txhokie4life

I've got a 97 engine I am swapping into a 99 car. The 97 engine has a different oil cooler that does not have the top mounted tube for the line that goes to the Bleed valve. Are there some years that do not have this valve? Did it used to connect to someplace else? thanks, mike

from the valve hosing in the front. the side line vents to air. The second line goes the the evap canister -- I think the 3rd line goes to the fuel tank which then there is a line that heads to the back of the car. -- maybe this line is the one that heads back to the engine... I never traced it completely. I spent a month tracking down a similar problem and replaced everything -- finally replaced the EVAP shut off valve (back by the engine) and now it works perfectly. Try that one first -- might save you $300 in parts and a ton of shop time. Mike

Replace the shut off valve. I did mine nd it fixed the p0446 code... Same here. mike

You should be ok as long as you don't toss a rock and take out something the liner would have caught. It also might not have perfect air movement -- brake cooling, radiator cooling, etc. So in short -- probably fine, keep an eye on things and get it replaced as soon as reasonable. Mike

Well I though it was solved -- We did fill it with gas and had no problems, car ran good all day too. But after driving around today -- the CEL came on again. This time we have 5 codes P0447 P0446 P0450 P0444 and P1117 running out of ideas, we've replaced the canister shutoff valve, and purge valve. Only thing I can think of is to get the meter out and start probing voltages. any suggestions????? thx, Mike

And sometimes afterward it feels like guessing too :-) Mike

SOLVED! This was a bear of a problem. The whistle was caused by too much vacuum in the lines -- if you tapped the valve housing (#8 in previous pdf picture) just right -- you could get it to resonate and whistle. There were times it did not resonate at all -- at these times the vacuum was not as strong. The key was determining this relationship. There is a valve that controls the Evaporative shut-off valve. It was malfunctioning. This valve is located under the intake plenum back in the engine. However the noise emminates from the fuel door! Disconnecting the connector mimics the failure mode, so in a sense the valve failed stuck open. We pulled the hose that comes from this valve to the intake manifold right at the Y of the hose that comes from the AOS. If we taped that hose off -- the engine ran fine. If we left it open -- it mimiced the hard start after fueling to a T -- including having to give it gas to keep it from stalling. Once we replaced the evaporator shut off valve the vacuum reduced and was consistent. The engine ran really well, and we have since filled it with gas with no issues. Sadly I replaced the purge valve, and the charcoal canister up front to the tune of $200 -- and a ton of wasted time. But now we know. Hope this helps some other folks. cheers, Mike Will double check -- but was told the tube from the tank also was hit with compressed air -- What actually blocks these lines? Do we need to snake them to physically remove obstruction? the whistle is coming from fuel door at the purge opening. Fairly good amount of air pressure there. you can put your thumb on it -- but when not plugged with thumb there is a good amount of air flowing and an pretty audible lower octave whistle. thoughts? Mike

YMMV, But I have been driving around with this one for almost a year. Probably a vacuum leak -- I've just been too busy to dig in there and fix it. I reset the light -- and as long as I allow the car to warm up completely (where the idle drops from ~1k to 800rpm) -- it doesn't pop up. However darn near everytime I get in a hurry -- or I forget and don't do this -- I get a CEL ~1-2 miles down the road. Like I said tho -- your situation maybe different. Mike

Of the 6 or so we've done -- one had this problem -- and it was because of the engine stand -- we couldn't hit it cleanly -- and it angled on us. We pulled it == straightened it out -- and it went in just fine. mike

Does it sound like a clock ticking? follows engine revs? That could be a stuck lifter? Without hearing the exact noise it is difficult to even speculate. Can you capture the noise and youtube it or something? mike

Not yet -- I only get out to the shop a couple times a week -- and this week has been a little crazy at my "real" job. I hope to make it out there this weekend and see if any progress was made. Mike

thanks for the suggestions. I think my mechanic did something similar to what you suggested and stripped the Nut just like you mentioned -- we've almost got it out -- but need to get a new nut. PITA, Mike so the bearing has begun to pull out? Yes I think so -- I took a quick look last night -- but I didn't get a chance to measure the distance to the lip -- so I might have been my wishful thinking :-) but I asked if he could tell if the lock spring had broken (popped) -- but since he is deaf -- he could not tell when the nut had sufficiently stripped. I should know soon whether he was completely successful or not. mike

thanks for the suggestions. I think my mechanic did something similar to what you suggested and stripped the Nut just like you mentioned -- we've almost got it out -- but need to get a new nut. PITA, Mike

