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1997 2.4 cavalier, what a mess!


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BlondeBandit
Novice

Oct 15, 2012, 11:03 PM

Post #1 of 17 (1992 views)
post icon 1997 2.4 cavalier, what a mess! Sign In

Wow! What a mess I have I bought this car almost a yr ago and when I first got it the oil sending unit was spraying oil everywhere! It run out all the oil by the time we got it to the mechanic(8miles) fixed that and now it has a huge knock in te motor we rented a computer from autozone and it says:
Cyl. 2 misfire
Knock sensor malfunction
02 sensor bank 1 sensor 1 no activity
Intake air temp sensor 1 circuit high output
Lol and we took off the coil pack to see the spark plus are covered in oil... Ugh but the car is not low on oil? Please help me!!!FrownShockedShocked


(This post was edited by BlondeBandit on Oct 15, 2012, 11:07 PM)


Hammer Time
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Oct 16, 2012, 3:03 AM

Post #2 of 17 (1952 views)
Re: 1997 2.4 cavalier, what a mess! Sign In

You drove it with no oil and now the engine knocks. Chock it up as a hard lesson learned and go look for a new car.



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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



Tom Greenleaf
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Oct 16, 2012, 3:27 AM

Post #3 of 17 (1948 views)
Re: 1997 2.4 cavalier, what a mess! Sign In

You managed 8 miles without oil! That's close to a world record! There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that engine is anything but dead weight now,

T



Discretesignals
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Oct 16, 2012, 5:14 AM

Post #4 of 17 (1940 views)
Re: 1997 2.4 cavalier, what a mess! Sign In







Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.


BlondeBandit
Novice

Oct 16, 2012, 10:34 AM

Post #5 of 17 (1914 views)
Re: 1997 2.4 cavalier, what a mess! Sign In

Actually no I didn't drive it without oil. I put oil in it to make sure i made it to the mechanic, and after I fixed the oil sending unit the car run great for another 8 months it just now started knocking. And as soon as it started that I parked it..


(This post was edited by BlondeBandit on Oct 16, 2012, 10:40 AM)


Tom Greenleaf
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Oct 16, 2012, 11:23 AM

Post #6 of 17 (1905 views)
Re: 1997 2.4 cavalier, what a mess! Sign In

OK - It had this problem BEFORE you bought it, filled up the oil which was empty by your check within 8 miles. Is that totally empty or just off the stick which doesn't read the total amount but still terrible? Now just wonder how many times before you bought it that could have happened perhaps to a lesser degree but somehow enough such that it wasn't seized up quite yet.

Now oil on outside or inside where plugs fire matters if this is going to go another mile or two or who knows but damage is near certain not just a mess of oil.

I'm actually shocked you have been driving this for some time already.

TMK a knock sensor is not there to sense metal worn or bent to knocking but rather "detonation" or spark knock. If you are hearing it, it can't be good.

Have to suggest any money put into this engine be after a very careful diagnosis of what you have for real engine mechanical problems not just items you could replace and be on your way for any predictable amount of time,

T



(This post was edited by Tom Greenleaf on Oct 16, 2012, 11:24 AM)


BlondeBandit
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Oct 16, 2012, 12:07 PM

Post #7 of 17 (1899 views)
Re: 1997 2.4 cavalier, what a mess! Sign In

Yes, there was still oil on the dipstick just a very scant amount. It ran great up until a month ago, someone suggested timing chain but there is so many other issues that I have yet to find the solution to. Crazy


BlondeBandit
Novice

Oct 16, 2012, 2:11 PM

Post #8 of 17 (1886 views)
Re: 1997 2.4 cavalier, what a mess! Sign In

That's not wat I meant to say...


Hammer Time
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Oct 16, 2012, 2:44 PM

Post #9 of 17 (1871 views)
Re: 1997 2.4 cavalier, what a mess! Sign In

Did someone delete my post? It appears to be missing now.



