to one mechanic thinking I'd just pay someone else to fix it. He kept it a week before throwing his hands up and having me come get it (also tried to get me to buy one of his referb used cars he likes to sell), he said it could be exhaust related so I took it to one of the best exhaust shops in town, they scratched their heads, swapped a couple of parts that weren't terribly likely culprits, quoted me 3k to swap out the O2 sensors, then let it sit in their back lot for 3 months doing nothing with it before being kind enough to clear the codes out of the computer before I picked it up the day I finally got irritated enough to go and tell them I was taking it home now one way or another.
If memory serves it WAS throwing code for an upstream O2 sensor, I've been told by multiple more mechanically inclined folks that O2 would not make it run the way it is, so I'm kind of at a loss and really hoping someone might be able to point me at something stupid and relatively easy to try next.
Under 3k RPMs it runs like absolute ass. Oil pressure gage hops occasionally at idle especially when it's actively trying to stall. Over 3k RPM it runs smooth as butter.
IAC valve was replaced roughly a year before it went belly up, had another valve replaced around the same time and for the life of me I can't remember what the heck it was.
Has a Cat that's on it's way out but it still has good flow through.
Smells a little like sulfur from time to time, smells like it's cooking something plastic or electrical other times.
Occasional smoke/steam from under hood after coming up to running temps, can't seem to pinpoint the source.
Was smoked to check for vacuum leaks, none detected (or so they told me)
I've since talked to another mechanic who said to just drive it until it throws code again, I'm loathe to do this because of how poorly it's running, and how badly the exhaust is coming into the cabin (back glass needs a new hinge).
Any ideas? Thoughts? Anyone in/near Colorado Springs that would be willing to help a lady out? (my tool box is in Storage in Pueblo so my hands are kind of tied on DIY stuff)