96 LHS problem

Hello,
My sisters '96 LHS with a 3.5l and 133000 mi. was running fine until a fill
up. She says she was going down the interstate and the car began coughing,
and missing, until it finally coughed big and died; no more than 10 miles
down the road from the fill-up. It would not re-start. I suspected bad gas.
We towed the car home and got it running with a couple of bottles of Heet,
and a touch of starting fluid. The car continued to run rough and I was
thinking that any water would work it's way out eventually. After about 10
mins. of running at about 2500 rpm, I began to smell something HOT, and
looked underneath the car for any dripping. What I saw was a cherry red
exhaust, pre convertor, and shut it down. This leads me to beleive that the
convertor is plugged. I find it strange that this thing just plugged up all
at once. I'm not set up to do a convertor swap, so a muffler shop will be in
the future. Anyone got any insight on this? Am I barking up the wrong tree?
Could it still be water in the gas? Should I go ahead and change the fuel
filter first? Looking for help here. Thanks a bunch.
--
jeff

If the convertor was cherry red I would not suspect a stopped up convertor,
Normally a stopped up convertor will just not run, something is dumping alot
of raw fuel down the exhaust system or it just isnt being burnt by the
spark, the convertor is doing its job by trying to burn it up and that is
why you see it cherry red. If the problem isnt fixed then it will cause the
convertor to melt down, I would not replace the convertor untill further
investigation is done, You may have a faulty injector, injector circuit
that is causing it to stay open, a cylinder misfire or multiple cyl misfire,
Was the check engine lamp on?
Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech
"JWald" > wrote in message
...
> Hello,
> My sisters '96 LHS with a 3.5l and 133000 mi. was running fine until a
fill
> up. She says she was going down the interstate and the car began coughing,
> and missing, until it finally coughed big and died; no more than 10 miles
> down the road from the fill-up. It would not re-start. I suspected bad
gas.
> We towed the car home and got it running with a couple of bottles of Heet,
> and a touch of starting fluid. The car continued to run rough and I was
> thinking that any water would work it's way out eventually. After about 10
> mins. of running at about 2500 rpm, I began to smell something HOT, and
> looked underneath the car for any dripping. What I saw was a cherry red
> exhaust, pre convertor, and shut it down. This leads me to beleive that
the
> convertor is plugged. I find it strange that this thing just plugged up
all
> at once. I'm not set up to do a convertor swap, so a muffler shop will be
in
> the future. Anyone got any insight on this? Am I barking up the wrong
tree?
> Could it still be water in the gas? Should I go ahead and change the fuel
> filter first? Looking for help here. Thanks a bunch.
> --
> jeff
>
>

If the convertor was cherry red I would not suspect a stopped up convertor,
Normally a stopped up convertor will just not run, something is dumping alot
of raw fuel down the exhaust system or it just isnt being burnt by the
spark, the convertor is doing its job by trying to burn it up and that is
why you see it cherry red. If the problem isnt fixed then it will cause the
convertor to melt down, I would not replace the convertor untill further
investigation is done, You may have a faulty injector, injector circuit
that is causing it to stay open, a cylinder misfire or multiple cyl misfire,
Was the check engine lamp on?
Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech
"JWald" > wrote in message
...
> Hello,
> My sisters '96 LHS with a 3.5l and 133000 mi. was running fine until a
fill
> up. She says she was going down the interstate and the car began coughing,
> and missing, until it finally coughed big and died; no more than 10 miles
> down the road from the fill-up. It would not re-start. I suspected bad
gas.
> We towed the car home and got it running with a couple of bottles of Heet,
> and a touch of starting fluid. The car continued to run rough and I was
> thinking that any water would work it's way out eventually. After about 10
> mins. of running at about 2500 rpm, I began to smell something HOT, and
> looked underneath the car for any dripping. What I saw was a cherry red
> exhaust, pre convertor, and shut it down. This leads me to beleive that
the
> convertor is plugged. I find it strange that this thing just plugged up
all
> at once. I'm not set up to do a convertor swap, so a muffler shop will be
in
> the future. Anyone got any insight on this? Am I barking up the wrong
tree?
> Could it still be water in the gas? Should I go ahead and change the fuel
> filter first? Looking for help here. Thanks a bunch.
> --
> jeff
>
>

