help

steviee7

Hi 2 all users of this great site, i am a new user and hav found a lot of info from it, however i am now at a loss as wot 2 try next regarding my dads sri and why its idling erratically, is hesitant on acceleration and misfires now and again which it seems is nothing new to the car, it started last year with engine management light coming on and car was taken to garage and new egr valve fitted and the car was fine for 6 months, thn same thng happened again so i started to investigate possible causes and discovered this site. I have read almost all posts regarding this problem and carried out remedies given regarding idle problems misfires etc, i have cleaned egr valve cleaned twice, made a blanking plate and fitted it reset ecu twice, throttle body cleaned twice, cleaned out all hoses, then last week car went into limp mode i take it thats what it was and the TC light came on also the engine sounded as if it was only firing on three cylinders, i managed to get it home just, the following day it was taken 2 garage and diagnostic test done which showed no faults the car idles erratically anywhere between 400 & 1000 RPM, is hesitant when accelerating wen foot put down it is also consuming a hell of a lot more fuel thn normal, i have tried using decent fuel, the pre-cat was removed while new flexi-pipe was fitted but i didnt do it so i am unclear as to whether it was done properly as shown elsewhere on this site, i am at a loss as what 2 try next to fix it and its starting to frustrate me can anyone give me any ideas what else can be causing car to run like a bag o sh...

Matt

Welcome to the site, however, please help other memebers to answer your post by breaking it up into Sentences

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Sjdickso

Maybe the lamba sensor / coil pack? Sure some one more technical may be able to help.

steviee7

having read threw more posts coil pack or lamda sensor could be the cause, lamda sensor doesnt always show up fault code it seems if faulty so i will try that first

vocky

Sjdickso said:
Maybe the lamba sensor / coil pack?

as above, but try the coil pack first cheers..

steviee7

i have just found out there is 2 sensors a front and back, is it the front sensor that controls the mixture and could be faulty and giving lumpy idle excessive fuel consumption etc?

vocky

the upper sensor controls the mixture, the rear sensor checks the cat is working

steviee7

where exactly is the mixture sensor situated about and is it easy enough to get to and remove using jack?

vocky

it sits between the manifold and cat, very easy to get to from under the car

steviee7

thanx vocky you`ve been great help, was out in car couple of days ago wen egm light came on along with tc light and car sounded like tractor and wouldnt rev higher than 2000rpm i at first thought the timing chain was about to break as it was ticking noise but when listening to engine the noise wasnt coming from chain area, it was coming more from rocker cover, exhaust manifold area, my dad took it to garage and mechanic wasnt sure what it was either and said he would need to get it in next week to have a proper look see, would coil pack make tractor like sound if it was faulty i wouldnt have thought so but noises are from same area

vocky

could be a cracked exhaust manifold, part is about £100 new from the dealer

steviee7

funny you should say that, i removed heatshield last week and found manifold bolt werent tight so tightened them by nearly 1/4 turn, i am now thinking i have overtightened them and manifold expands when hot yes which could cause it to crack if overtightened, am i thinking right?

vocky

the exhaust manifolds normally crack between number two and number three, easy to spot, just look for a dark line

Spooks

Vocky,

When you say crack, i assumed it would be a normal sort of fracture line, when i looked at mine some months ago, it had a split (about 2-3mm wide) between 2 and 3 but looked as though it was cast like that as it has clean/square ends, should it be together all the way to the top (if that makes sense!)?????

MikeS

they put gaps in the manifold to stop cracking but it dont work 😛

supposed modification to that of the early ecotec manifolds that cracked on 1&2 due to excessive heat

steviee7

been workin away from home and thought i would be coming back to a motor purring like a kitten again but no come back to car still in same position and some prick stuck a knife in front tyre, dont have to say how pissed of i am, more to the point the mechanic who was ment to have it sorted obviously doesnt want to touch it so does anyone no of a mechanic in fife area who can be trusted to sort the motor. i have been advised not to drive it which makes matters worse anybody help, much appreciated

steviee7

cars in vauxhall garage and its not pretty, it seems the timing chain wasneeding done and its lead to new valves needing fitted all in all its going to cost about £1500 to fix bit of a nightmare really.

steviee7

Update to the ongoing problem which resulted in a timing chain tensioner or guide being sheared of resulting in bent valves head needing machined and i take it the broken bolt from tensioner, all the work has been done and got car back only to discover oil leak coming head gasket so car was taken back as the work came with warranty, had the car back a week and noticed it is using excessive amount of oil so much that the oil light came on yesterday so its away back into garage again. what i`d like to know is why the tensioner sheared of in the first place could that be down to the timing chain oil jet if thats what its called and from what i have read on this site seems to block, could that have been the initial problem as if thats blocked and the chain isnt being lubricated its only a matter of time before something gives?

john2666

Hi Steve, firstly welcome to the site, on the earlier Z22SE engines it was a poor set up for the timing chain, the oil feed was insufficient due to the pipe and they clogged easily causing tensioner/timing chain failure, If this was the initial problem for you it would have progressed quite quickly, it is possible that the tensioner was failing which allowed the chain to jump a cog which would cause it to run like a bag of sh*t and then jump another cog or two and you are then suffering damaged valves then low or no compression then complete engine failure. £1500 isn't too bad if vauxhall are doing it. Does that include full chain kit replacement and head and valves etc ?

steviee7

Hi John, all my suspicions about what was wrong was pretty much spot on evrything u mentioned in your post is what happened, i told him when i first heard the ticking noise i thought the timing chain should get checked from what i had read on this site, if he had listened i presume it could have prevented, he received a phone call from the garage that it needed new engine and needless to say was bit seek as we say in scotland so went out on the piss lol i said i look into his options the mechanic at the garage said he would be better of trading it in against a motor from the garage problem is he likes the car, i have only ever seen a few of the black saloon sri 150 and it is a nice looking motor so is more than reluctant say goodbye to it and its cost him £750 for work done. Now comes the hard part of finding an good engine because i dont think hes to keen on getting the garage to fit a new one because it will cost an arm and a leg. I know a good mechanic who would fit it if i can source an engine. Thanks for info you gave in your reply john I am going print this page and show him it just to rub salts in his wouds, I`m sure i seen one for sale on this site. Thanks again for your help.