Funny -- or sad --- we are having the same problem with our most recent IMSR. Snapped the bolt right at the inner race. we destroyed a Kukko 21-4 as soon as we got it. $90 in 10 sec :-( Not happy. a hand made butterfly/molybolt style extraction "tool" didn't work -- it failed several times. We are going to resort to welding to the ims and trying again. What tool did you use to pull the outer race? Just in case we need to order that one too. BTW: you are pulling the IMS out of a tube that "floats" in a carrier so to speak. There is no loosening of anything that will make pulling the IMS any easier. The tool fits in a whole in the case and presses against the end of the IMS tube, and attempts to pull the bearing assembly out of the tube. For the double row bearings there is an internal grove in the tube that a metal o-ring sits in that locks the double row bearing sets in place that sits between the rows. You have to crack this o-ring to be able to extract the IMS. For the single row bearings there is a simple compression ring that locks the bearing in place accessible as soon as your can see the bearings. Hope that helps explain things..... thanks, Mike

Will double check -- but was told the tube from the tank also was hit with compressed air -- What actually blocks these lines? Do we need to snake them to physically remove obstruction? the whistle is coming from fuel door at the purge opening. Fairly good amount of air pressure there. you can put your thumb on it -- but when not plugged with thumb there is a good amount of air flowing and an pretty audible lower octave whistle. thoughts? Mike

that's easy. do as if you are going to put the top down... when u get half way .. when the back lid is up stop closing. there will be two cables one each side .. pry off bottom end of each .. than on back you'll see the top thin cover is connected to the back part of the shell by a simple clip on each side.once you have done that .. you should be able to lift the back half of the conv top by hand and fold towards rollbar. than you close the top most of the way.this should all be in your users manual.BTW when removing the panel behind the drivers side .. be careful there is a harness that has a connection on the bottom. you'll need to disconnect before completely removing.good luck.btw .. to get the pads off rollbar pry them off gently .. they are only pressed on.the seat belt plastic clam shell opens easily with a screw driver.I've done this now several times.first time was just inspecting as I went ... all was pretty straight forward.mike

all from memory -- but I think this will get you started put top in service mode -- there are 2 nuts on each side underneath some padding besides the drainage trays for the convertible. than there are 2-3 nuts each behind each seat behind a carpet trim piece. I believe all the nuts are 13mm. that piece has an 8mm bolt at the top that connects to the bar, and a phillips head screw in the side bottom half near engine carpet. you also need to remove at least one seat belt bolt bolt by each seat outer side. 15mm I think. that should do it -- good luck, mike

yes you are correct -- too much sealant on the cam cover -- this happened to my mechanic and me. oil ran along the cam and pushed the plug out. stripped all the sealant -- redid it and there were no further problems. mike

Was able to test all valves and blow out all the hoses except the one from the tank. It seems to be the one that is the source of the noise. It goes from tank to charcoal canister? Anyone know whether cleaning it out with some sort of vacuum might work? or is the clogging caused by something that will require the line to be physically replaced? Replacement of course looks to be quite a bear to do. thx, Mike