Glenn,
Thanks for the reply. Yes, as the car was restarted and idled(forced @
approx. 2500 rpm), the check engine light was on, and it would blink off
momentarily when the engine would hesitate. As to the convertor being red
hot, it was actually the exhaust pipe from the block at the bend as it goes
horizontal to the convertor that I saw as being red. As I knew that wasn't
right, I jumped back up to shut the car off, missing the convertor color. I
might add that it was dark out when all this happened, and I don't know if
both exhausts pipes from the block were red because I was looking from the
drivers side. I just went out to check it in the light and the exhaust seems
to be a duel exhaust into a single convertor(located in relation to where
the console inside the car is located) to a single pipe that splits back
into a duel tail pipe. Is the Heet I dumped in there a problem? The engine
did seem to be running lean; kind of pingy. I attributed that to the
water/convertor issue.
--
jwald
"maxpower" > wrote in message
...
> If the convertor was cherry red I would not suspect a stopped up
> convertor,
> Normally a stopped up convertor will just not run, something is dumping
> alot
> of raw fuel down the exhaust system or it just isnt being burnt by the
> spark, the convertor is doing its job by trying to burn it up and that is
> why you see it cherry red. If the problem isnt fixed then it will cause
> the
> convertor to melt down, I would not replace the convertor untill further
> investigation is done, You may have a faulty injector, injector circuit
> that is causing it to stay open, a cylinder misfire or multiple cyl
> misfire,
> Was the check engine lamp on?
> Glenn Beasley
> Chrysler Tech
> "JWald" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Hello,
>> My sisters '96 LHS with a 3.5l and 133000 mi. was running fine until a
> fill
>> up. She says she was going down the interstate and the car began
>> coughing,
>> and missing, until it finally coughed big and died; no more than 10 miles
>> down the road from the fill-up. It would not re-start. I suspected bad
> gas.
>> We towed the car home and got it running with a couple of bottles of
>> Heet,
>> and a touch of starting fluid. The car continued to run rough and I was
>> thinking that any water would work it's way out eventually. After about
>> 10
>> mins. of running at about 2500 rpm, I began to smell something HOT, and
>> looked underneath the car for any dripping. What I saw was a cherry red
>> exhaust, pre convertor, and shut it down. This leads me to beleive that
> the
>> convertor is plugged. I find it strange that this thing just plugged up
> all
>> at once. I'm not set up to do a convertor swap, so a muffler shop will be
> in
>> the future. Anyone got any insight on this? Am I barking up the wrong
> tree?
>> Could it still be water in the gas? Should I go ahead and change the fuel
>> filter first? Looking for help here. Thanks a bunch.
>> --
>> jeff
>>
>>
>
>

Glenn,
Thanks for the reply. Yes, as the car was restarted and idled(forced @
approx. 2500 rpm), the check engine light was on, and it would blink off
momentarily when the engine would hesitate. As to the convertor being red
hot, it was actually the exhaust pipe from the block at the bend as it goes
horizontal to the convertor that I saw as being red. As I knew that wasn't
right, I jumped back up to shut the car off, missing the convertor color. I
might add that it was dark out when all this happened, and I don't know if
both exhausts pipes from the block were red because I was looking from the
drivers side. I just went out to check it in the light and the exhaust seems
to be a duel exhaust into a single convertor(located in relation to where
the console inside the car is located) to a single pipe that splits back
into a duel tail pipe. Is the Heet I dumped in there a problem? The engine
did seem to be running lean; kind of pingy. I attributed that to the
water/convertor issue.
--
jwald
"maxpower" > wrote in message
...
> If the convertor was cherry red I would not suspect a stopped up
> convertor,
> Normally a stopped up convertor will just not run, something is dumping
> alot
> of raw fuel down the exhaust system or it just isnt being burnt by the
> spark, the convertor is doing its job by trying to burn it up and that is
> why you see it cherry red. If the problem isnt fixed then it will cause
> the
> convertor to melt down, I would not replace the convertor untill further
> investigation is done, You may have a faulty injector, injector circuit
> that is causing it to stay open, a cylinder misfire or multiple cyl
> misfire,
> Was the check engine lamp on?
> Glenn Beasley
> Chrysler Tech
> "JWald" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Hello,
>> My sisters '96 LHS with a 3.5l and 133000 mi. was running fine until a
> fill
>> up. She says she was going down the interstate and the car began
>> coughing,
>> and missing, until it finally coughed big and died; no more than 10 miles
>> down the road from the fill-up. It would not re-start. I suspected bad
> gas.
>> We towed the car home and got it running with a couple of bottles of
>> Heet,
>> and a touch of starting fluid. The car continued to run rough and I was
>> thinking that any water would work it's way out eventually. After about
>> 10
>> mins. of running at about 2500 rpm, I began to smell something HOT, and
>> looked underneath the car for any dripping. What I saw was a cherry red
>> exhaust, pre convertor, and shut it down. This leads me to beleive that
> the
>> convertor is plugged. I find it strange that this thing just plugged up
> all
>> at once. I'm not set up to do a convertor swap, so a muffler shop will be
> in
>> the future. Anyone got any insight on this? Am I barking up the wrong
> tree?
>> Could it still be water in the gas? Should I go ahead and change the fuel
>> filter first? Looking for help here. Thanks a bunch.
>> --
>> jeff
>>
>>
>
>

