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Sluggish Spyder

8K views 42 replies 9 participants last post by  fosgatenut03 
#1 ·
I am cruisin' in a '99 Spyder GS that I got from my brother, which he had not driven it in the 9 months prior to my acquisition of it drove because of the same issue I am about to describe.

Basically, from a stand still, there is a chance that the car will sputter a lot and achieve a top speed of about 2 miles an hour (literally.) It does it hot, it does it cold, it will run fine for a half hour and then act up, it is basically random. It actually stalled once crossing a 4-lane street once, which I would gladly blame on my foot slipping off the clutch or something like that, but this is an automatic.

It pops a P0170 code, Fuel Trim Malfunction (Bank 1).

We have replaced spark plugs, wires, MAF, O2 sensors, checked the ignition timing, intake and exhaust manifolds appear to be fine. My brother says I should replace the ECU, but what does he know? He could never fix it.

The last time I changed the oil, I thought the oil smelled distinctly like gas, but I have a really bad sense of smell and I could be crazy.

On a side note, it leaks oil too, not sure wear from, and it does not seem to leave any major spots behind, but no oil on the dipstick today, and I changed the oil not even a thousand miles ago.

Any advice, suggestions, comments are greatly appreciated.
 
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#2 ·
Sad thing you checked everything besides fuel??? what about fuel pump, injectors, see if injectors are leaking, do a leakdown test. Fuel rail can be bad? Dont know much bout the 4g motor in that car but what about the fpr? anything that has to do with fuel because what you listed was all air or spark or timing but none of it was fuel components.
 
#3 ·
Oh right, we did replace the injectors, I forgot about that. I have the old ones sitting on the table behind me. I will have to look into a leakdown test, as this is the first time I have heard of it, lol. I am more of a computer guy than a car guy.
 
#5 ·
Short of going to the stealership and getting bent over the barrel for an FPR, who qualify as a "known good" maker of FPRs?
Searching around online for Spyder GS parts is like pulling teeth, and there are too many "universal" parts to shake a stick at.
 
#10 ·
Could still be the fuel pump, but yeah, the regulator sounds more like the problem. I have a spare sitting around here. No difference between auto and manual. PM me privately if you want to buy it. Could also be an ECU issue, although it isn't really a problem typically with our cars.
 
#11 ·
Okay, I was just wondering, Car-Part.com had one in Cali for $35. but it specifically said "MT", so I thought I would ask.

On a side note, a couple things I forget to mention originally, if it even matters:
When it is running decent, it idles (in neutral) at about 1,200 RPM.
Also, when you do drive it, when you finally get it up past 3,000 RPM, it runs like a charm, like nothing was ever wrong.

Oh, yeah, I also found a used ECU on Car-Part that is in Phoenix for $75.
 
#12 ·
Thinking out loud here... Another possibility would be the MAS. It's the same one as the 2G turbo, so they are typically not too hard to find. I would think you'd trip a different code in the ECU if it was the MAS however.
 
#13 ·
Yeah, I thought so too, and it has been replaced once ($400 eesh), like a P0100, Volume Air Flow circuit (according to troublecodes.net).

I am almost ready to find a steep cliff to push this thing off of, bleh, but only after I hit the last resort after FPR, rail, and pump: ECU.
 
#19 ·
I know john from Graveyard personally he should give you a good deal. Apart from the fuel issue you should check into the EGR. You said it runs fine over 3000 which makes sense because your EGR runs while cruising. If it were to be running at idle it would cause a rich condition, and it would also explain the intermittent problem. Just a thought.
 
#20 ·
PROZIUM451 said:
Apart from the fuel issue you should check into the EGR. You said it runs fine over 3000 which makes sense because your EGR runs while cruising. If it were to be running at idle it would cause a rich condition, and it would also explain the intermittent problem. Just a thought.
I will break out the ol' shop manual in the morning and mess with it.
 
#21 ·
You could just go to slowboyracing.com and get an aeromotive AFPR and set it to 43.5 PSI
 
#22 ·
Running log as I do things...

EGR valve is crusty and disgusting, this must be what they mean by excessive carbon deposits. Cleaning...
And, clean. Seems to work fine as well.

With a vacuum unit on the throttle body EGR vacuum nipple, the vacuum should remain constant while you slowly raise the engine speed. When I do it, it remains fairly constant, fluxes a little, unless you cram the gas, then the pressure takes a dive, which I would assume to be normal.

Sucky Cellphone Video Here.

According to the book, the EGR Solenoid should maintain vacuum (off the nipple by the harness connection) with no voltage applied, which it does not.
Also, the book says that the solenoid should have 36-44 ohms resistance between the terminals, but I get almost 71.
 
#23 ·
I was going to update my last post, but either I am blind, of there is no edit button on it anymore...

Anyway, the stealership wants $128.72 for an EGR valve (IF I were to replace it, but it seems fine.) and $62.58 for the EGR solenoid, which according to the shop manual, is not working properly.

The solenoid is difficult to find on car-part.com, since they do not really have an emissions control category. DSMGraveyard does not have one on the site, so I emailed them. Lastly, DSM Trader is closed to new registrations, so I cannot look there.

I may have to call the local car heaps to see if they have any Spyders floating around.

On a side note, I decided to retest the solenoid...
Thy Divine Shoppe Manual said:
d. For 2.4L engines, compare the following:
e. With battery voltage not applied, vacuum should be maintained.
f. With battery voltage applied, vacuum should leak.
Now, given that information, I would be lead to believe that, without voltage, no air should pass through the solenoid, and with voltage applied, air would pass through.
Correct me if I am wrong.
However, mine does the exact opposite, but then again, I could be a moron.
 
#24 ·
just make sure your putting the vacuum on the right side.
 
#26 ·
Unplug the vacuum line on the EGR valve and plug it. If you still have the problem, then neither are at fault, and you just saved yourself some money.
 
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