It is a 1996 Chrysler Cirrus LX 2.5L 6cyl. With 118000 miles. When we test drove it it seemed to run fine. The only thing that we noticed was a whining noise from the engine which got louder as you accelerated. However the previous owner pointed out that one of the air inputs was missing a gasket and two bolts. He even moved it around and showed us that it made it sound better when it was in place. We figured this an easy fix and other than that it seemed fine. My father who knows a little about cars said that this wouldn't be much of an issue. Myself I am clueless for the most part.
After three days of driving the car under the same conditions as we had trouble finding the bolts we needed, the cars troubles began. The real issue is that when you first press the gas to accelerate it is sluggish and acts as if it is about to stall but doesn't. After around 30 seconds of this suddenly it would go fine like it was prior to the problem. It would accelerate up to 55 with no problem. However as soon as you stopped again the same problem happened again.
We talked to my neighbor who knows a lot about cars and he felt confident that he could correct the problem. He hooked a pocket scanner to the car and only came up with one code(air mass flow sensor). He felt strongly that we needed to replace the crank shaft position sensor after doing some research online. We did this and noticed a very small change. At that point his scanner no longer pulled that code, it now pulled three codes having to do with the throttle. This led him to believe it to be the throttle position sensor.
After the first part not affecting much I was determined to get a better idea from researching online as well. After several hours of doing so I found several different possibilities including the throttle position sensor. Also I came across information about getting codes from the check engine light which showed up 33(A/C clutch relay)(in which the air does not work and from what I found was a common error in that case) and code 24(throttle position sensor not getting correct voltage). This sold me that it must be the throttle position sensor, so we replaced it s soon as we could get the part. We noticed a big change, however the problem still remains, just not quite as bad.
Another thing I have noticed is that when I accelerate I really didn't notice it shifting gears. My neighbor said that he thought it was shifting fine. The dashboard gauges don't always work and when I drove it they were, while when he did they weren't. When I drove the RPM gauge showed a steady increase up to just about the red line driving at about 55 MPH. I am not positive if it was reading correctly, or if it was or was not shifting. It didn't really seem to shift like the other cars that I have driven.
There are a few other things that we have noticed in trying to figure out this problem. The car seems to be leaking some kind of fluid to the muffler causing smoking from it burning off, when we checked the spark plugs they were getting a spark however, we could only get to three of them, and two of them were covered with oil. Our neighbor said this meant that it needed new valve cover seals. Supposedly the person we got the car from just did this so I thought maybe he just was not able to get the oil out of the chamber and thought that it would burn off over time. Also the battery terminal only has a few threads and has to be tightened just so to stay tight, it is also a bit rusty. We planned on replacing the bolt and cleaning up the terminal today but when we went to start the car it didn't start, it just clicked. Assume the battery is low, and just needs to be jumped.
Anyway that is where we stand now, frustrated and back without a ride. Our neighbor has helped so much I hate to ask him for more help, though I am very grateful as I am sure if I had those parts put in at a shop it would have cost quite a bit. Still unless I just go with the 10-15 other things I have read it may be I am at a loss.
Hopefully someone can pinpoint the problem from what I have said. If I could give a donation I would, but we really need every penny for whatever else we need to do to get the car running. As soon as we have money to donate we will, this site is definitely deserving as it really seems to be the most helpful one out there. If anymore information is needed I will do my best to get it to you.
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Monday, May 31st, 2010 AT 1:53 PM