Whatever you poured in the tank wont hurt it, If the check engine lite was
going off and on as you were driving it, that indicates a cylinder misfire
code.You say it was pinging, that may be a faulty crank or cam sensor
causing that and the misfire at the same time. Because that is the timing of
the engine spark. I would have the PCM scanned for all fault codes. With
that many miles on the vehicle......and if they were never replaced.......I
would replace both cam and crank sensors even if the codes are not related
to the problem. When was the last time this car had plugs and wires
installed?.
"JWald" > wrote in message
...
>
> Glenn,
> Thanks for the reply. Yes, as the car was restarted and idled(forced @
> approx. 2500 rpm), the check engine light was on, and it would blink off
> momentarily when the engine would hesitate. As to the convertor being red
> hot, it was actually the exhaust pipe from the block at the bend as it
goes
> horizontal to the convertor that I saw as being red. As I knew that wasn't
> right, I jumped back up to shut the car off, missing the convertor color.
I
> might add that it was dark out when all this happened, and I don't know if
> both exhausts pipes from the block were red because I was looking from the
> drivers side. I just went out to check it in the light and the exhaust
seems
> to be a duel exhaust into a single convertor(located in relation to where
> the console inside the car is located) to a single pipe that splits back
> into a duel tail pipe. Is the Heet I dumped in there a problem? The engine
> did seem to be running lean; kind of pingy. I attributed that to the
> water/convertor issue.
> --
> jwald
> "maxpower" > wrote in message
> ...
> > If the convertor was cherry red I would not suspect a stopped up
> > convertor,
> > Normally a stopped up convertor will just not run, something is dumping
> > alot
> > of raw fuel down the exhaust system or it just isnt being burnt by the
> > spark, the convertor is doing its job by trying to burn it up and that
is
> > why you see it cherry red. If the problem isnt fixed then it will cause
> > the
> > convertor to melt down, I would not replace the convertor untill further
> > investigation is done, You may have a faulty injector, injector circuit
> > that is causing it to stay open, a cylinder misfire or multiple cyl
> > misfire,
> > Was the check engine lamp on?
> > Glenn Beasley
> > Chrysler Tech
> > "JWald" > wrote in message
> > ...
> >> Hello,
> >> My sisters '96 LHS with a 3.5l and 133000 mi. was running fine until a
> > fill
> >> up. She says she was going down the interstate and the car began
> >> coughing,
> >> and missing, until it finally coughed big and died; no more than 10
miles
> >> down the road from the fill-up. It would not re-start. I suspected bad
> > gas.
> >> We towed the car home and got it running with a couple of bottles of
> >> Heet,
> >> and a touch of starting fluid. The car continued to run rough and I was
> >> thinking that any water would work it's way out eventually. After about
> >> 10
> >> mins. of running at about 2500 rpm, I began to smell something HOT, and
> >> looked underneath the car for any dripping. What I saw was a cherry red
> >> exhaust, pre convertor, and shut it down. This leads me to beleive that
> > the
> >> convertor is plugged. I find it strange that this thing just plugged up
> > all
> >> at once. I'm not set up to do a convertor swap, so a muffler shop will
be
> > in
> >> the future. Anyone got any insight on this? Am I barking up the wrong
> > tree?
> >> Could it still be water in the gas? Should I go ahead and change the
fuel
> >> filter first? Looking for help here. Thanks a bunch.
> >> --
> >> jeff
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
>
>

