Queko426

Ok so (long post).. My lovely car started acting up last week. Its started on my way home from work, on the freeway (in traffic), it started to choke up, wanting to turn off, and the coolant temp was super high, almost in the red area, and the check Engine light started Flashing! I made it home with all of those symptoms, it had a bad smell, kinda like gasoline but also kinda like burnt oil,and i let it cool down for about 3 hours. I took it back out for a drive to see if anything changed, and it seemed fine for the first like 2 miles, then i saw the temp starting to rise again, and again the check engine light flashing, and everything else. So i went back home and started searching for answers. I thought i had found the answer, my cats were clogged/blocked. I ordered some high flow cats, took it to the shop to get them welded, and they tell me that my cats are fine. So i finally go to autozone to get a scan, i got o2 sensors, and random misfires in mutiple cylinders. So i have been searching for an answer and some people say spark plugs, others say ignition coils, others say fuel system, or worse case, the cylinders are bad and basically my motor is dead. Anybody that can help me? If i take it to my mechanic, i will waste money just so that he can look at it, and i dont want him to tear my engine apart if its not even worth it.

Urambo Tauro

Welcome!

You kept driving with it overheating? How was the coolant level?

Queko426

Thank you!
It was not over heating, almost there it was still under the "normal" range. But at the very very top. I had just filled the coolant the day prior, and after i got home and let it cool down, it was still full.

Daehawk

Bad radiator fan / relay
Bad thermostat
Clogged radiator
Still smell gas? Running too lean

Urambo Tauro

+1^
Ah, ok, I misread. The "super high" temperature is a bit concerning, but as long as it stayed out of the red, you should be okay there. Full coolant is certainly a good sign.

Cooling systems are pretty straightforward, but since you've got some misfiring going on too, I'm not quite sure where to start diagnosing. The problems could be related, or it could be a coincidence. You may want to check the fuel pressure and ignition components, maybe also look for a vacuum leak that could cause a lean condition. Any other symptoms that might help narrow things down?

Queko426

Yea it's confusing because they're bpth kinda separate problems, but happening at the same time. I have not driven the car since my run to the shop to check the cats, which was on Friday of last week, but that's pretty much all the things that i have noticed. Like I said it tries to choke, especially trying to move after a complete stop (it is a manual), I have not had problems trying to crank up, at idle everything seems normal, if I rev it in neutral everything responds normal, good air flow, healthy exhaust sound, when i start to drive it is when everything happens

98v6usr

Your mufflers can clog up too not just your cats and it can cause some of those issues. If they are it won't let your car go above a certain speed.

dawson1112

This^^

Except, I believe your smelling gas because the car went into limp mode and started cutting ignition spark and adding fuel, in an attempt to cool down the combustion.

I wouldn't rely on that factory gauge to give me an accurate reading on engine temp. The PCM will attempt to cool down the engine if it starts to get to hot, eventually it will cut all ignition an fuel and the car will die.

Get your over heating problem fixed and I think youll be golden.