Hi all. I'm dealing with a problem on my 99 SVT that I could use some help with.
So I bought the car used with 71,000 on it. It now has about 73,500 on it. I got a used car warranty from the dealer just in case anything went wrong. To make a long story short I've put in over $5000 in parts and labor on items that were not covered by the warranty; gaskets, shift cables, axles, replacing aftermarket parts, etc. Now I'm at a point when I just want to get rid of the thing. However, it's not running right and I don't know what to do.
The car was in the shop about a month ago and they did a bunch of work including a tune-up. When I picked it up everything was all good. Although, one in every five times I would drive it, the secondaries wouldn't open up after 4000 RPM. Not too big of a deal and I though since it had not been driven much, maybe they would smooth out. They did start acting right after a couple of weeks. Then we had a ton of rain and the check engine light came on. I though maybe something got wet. Rather than pay the $150 diagnosis fee, I bought a code reader of eBay for $50. I read the codes, looked them up and reset it. I figured the rain probably caused them and if they were real, they would appear again. I don't have them in front of me but they related to O2 sensors and a lean condition. That was about 2 weeks ago.
Lately the car has been running pretty good. However, it is burning a quart of oil every 250 miles (one tank of gas). Makes me a little nervous, but the engine should be covered if it needs a rebuild. I checked my parking spots and it doesn't seem to be leaking. When I first start the car a whitish smoke exhausts. Also, sometimes it smells like burning oil coming out of the heater vents.
So I�m driving home from work on Friday and I notice the check engine light came back on and it�s a bit sluggish. When I step on the gas I don�t get a really strong pull like normal. However, I can still feel the secondaries open up. So as I�m nearing my house, every time I stop, it stalls. When I attempt to start it, it doesn�t just start right up. I have to crank the engine for a minute. Almost like a fuel problem. The shop is a couple blocks from my house so I drive it over there. The guy takes a look and sees that the PCV valve has come out of the tube. There's an oily smelling smoke coming out of the tube where it connects. It looks like it�s been disconnected for a while. It�s not completely out of whack so I think it�s been functioning off and on. So I take the car home and clamp it down Saturday morning. I drive it on short trips all day Saturday and Sunday without a problem. The oil smell is gone. The car is still just a bit sluggish.
Monday after work I read the codes, P0171 and P0156, and reset them. I wanted to wait just in case I needed to take it to the shop. On the way home after resetting the codes, it�s really doggy and starts stalling every time I stop.
I don�t know what the hell to do. I think it�s either a fuel pump, fuel filter, IMRC, or the PCV valve. Also, it probably needs an engine rebuild because of the oil consumption. However, I�m thinking that maybe the oil was leaking/burning off the PCV leak. I don�t really know how that setup works. If I take it to the shop, they�re going to charge me $150 to diagnose it. I can replace the IMRC and the PCV for that. If it is the IMRC, it�s probably not covered under the warranty and I�ll have just wasted the $150 diagnosis fee. So what do you guys think? Do you have any suggestions? I can replace most parts myself as long as they don't require special tools. Thanks!