Whatever you poured in the tank wont hurt it, If the check engine lite was
going off and on as you were driving it, that indicates a cylinder misfire
code.You say it was pinging, that may be a faulty crank or cam sensor
causing that and the misfire at the same time. Because that is the timing of
the engine spark. I would have the PCM scanned for all fault codes. With
that many miles on the vehicle......and if they were never replaced.......I
would replace both cam and crank sensors even if the codes are not related
to the problem. When was the last time this car had plugs and wires
installed?.
"JWald" > wrote in message
...
>
> Glenn,
> Thanks for the reply. Yes, as the car was restarted and idled(forced @
> approx. 2500 rpm), the check engine light was on, and it would blink off
> momentarily when the engine would hesitate. As to the convertor being red
> hot, it was actually the exhaust pipe from the block at the bend as it
goes
> horizontal to the convertor that I saw as being red. As I knew that wasn't
> right, I jumped back up to shut the car off, missing the convertor color.
I
> might add that it was dark out when all this happened, and I don't know if
> both exhausts pipes from the block were red because I was looking from the
> drivers side. I just went out to check it in the light and the exhaust
seems
> to be a duel exhaust into a single convertor(located in relation to where
> the console inside the car is located) to a single pipe that splits back
> into a duel tail pipe. Is the Heet I dumped in there a problem? The engine
> did seem to be running lean; kind of pingy. I attributed that to the
> water/convertor issue.
> --
> jwald
> "maxpower" > wrote in message
> ...
> > If the convertor was cherry red I would not suspect a stopped up
> > convertor,
> > Normally a stopped up convertor will just not run, something is dumping
> > alot
> > of raw fuel down the exhaust system or it just isnt being burnt by the
> > spark, the convertor is doing its job by trying to burn it up and that
is
> > why you see it cherry red. If the problem isnt fixed then it will cause
> > the
> > convertor to melt down, I would not replace the convertor untill further
> > investigation is done, You may have a faulty injector, injector circuit
> > that is causing it to stay open, a cylinder misfire or multiple cyl
> > misfire,
> > Was the check engine lamp on?
> > Glenn Beasley
> > Chrysler Tech
> > "JWald" > wrote in message
> > ...
> >> Hello,
> >> My sisters '96 LHS with a 3.5l and 133000 mi. was running fine until a
> > fill
> >> up. She says she was going down the interstate and the car began
> >> coughing,
> >> and missing, until it finally coughed big and died; no more than 10
miles
> >> down the road from the fill-up. It would not re-start. I suspected bad
> > gas.
> >> We towed the car home and got it running with a couple of bottles of
> >> Heet,
> >> and a touch of starting fluid. The car continued to run rough and I was
> >> thinking that any water would work it's way out eventually. After about
> >> 10
> >> mins. of running at about 2500 rpm, I began to smell something HOT, and
> >> looked underneath the car for any dripping. What I saw was a cherry red
> >> exhaust, pre convertor, and shut it down. This leads me to beleive that
> > the
> >> convertor is plugged. I find it strange that this thing just plugged up
> > all
> >> at once. I'm not set up to do a convertor swap, so a muffler shop will
be
> > in
> >> the future. Anyone got any insight on this? Am I barking up the wrong
> > tree?
> >> Could it still be water in the gas? Should I go ahead and change the
fuel
> >> filter first? Looking for help here. Thanks a bunch.
> >> --
> >> jeff
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
>
>

Glenn,
Here's an update. I drove the car to town (5mi+-) to some help. Zero power,
about 20/30 mph tops with lots of engine drop out/babying. It died about 5
times, but I made it. I got the 2 into 1convertor off and found it is not
blocked; at all. What I did find was that the right bank exhaust is COLD.
Using a digital thermometer, the left exhaust, after the #1convertor, is 390
degrees. The right exhaust is 81 degrees. It also seems to be sucking air.
To put my hand over the pipe causes a vacuum. The left side is untouchable
as expected. I found no water in the gas either. What do you think now?
HELP!!
jwald


