I own a white '99 Catera Sport. I bought it used 1 year ago. I love this car. Some of the issues it had were no problem. But these are making me doubt my decision in getting this car. This is a little long and i apologize.
# 1 (the minor problem) I got my transmission serviced a over a year ago. They did a full engine rebuild. and i had it checked multiple time after that. Ever since the rattling happens when the car is at 1500 rpm and is louder when its cold. AAMCO diagnosed it and said mechanically the engine was fine but said that a exhaust shield may be loose (or something of that sort). Any thoughts.
# 2 (the annoying problem) This one has just recently started. Over Christmas, I was replacing one of the bulbs in the back of the instrument panel and noticed that the previous owner had hot wired the check engine light to another light. i took it to and service station and they said it was fine, and removed the wiring and all was well. I was wrong. Three weeks ago my check engine came on, and come to find it was a dead oxygen sensor. so i gave a universal oxygen sensor to a service station and they put it in for me. Well two days later (yesterday) the check engine light came back on. Did they screw up the repair or is there a deeper problem.
# 3 (shitty) In the past month, i have been smelling a burning rubber smell from my engine and through my AC when after its been on. And the part that worries me is that I live in Blacksburg, Va and it gets quite cold here and my car has 57,000 miles and is nearing the 60k mark. Well shit is what I'm thinking, now i have to replace my timing belt. Should I check to see if its the timing belt? And how much would that repair run for?
All these things are making me doubt keeping the car. I pains me to say that. I really want to keep it. Its a rare vehicle (especially as a '99 Sport version) and it is a awesome car. My friends and family like it and are jealous. Plus I've put some money in it too. I bought a intake for it and replaced the old headlamps with projection lamps. With the money i think I'm going to have to spend on this car, i feel that i should just sell it and get a car that will not have any problems. So first what is wrong with my car and second, WHAT THE HELL SHOULD I DO!
1), Check the down pipe heat shields....when they get old they corrode and rattle....a stainless steel jubilee clip around them normaly sorts that little issue...
2) Universal oxygen sensors are very poor and from my experience do not last......try to obtain a genuine one or get one from a breaker (they VERY rarely fail)
3) Cam belt and tensioner MUST be replaced every 40K miles or 4 years.....
My advice....get a second hand 02 sensor, get the cambelt and tensioner changed (its a service item!) and bung some jubilee clips on the downpipe heat shields....
On the oxygen sensor:
Do remember there are 4 of them (2 in front of cats, 2 behind the cats)...since you only mentioned one...did they replace the correct one?
Well i went back to the service station and they said that they replaced the right one (it was obvious cause the old one apparently was barely screwed in and was sorta rotating around in there). Is there a way I can check to see if the BOSCH sensor I got is crap (other than my check engine light)?
One interesting thing is that after they replaced that sensor, i haven't really heard that rattling noise. Maybe that loose sensor was the problem? But I'll keep my ears open in case I'm wrong.
Well i went back to the service station and they said that they replaced the right one (it was obvious cause the old one apparently was barely screwed in and was sorta rotating around in there). Is there a way I can check to see if the BOSCH sensor I got is crap (other than my check engine light)?
One interesting thing is that after they replaced that sensor, i haven't really heard that rattling noise. Maybe that loose sensor was the problem? But I'll keep my ears open in case I'm wrong.
Yes,a scan tool will view the live data on each of the sensors. A point of caution, it is imperative that you scan the system before you start throwing parts at any engine repair involving a check eng light. So often the sensor is not the real problem. just my .02.
Ok. well i didn't get to AutoZone because the check engine light turned off on its own. Strange Right!? Well this morning it turned back on. I'm no car/Catera expert, but is this strange behavior. It's a universal Bosch sensor, and I've heard that they are not good in the long run. Is it reasonable for it to crap out after only a few days? My biggest worry right now is that I'm going end up with an electrical problem. Would a scan tool tell me if it were?
Ok. well i didn't get to AutoZone because the check engine light turned off on its own. Strange Right!? Well this morning it turned back on. I'm no car/Catera expert, but is this strange behavior. It's a universal Bosch sensor, and I've heard that they are not good in the long run. Is it reasonable for it to crap out after only a few days? My biggest worry right now is that I'm going end up with an electrical problem. Would a scan tool tell me if it were?
relax a bit, the check engine light on will not cause an electrical problem, sure you should fix it but diagnos the problem first. I have not seen what AZone does but if all it is is a code reader you need more then that. Get someone who knows what they are doing and run a scan tool on the system, if its a faulty O2 sensor they can read its activity and isolate the correct one, otherwise your just guessing. A code reader and a scan tool are two different tools.
