Jump to content

R50 acceleration problems


cham
 Share

Recommended Posts

As of this point my guess is that the downstream O2 sensor has failed because the catalytic converter is not doing its job. Now the catalytic converter had to have failed for another reason which is what worries me because I pretty much know my engine consumes oil. I am looking to get the PCV valve changed to see if that is the culprit but if not.....does that mean I'll have to change the catalytic converter ever so often just because the engine burns oil? Also could leaving the PCV valve in place well after it has already seen its last leg cause internal engine problems, or only the engine to lose oil and send it into the cats to clog it up?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My catalytic converters got a little plugged up a couple years ago after a long road trip. I'm not sure if you live in an area that has regular emissions testing or not but I ended up just chipping the filter material out of the cats seeing as I don't. Got me that little bit of power back and haven't had a power problem aside from my maf sensor crapping out yet.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you do not see or smell oil out of the exhaust, and no oil is mixing in with the antifreeze, it seems that the engine is not consuming oil. Since the entire underside is coated in oil, I would say you have a bad leak and that is where all of your oil is going.

 

Do not throw parts at it hoping you get the right one. Verify it is bad first before replacing. Changing PCV, MAF, etc is a waste if they are still good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I definitely agree with what you said Citron about throwing parts at the car. It's pointless unless the problem is actually known. In other news I got my truck back and they replaced the O2 sensor, serpent belt, and fixed an oil leak. Also gave it a new inspection sticky all for $500. I'll be broke for a while like I said haha. Anyways the truck seems to perform a little better in the higher end acceleration. It picks up more than it used to but lower end still seems to lag and the lower gear shifts seem a little slow. I did notice that after getting it back it seems to idle higher. It's around about 900 rpm now rather than being at 750 to 850 vs before I got it fixed. In regard to the PCV valve I think I want to do that as my last fix before I stop spending money because I've already dropped a lot. It's only $10 and I at least want to check that it is functioning. My question though is I'm unsure where it is located. I've looked around on the internet but I cannot get a straight answer. Is it a simple find or will it take some unbolting of other parts? And if so how much?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

I replaced the PCV last year on my 02 se pathy and yes you have to take the intake manifold off to get to it... also for some reason the computers at Auto zone showed it as one that you just slip I. When in fact it's threaded and you will have to skrew it In. Since you have to take off the intake manifold I would go ahead and buy the gaskets the intake manifold as well and replace them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Wow its been 2 years and I never brought anyone up to date, hope I can be forgiven ?.  I’ve done quite a lot since then but still feel as if I’ve made not much headway.  As for the O2 sensor I cant say i remember what the mechanics said but I know I had it replaced.  In reference of what I’ve done since, switched back to conventional, had the leak fixed but recently found I had a new tiny one coming from the oil pan gasket while changing oil.  Had the tranny drained and filled because flushing is rough on an older auto trans from what ive been told.  Still have some rough shifts, worse in the winter I’ll say but thats to be expected im sure.  In recent months I’ve found that my mpg is in the toilet with an average of about 12mpg if im lucky but I feel as if my gas guage is not accurate because after having the fuel light come on I only fill up about 16 gallons!  I highly doubt the engineers would have 5 gallons in reserve?!  Still havent addressed the fan clutch issue but it still roars and now the belt squeals fairly loud when the rpms reach over about 4500 which is also another sign of the clutch going bad ive heard.  Had the belt replaced around a year and a half ago.  Still losing about a quart every 1000 miles that has not changed.  Finally something I’ve always been curious in is the temp guage being just below the halfway mark which I’m wondering is normal.  Ill attach an image of it showing the needle at operating temp where it pretty much never goes above what’s shown.  It would make sense if it is slightly below if my fan is never disengaging but you tell me.  If anyone has some advice on any subject or where I should look next I’d love it.  Just shoot me a response and lets get talkin!

Edit:

Couldn’t figure out how to attach image because it’s size was too big

Edited by cham
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You have 2002 LE right? That’s comes with the RE4R01A transmission... are you feeling hard shifting in every gear or 1-2? To me it sounds 100% a bad fan clutch. I would replace that either way because that has had been said to have a big impact on gas mileage. I’ll be low on gas as well and only put 16 gallons in idk... The fuel lines must hold a lot on these trucks.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's not really a fuel reserve, it's just fuel the pump can't get to. The fuel pickup isn't quite at the bottom of the tank, it's a flat-bottomed tank, and it's fairly wide, so the pump runs dry before the tank is properly empty. My WD21's the same way. It's a 21 gallon tank, but it can only use maybe 16 of that.

+1 for the locked up fan, that's not helping your MPG. If it's still low after that, start checking sensors. I'd hazard a guess at a temp sensor or primary oxygen sensor, but I don't know the VQ very well.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting because yeah it's pretty much been that way since I've had it.  The gauge though is not exactly cut in dry in terms of what's halfway because of that section at the very top dedicated to just overheating so when you say halfway you mean within the first section with the obvious notches on the top and bottom?  The transmission only seems to struggle between the 1st and 2nd gear otherwise it's pretty streamline maybe a tiny bit sluggish on 2-3 under heavy acceleration.  That's a little bogus though the tank isn't funneled in any way in order to get your money's worth.  My question is than how do you guys calculate gas mileage and is it a possibility my float in my gas tank is faulty?  Regardless I do agree with you guys on the fan clutch probably being my main priority as I'm sure if it's faulty it's sapping up mpg and power.  Today it was 27 degrees in the morning so definitely cold but the fan seemed to do it's thing as per usual and took about 10 minutes from starting the engine (with driving) for it to get to operating temp.  Something else I discovered though from some technicians at my work (I work at a dealership) the ac compressor clutch seems to have slight in and outwards play.  It also is pretty coated in rust where it resides directly behind a radiator hose and the hose is also coated in rust which means that could also be a culprit for squealing.  Whatever vibration is going on is causing the rust on the clutch to spray all over the rubber hose so maybe? What's a solid way to test if my fan clutch is faulty because the oem one is not cheap.  Finally it could be a problem with the thermostat which I've read is supposed to fail while locked open which would also make sense so I'm running in circles as anyone can probably tell.  Any ideas as to my next step?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Something I think I should mention again is when the engine is cold, if I spin the fan with a descent force it'll spin about 1/7 to maybe a 1/4 of a revolution being rough estimates.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not exactly mine doesn't have that gear selector display in between the tachometer and speedometer.  I can't see everything so I don't know if the rest is identical but my temp guage is on the very right side.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not exactly mine doesn't have that gear selector display in between the tachometer and speedometer.  I can't see everything so I don't know if the rest is identical but my temp guage is on the very right side.

Mine is on the right but I don’t have a section for overheating and I have a lot of little lines for measuring the temp. I will take a picture after I get out of school
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Let me try this, posting it from tapatalk.

4bbabb87849938939951c98b3fab5435.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah I don’t have that over heating section, but that’s exactly where mine sits as well. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it higher
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...