--
jwald
"maxpower" > wrote in message
...
> Whatever you poured in the tank wont hurt it, If the check engine lite was
> going off and on as you were driving it, that indicates a cylinder misfire
> code.You say it was pinging, that may be a faulty crank or cam sensor
> causing that and the misfire at the same time. Because that is the timing
> of
> the engine spark. I would have the PCM scanned for all fault codes. With
> that many miles on the vehicle......and if they were never
> replaced.......I
> would replace both cam and crank sensors even if the codes are not
> related
> to the problem. When was the last time this car had plugs and wires
> installed?.
> "JWald" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> Glenn,
>> Thanks for the reply. Yes, as the car was restarted and idled(forced @
>> approx. 2500 rpm), the check engine light was on, and it would blink off
>> momentarily when the engine would hesitate. As to the convertor being red
>> hot, it was actually the exhaust pipe from the block at the bend as it
> goes
>> horizontal to the convertor that I saw as being red. As I knew that
>> wasn't
>> right, I jumped back up to shut the car off, missing the convertor color.
> I
>> might add that it was dark out when all this happened, and I don't know
>> if
>> both exhausts pipes from the block were red because I was looking from
>> the
>> drivers side. I just went out to check it in the light and the exhaust
> seems
>> to be a duel exhaust into a single convertor(located in relation to where
>> the console inside the car is located) to a single pipe that splits back
>> into a duel tail pipe. Is the Heet I dumped in there a problem? The
>> engine
>> did seem to be running lean; kind of pingy. I attributed that to the
>> water/convertor issue.
>> --
>> jwald
>> "maxpower" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> > If the convertor was cherry red I would not suspect a stopped up
>> > convertor,
>> > Normally a stopped up convertor will just not run, something is dumping
>> > alot
>> > of raw fuel down the exhaust system or it just isnt being burnt by the
>> > spark, the convertor is doing its job by trying to burn it up and that
> is
>> > why you see it cherry red. If the problem isnt fixed then it will
>> > cause
>> > the
>> > convertor to melt down, I would not replace the convertor untill
>> > further
>> > investigation is done, You may have a faulty injector, injector
>> > circuit
>> > that is causing it to stay open, a cylinder misfire or multiple cyl
>> > misfire,
>> > Was the check engine lamp on?
>> > Glenn Beasley
>> > Chrysler Tech
>> > "JWald" > wrote in message
>> > ...
>> >> Hello,
>> >> My sisters '96 LHS with a 3.5l and 133000 mi. was running fine until
>> >> a
>> > fill
>> >> up. She says she was going down the interstate and the car began
>> >> coughing,
>> >> and missing, until it finally coughed big and died; no more than 10
> miles
>> >> down the road from the fill-up. It would not re-start. I suspected bad
>> > gas.
>> >> We towed the car home and got it running with a couple of bottles of
>> >> Heet,
>> >> and a touch of starting fluid. The car continued to run rough and I
>> >> was
>> >> thinking that any water would work it's way out eventually. After
>> >> about
>> >> 10
>> >> mins. of running at about 2500 rpm, I began to smell something HOT,
>> >> and
>> >> looked underneath the car for any dripping. What I saw was a cherry
>> >> red
>> >> exhaust, pre convertor, and shut it down. This leads me to beleive
>> >> that
>> > the
>> >> convertor is plugged. I find it strange that this thing just plugged
>> >> up
>> > all
>> >> at once. I'm not set up to do a convertor swap, so a muffler shop will
> be
>> > in
>> >> the future. Anyone got any insight on this? Am I barking up the wrong
>> > tree?
>> >> Could it still be water in the gas? Should I go ahead and change the
> fuel
>> >> filter first? Looking for help here. Thanks a bunch.
>> >> --
>> >> jeff
>> >>
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>
>

Glenn,
Here's an update. I drove the car to town (5mi+-) to some help. Zero power,
about 20/30 mph tops with lots of engine drop out/babying. It died about 5
times, but I made it. I got the 2 into 1convertor off and found it is not
blocked; at all. What I did find was that the right bank exhaust is COLD.
Using a digital thermometer, the left exhaust, after the #1convertor, is 390
degrees. The right exhaust is 81 degrees. It also seems to be sucking air.
To put my hand over the pipe causes a vacuum. The left side is untouchable
as expected. I found no water in the gas either. What do you think now?
HELP!!
jwald