Well it is back -- same P0446. I'm also getting P1128, P1130, and P1117 -- not sure if they are related. (I was getting them before) I replaced the canister and purge valve. This is my sister-in-laws car -- hard to start today after many errands -- finally had to rescue her with a jump. got back pulled the codes -- it started right up several times -- one time it did hunt idle -- and dropped to about 400rpm. let it hunt for a bit and then gave it some gas -- then it seemed fine. i ran duramatic -- could not hear purge valve come on -- went home and checked on my boxster -- sound is very feighnt -- so it might have -- I'll have to try again now that I know what I am listening for. took the old valve and tested it with 12v -- seemed to work fine. worst thing in the world is sister-in-law with no hubby with an unreliable car. next steps? check purge valve operation check purge valve voltage I didn't have compressed air when I did the evap/purge valve replacement -- will blow out lines. ??? maybe p1128, p1130, and P1117 unrelated -- not sure. any suggestions welcome. thx, mike Just to add a little more to the story. Drove the car to my shop tonite. Loud whistle/whir coming from passenger side -- closer inspection the new purge valve seems to be working. Sound was coming from the gas fill area -- right where the purge line was -- not sure if the air was coming or going -- but it was certainly moving. There seemed to be some serious air movement -- just wasn't sure which way. I'm sure when I have a few moments I'll be able to figure that out. But it sure made a lot of noise -- so I suspect the lines are fouled. I just didn't have an air compressor at the house when I was working on it last weekend. note this sound was described to me by my sister-in law -- and definitely wasn't there before I replaced the canister and purge valve. It was loud enough that while you wouldn't mistake it for a radiator fan -- it was getting there! First time I opened up the gas latch -- it stopped -- seemed to be a good seal on the gas cap as well. I could get it to start again by giving it some gas -- the third time I induced it -- it did it for probably 5 minutes straight as we discussed amongst ourselves the history of the problem. So here is hoping that blowing out the lines and checking them good will resolve at least part of the issue. Unfortunately -- I'll be traveling -- so I'm handed it off to my cohort -- hopefully it will all be resolved by the time I get back. for all those with the same problem -- I'll keep you posted. Mike

I have torn a 3.4L all the way down to the crankshaft. Did the whole project over Thanksgiving weekend. The engine was a long block and on an engine stand -- so I did not have to deal with extracting it out of the vehicle. it is relatively easy to tear down. Assembly is not hard either -- but timing it is the tricky part. what is wrong with your head(s)? mike Ok I just read through some of your other posts.... You're trying to replace the variocam solenoid. You do not need to pull the heads for that. You will need to pull the valve cover. You might not even have to pull the cams to replace the tensioner solenoid. -- but I suspect you will. The difference between this and pulling the heads is that you do not need to take out the lifters, lifter tray, and remove the headbolts, and replace the head gasket. you will need to retime things if you have to pull the cams. which means some special tools. you will probably should have a cam position holder tool even if the job can be done with cams in-- this hooks into the end of the cams and bolts into the heads temporarily, and locks the cams in position. I'd say it can be done as a DIY -- not sure how easy it can be done inside the car -- might be possible. much easier if you drop the engine and put it on a stand. mike

I have torn a 3.4L all the way down to the crankshaft. Did the whole project over Thanksgiving weekend. The engine was a long block and on an engine stand -- so I did not have to deal with extracting it out of the vehicle. it is relatively easy to tear down. Assembly is not hard either -- but timing it is the tricky part. what is wrong with your head(s)? mike

Well it is back -- same P0446. I'm also getting P1128, P1130, and P1117 -- not sure if they are related. (I was getting them before) I replaced the canister and purge valve. This is my sister-in-laws car -- hard to start today after many errands -- finally had to rescue her with a jump. got back pulled the codes -- it started right up several times -- one time it did hunt idle -- and dropped to about 400rpm. let it hunt for a bit and then gave it some gas -- then it seemed fine. i ran duramatic -- could not hear purge valve come on -- went home and checked on my boxster -- sound is very feighnt -- so it might have -- I'll have to try again now that I know what I am listening for. took the old valve and tested it with 12v -- seemed to work fine. worst thing in the world is sister-in-law with no hubby with an unreliable car. next steps? check purge valve operation check purge valve voltage I didn't have compressed air when I did the evap/purge valve replacement -- will blow out lines. ??? maybe p1128, p1130, and P1117 unrelated -- not sure. any suggestions welcome. thx, mike

any update on this?

You are right under the AOS vent line to the intake. Right next to the oil fill tube and not far from the AOS itself -- which if there was a leak say in the bellows and under pressure -- it could spray to here. there is also the pickup tube which is just to the right and maybe a little forward of that spot which could be leaking or cracked? because your oil system is spider webbed in around there and under pressure -- it could be tough to figure out exactly what is leaking without a little disassembly. Mike