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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



BlondeBandit
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Oct 16, 2012, 6:11 PM

Post #10 of 17 (1857 views)
Re: 1997 2.4 cavalier, what a mess! Sign In

Both the posts you made are still there


Hammer Time
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Oct 16, 2012, 6:18 PM

Post #11 of 17 (1853 views)
Re: 1997 2.4 cavalier, what a mess! Sign In

There is only the one in front of me.



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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



nickwarner
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Oct 16, 2012, 7:43 PM

Post #12 of 17 (1844 views)
Re: 1997 2.4 cavalier, what a mess! Sign In

Your plugs are wet with oil because the valve cover gasket is bad.

That oil pressure switch is easy to change and less than $20. I wouldn't have driven it any distance at all, much less 8 miles even with pulling over to check the oil because with it spraying it was bleeding off a lot of your pressure that pushes that oil to get to where it is needed.

You have a lot of trouble codes that will cause major driveability problems, now you have a knocking engine too. Do a compression test first, if you find bad numbers you can stop there as you will have confirmed a bad motor. If it can pass a c-test you might want to check that timing chain out to see what shape the chains, tensioners and guides are in. The tensioners use hydraulic oil pressure from your engine oil to keep things tight while running. Your chain guides are plastic and can certainly be worn out by now, causing the chain to slap in a way that could possibly be mistaken for a knock. If thats the case you should change all the chains, guides, tensioners and the water pump.

If the chains are all in time and tight, you have a rod knock and can be done testing. I would diagnose the noises before troubleshooting the codes so you don't waste time and money on something that very well may have a junk motor already.


Hammer Time
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Oct 17, 2012, 3:00 AM

Post #13 of 17 (1834 views)
Re: 1997 2.4 cavalier, what a mess! Sign In


Quote
Your plugs are wet with oil because the valve cover gasket is bad.


Assuming this is a DOHC, that would be a major issue because it really doesn't have replaceable valve cover gaskets. It has cam covers that actually hold the cams in and can't just be removed without removing the timing chain first.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



BlondeBandit
Novice

Oct 29, 2012, 1:02 PM

Post #14 of 17 (1768 views)
Re: 1997 2.4 cavalier, what a mess! Sign In

@ everyone who commented on this post.. you all are about 80% WRONG!! Laugh my buddy came over and we started tearing down that motor and on the top end we replaced ALL gaskets, a bent valve from the timing chain being just loose enough to slap around. also, the timing chain and guides and the tensioner and the car runs like new except the exhaust leak. and whoever said the engine was dead weight, LOL at you. but anyhow, not to bad for a girl, right? Cool


(This post was edited by BlondeBandit on Oct 29, 2012, 1:03 PM)


Hammer Time
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Oct 29, 2012, 2:52 PM

Post #15 of 17 (1760 views)
Re: 1997 2.4 cavalier, what a mess! Sign In

You're the one that stated you ran it out of oil. "Garbage in, garbage out"



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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



nickwarner
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Oct 29, 2012, 6:02 PM

Post #16 of 17 (1753 views)
Re: 1997 2.4 cavalier, what a mess! Sign In

Its running now. Congrats. Lets see how long a CrapaLeer that got deprived of oil for a stretch and was a low-buck unit built with poor engineering 15 years ago holds together. But you dumped an entire top-end gasket set, timing set and a partridge and a pear tree worth of pricey parts into it yet couldn't bother to fix the exhaust? Putting that much money into the car makes about as much sense as buying lingerie for a fat chick.

The beer cans they are going to make out of it after it gets scrapped will be better built than the whole car was.


Discretesignals
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Oct 29, 2012, 6:07 PM

Post #17 of 17 (1751 views)
Re: 1997 2.4 cavalier, what a mess! Sign In

I think it will be alright. Those things are built like a rock. Hopefully you replaced the guides and tensioner when you did the chain.





Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.

(This post was edited by Discretesignals on Oct 29, 2012, 6:09 PM)






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