--
jwald
"maxpower" > wrote in message
...
> Whatever you poured in the tank wont hurt it, If the check engine lite was
> going off and on as you were driving it, that indicates a cylinder misfire
> code.You say it was pinging, that may be a faulty crank or cam sensor
> causing that and the misfire at the same time. Because that is the timing
> of
> the engine spark. I would have the PCM scanned for all fault codes. With
> that many miles on the vehicle......and if they were never
> replaced.......I
> would replace both cam and crank sensors even if the codes are not
> related
> to the problem. When was the last time this car had plugs and wires
> installed?.
> "JWald" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> Glenn,
>> Thanks for the reply. Yes, as the car was restarted and idled(forced @
>> approx. 2500 rpm), the check engine light was on, and it would blink off
>> momentarily when the engine would hesitate. As to the convertor being red
>> hot, it was actually the exhaust pipe from the block at the bend as it
> goes
>> horizontal to the convertor that I saw as being red. As I knew that
>> wasn't
>> right, I jumped back up to shut the car off, missing the convertor color.
> I
>> might add that it was dark out when all this happened, and I don't know
>> if
>> both exhausts pipes from the block were red because I was looking from
>> the
>> drivers side. I just went out to check it in the light and the exhaust
> seems
>> to be a duel exhaust into a single convertor(located in relation to where
>> the console inside the car is located) to a single pipe that splits back
>> into a duel tail pipe. Is the Heet I dumped in there a problem? The
>> engine
>> did seem to be running lean; kind of pingy. I attributed that to the
>> water/convertor issue.
>> --
>> jwald
>> "maxpower" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> > If the convertor was cherry red I would not suspect a stopped up
>> > convertor,
>> > Normally a stopped up convertor will just not run, something is dumping
>> > alot
>> > of raw fuel down the exhaust system or it just isnt being burnt by the
>> > spark, the convertor is doing its job by trying to burn it up and that
> is
>> > why you see it cherry red. If the problem isnt fixed then it will
>> > cause
>> > the
>> > convertor to melt down, I would not replace the convertor untill
>> > further
>> > investigation is done, You may have a faulty injector, injector
>> > circuit
>> > that is causing it to stay open, a cylinder misfire or multiple cyl
>> > misfire,
>> > Was the check engine lamp on?
>> > Glenn Beasley
>> > Chrysler Tech
>> > "JWald" > wrote in message
>> > ...
>> >> Hello,
>> >> My sisters '96 LHS with a 3.5l and 133000 mi. was running fine until
>> >> a
>> > fill
>> >> up. She says she was going down the interstate and the car began
>> >> coughing,
>> >> and missing, until it finally coughed big and died; no more than 10
> miles
>> >> down the road from the fill-up. It would not re-start. I suspected bad
>> > gas.
>> >> We towed the car home and got it running with a couple of bottles of
>> >> Heet,
>> >> and a touch of starting fluid. The car continued to run rough and I
>> >> was
>> >> thinking that any water would work it's way out eventually. After
>> >> about
>> >> 10
>> >> mins. of running at about 2500 rpm, I began to smell something HOT,
>> >> and
>> >> looked underneath the car for any dripping. What I saw was a cherry
>> >> red
>> >> exhaust, pre convertor, and shut it down. This leads me to beleive
>> >> that
>> > the
>> >> convertor is plugged. I find it strange that this thing just plugged
>> >> up
>> > all
>> >> at once. I'm not set up to do a convertor swap, so a muffler shop will
> be
>> > in
>> >> the future. Anyone got any insight on this? Am I barking up the wrong
>> > tree?
>> >> Could it still be water in the gas? Should I go ahead and change the
> fuel
>> >> filter first? Looking for help here. Thanks a bunch.
>> >> --
>> >> jeff
>> >>
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>
>

what are the faults recorded??

