Hey guys, I have some problems with my car. One would be stalling, and I've checked out some posts and the advices were to check the TPS, IAC and EGR. So I guess that's settled then. The other thing is I'm not sure if I'm running lean or rich. I think I'm running rich cause my engine keeps stalling and right after that, when I start the engine again, I can smell gas. My friend who's a mechanic seems to think I'm running lean because I have an over-heating problem. My car heats up way to quick. In under 2-3 minutes, my car is already at normal temperature and on the highway, the temperature goes all the way up to bout 3/4. Anyway ideas? I've changed my thermostat but that didn't solve the problem. So is it possible to adjust the car to run lean or rich? The other question I have is, how on earth do I adjust the idle? I'm idling at bout 900 RPM and from what I've found out from our forum, I'm supposed to be idling at 1,200 RPM. How do I set the idle? Lastly, I'm also having a CEL indicating "catalytic converter efficiency failure." Other than the converter being the culprit, could it be anything else? O2 sensor? Cracks in the exhaust manifold? Well, I know I have lots of questions, but I would greatly appreciate any help I can get. It's way too expensive to just drop my car off at the mechanic and plus I wanna get my car running great before this weekend. Wanna go Autocrossing. Hehe. Thanks guys.

Zen

PS: My car's a 95' RS, 420A. Thanks.

Well if your cat is bad then it would explain why you smell gas or a "nasty" smell, after all the cat is what filters all the shit, so to speak.

I would get that fixed first and foremost and get rid of the CEL.

As for the overheating: You are not turbo are you? If you aren NOT turbo then the only was you can run lean is with bad/dirty injectors because there is a stock fuel control which cannot be changed.

First I would check if the waterpump is dead along with the other coolant/radiator stuff. In worst case scenario it could be the headgasket since I read that can also cause it. But forget that for now and work on the smallest possibilities first.

Are you loosing coolant? I did when my water pump broke. Check the coolant as well.


My suspicion is that the smell and overheating don't really have anything to do with each other.

gas smell ---> cat problem
overheating -----> radiator/waterpump/coolant problem

clogged/bad catalytic convertor would be part of your stalling problem, esp if its after a highway run or a long period of driving

replace your radiator cap would be the overheating problem.

the cap MUST retain the correct pressure to cool the fluid, if no pressure then you will overheat.

and your idle is perfect, it should be 800-900..

when does it stall?? a little more info would help determine the cause

When does it stall? It stalls every now and then. No pattern. Sometimes I can be cruising around and the engine would just stall. Sometimes, it'll stall when I'm at a stop light or stop sign. So, I really have no idea when and why it stalls.

Hey thanks for the advice so far but I don't think it's the water pump cause my coolant is still full. Hasn't leaked. I thought it was that too so I guess it's not the head gasket either.

As for the cats, I just got back from CarX and guess what? The previous exhaust shop I went to f**ked my exhaust system up nicely. So they quoted me slightly over $1,000 to replace the entire exhaust system from manifold to muffler. Sigh. I don't think I have the money to do that.

Well, thanks so much and I hope I can get more input from you guys.

Originally posted by biltrite
So they quoted me slightly over $1,000 to replace the entire exhaust system from manifold to muffler. Sigh. I don't think I have the money to do that. Well, thanks so much and I hope I can get more input from you guys.

replace it with WHAT PRODUCTS for 1000...new cat?prolly.....muffler?what kind

good god man, go to another shop and tell them you need a stock cat(100 bucks) new piping(65-100 bucks), and maybe a new muffler(you can buy aftermarket 50-200 bucks) Jeebus man, thats only 400 dollars at the most. If i were you i would invest in a good catback for that much money

That's the funny thing man. When I got the quote I was shitting in my pants when I saw the price. What makes it even worse, no muffler included. Just pipping, resonator, pipes, cats, and the usualls like gaskets and stuff. Oh yeah there was two more items in there which I wasn't sure if I needed. The price they quoted included the upstream and downstream O2 sensors. Each sensor costs about $200 bucks! I'm really stressed here cause I really really think I have a bad cat. I like my muffler so I don't want to change that. Anyway the reason I think I have a bad cat is because of the CEL which comes on all the time, and the really really horrible rotten egg smell.

Anyway, I still have yet to clean my IAC, and check the waterpump. Hopefully I'll be able to do that tonight.

PS: If I have to replace the radiator cap, what would be the correct pressure to retain?