JWald wrote:

> Glenn,
> Here's an update. I drove the car to town (5mi+-) to some help. Zero power,
> about 20/30 mph tops with lots of engine drop out/babying. It died about 5
> times, but I made it. I got the 2 into 1convertor off and found it is not
> blocked; at all. What I did find was that the right bank exhaust is COLD.
> Using a digital thermometer, the left exhaust, after the #1convertor, is 390
> degrees. The right exhaust is 81 degrees. It also seems to be sucking air.
> To put my hand over the pipe causes a vacuum. The left side is untouchable
> as expected. I found no water in the gas either. What do you think now?
> HELP!!
> jwald
>
> --
> jwald
> "maxpower" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Whatever you poured in the tank wont hurt it, If the check engine lite was
> > going off and on as you were driving it, that indicates a cylinder misfire
> > code.You say it was pinging, that may be a faulty crank or cam sensor
> > causing that and the misfire at the same time. Because that is the timing
> > of
> > the engine spark. I would have the PCM scanned for all fault codes. With
> > that many miles on the vehicle......and if they were never
> > replaced.......I
> > would replace both cam and crank sensors even if the codes are not
> > related
> > to the problem. When was the last time this car had plugs and wires
> > installed?.
> > "JWald" > wrote in message
> > ...
> >>
> >> Glenn,
> >> Thanks for the reply. Yes, as the car was restarted and idled(forced @
> >> approx. 2500 rpm), the check engine light was on, and it would blink off
> >> momentarily when the engine would hesitate. As to the convertor being red
> >> hot, it was actually the exhaust pipe from the block at the bend as it
> > goes
> >> horizontal to the convertor that I saw as being red. As I knew that
> >> wasn't
> >> right, I jumped back up to shut the car off, missing the convertor color.
> > I
> >> might add that it was dark out when all this happened, and I don't know
> >> if
> >> both exhausts pipes from the block were red because I was looking from
> >> the
> >> drivers side. I just went out to check it in the light and the exhaust
> > seems
> >> to be a duel exhaust into a single convertor(located in relation to where
> >> the console inside the car is located) to a single pipe that splits back
> >> into a duel tail pipe. Is the Heet I dumped in there a problem? The
> >> engine
> >> did seem to be running lean; kind of pingy. I attributed that to the
> >> water/convertor issue.
> >> --
> >> jwald
> >> "maxpower" > wrote in message
> >> ...
> >> > If the convertor was cherry red I would not suspect a stopped up
> >> > convertor,
> >> > Normally a stopped up convertor will just not run, something is dumping
> >> > alot
> >> > of raw fuel down the exhaust system or it just isnt being burnt by the
> >> > spark, the convertor is doing its job by trying to burn it up and that
> > is
> >> > why you see it cherry red. If the problem isnt fixed then it will
> >> > cause
> >> > the
> >> > convertor to melt down, I would not replace the convertor untill
> >> > further
> >> > investigation is done, You may have a faulty injector, injector
> >> > circuit
> >> > that is causing it to stay open, a cylinder misfire or multiple cyl
> >> > misfire,
> >> > Was the check engine lamp on?
> >> > Glenn Beasley
> >> > Chrysler Tech
> >> > "JWald" > wrote in message
> >> > ...
> >> >> Hello,
> >> >> My sisters '96 LHS with a 3.5l and 133000 mi. was running fine until
> >> >> a
> >> > fill
> >> >> up. She says she was going down the interstate and the car began
> >> >> coughing,
> >> >> and missing, until it finally coughed big and died; no more than 10
> > miles
> >> >> down the road from the fill-up. It would not re-start. I suspected bad
> >> > gas.
> >> >> We towed the car home and got it running with a couple of bottles of
> >> >> Heet,
> >> >> and a touch of starting fluid. The car continued to run rough and I
> >> >> was
> >> >> thinking that any water would work it's way out eventually. After
> >> >> about
> >> >> 10
> >> >> mins. of running at about 2500 rpm, I began to smell something HOT,
> >> >> and
> >> >> looked underneath the car for any dripping. What I saw was a cherry
> >> >> red
> >> >> exhaust, pre convertor, and shut it down. This leads me to beleive
> >> >> that
> >> > the
> >> >> convertor is plugged. I find it strange that this thing just plugged
> >> >> up
> >> > all
> >> >> at once. I'm not set up to do a convertor swap, so a muffler shop will
> > be
> >> > in
> >> >> the future. Anyone got any insight on this? Am I barking up the wrong
> >> > tree?
> >> >> Could it still be water in the gas? Should I go ahead and change the
> > fuel
> >> >> filter first? Looking for help here. Thanks a bunch.
> >> >> --
> >> >> jeff
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >
> >> >
> >>
> >>
> >
> >