N34JZ

iTrader: (1)

Okay bare with me. for a while my tranny has been acting up and I was hopping to sell before it went. This week it was really bad like no power from a dead stop ( almost like it was in a higher gear) but when i tried to back up my driveway ( steep but not to steep) the car wouldnt move. and then last night was the worst. I was driving home and it would not move ( really embarissing sitting at a light with car beeping behind you and your car wont move) and I kept hitting the gas seeing if I could get it to go. and once it does go its fine untill I stop again. so once i got home i opened up the hood and i looked at what i think is the exhaust manifold below the intake manifold and there is this peice of metal (looked like an end fitting becaust there was a pipe comming out of it that went some where by the valve cover) and it was red hot. serioulsly it was glowing red like when you cut steel. I never noticed this before and I dont think its normal.

My question: Are these two things related and whats the deal with my car.?

DanNY

iTrader: (14)

that's your EGR port/pipe. how's your exhaust doing? check if you have a bad cat (clogged) or a problem w/ the exhaust.

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

yup.. what Dan said.. likely a clogged cat.. easiest way to test it is to remove the cat and start the car up.. if it runs better, then you need a new cat.. but before oyu install the new one, you need to figure out what's making the engine clog it up in the first place- cat's don't just get full of crap and fail unless the engine is running very poorly to begin with.

N34JZ

iTrader: (1)

but is the slow acceleration the effect or the egr port pipe being so hot. and what would clog it? and do you think it has something to do with the tranny?

DanNY

iTrader: (14)

it's NOT your EGR port that's clogged...it's your cat/exhaust. the backpressre will create heat in the manifold area...hence glowing hot.

what would clog your cat...car running rich, back firing, physical damage...something along those lines.

does it have anything to do w/ the tranny...possible because you're making the tranny 10X harder to move your car. if your tranny is going...it's going. there's nothing u can put in it to save it at that point.

check to see if it's your cat that's bad..replace that then see how your tranny is doing after that.

N34JZ

iTrader: (1)

really have happened so i dont know what would cause it. how can i check it? Should i take it to a muffeler guy or a mechanic?

N34JZ

iTrader: (1)

is a clogged cat the only thing that could make the egr port so hot. what im trying to get at is is this a major problem or something simple as a clogged cat. and like you said it shouldnt get clogged so im trying to figure out what else would do it

DanNY

iTrader: (14)

ok let's see...
your car is a 91..so it's been running for about 10-11 years or so. you have to take into the fact that wear and tear also. if your car has been running slightly rich over the years..it will eventually break down the cat. just like any other exhaust component. what i'm telling u is to either bring it to a muffler shop and have them inspect the cat. they can easilly determine if the cat is clogged or not.

if a cat has melted then yes it will cause the problem you're saying. it's basically driving around w/ a cork at the end of the tailpipe. the exhaust can't leave the engine..major backpressure.

and AGAIN it's NOT the EGR port that's causing the problems...you asked about the pipe and that's the EGR port...but the part that's getting hot is the exhaust manifold...which is connected to the EGR port.

find a decent exhaust shop...if you can drive to nassau cty there's a place i highly recommend..american muffler on hemp trpk in fr sq..good guys there.

N34JZ

iTrader: (1)

I know. Im saying that it is the result of a problem of the cat being clogged. I just wanted to know what other problems could cause it to heat up like that. I get what your saying even if I cant explain it that well.

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

exactly as Dan has already said a couple times.. the Cat doesn't just clog up and die on you.. it's GOT to have a reason to fail..
reasons for failure are usually poorly running engines.. if you have a bad oxygen sensor, the engine will run rich and dump too much fuel into the system.. the unburned fuel gets stuck int he cat and burns up there, which makes the cat REALLY hot.. which can cause it to melt or otherwise fail.. which causes the high backpressure which turns your exhaust manifolds hot.

Also, if your tranny is failing, then you might have to stomp the gas much harder to get it to accelerate, which further magnifies the problem if your exhaust is messed up.


Also.. a couple other things to check.. how are your brakes?
park the car on a hill and let the car cool off. Put it in neutral and let go of the brake. does it roll, or just sit there? if it just sits there, then you've got something wrong with your brakes.... which once you force the car to move (stomp the gas and it'll overcome the brake pressure and the car will go).. but once it's moving, the brakes heat up and don't slow the car down as much..



There are about 40 problems that could be causing your problem. If you're not able to figure it out yourself, you need to take your car to a mechanic that CAN figure it out before you blow up your car.

N34JZ

iTrader: (1)

i last posted i took it to a muffler guy and he said it wasnt the cat, and it might have been dumping fuel somewhere.? And I get what you guys are saying and i know I probably sound like an idiot but im just telling you what i think. I did try the brakes thing and there fine. the muffler guy asked if anyone had messed with the distributer I said no and the only thing i can think of is that it got wet yesterday, but today the car still hesitated a couple of times but the egr wasnt red(i know that the egr isnt the problem)so mabey that was just yesterday because the distributer was wet? Im just telling you my thoughts please dont get mad or impatient wth me.

DanNY

iTrader: (14)

ok well we know it's not the cat...so we can rule that out.
if the dist was wet it would have a really hard time starting...also a hard time keeping it's idle. were u having those problems? did the exhaust smell like gas? any smoke coming out of the tailpipe?

N34JZ

iTrader: (1)

but it had none of the symptoms that you mentioned except rought idle but when i unplugged the plugs half way home and dried them that cleared up the idle but all the other problems remained. its 5:00 so its alittle late to go to a mechanic.

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

your distributor won't cause any type of overheating problem like that. I would check your exhaust once again to make sure it's not smashed somewhere (hit a big speedbump and mashed it), or someone hasn't stuffed a potato in the muffler (used to be a fun thing to do around here, back in high school)

also, back tot eh tranny problem.. that could be caused by a failing torque convertor.. I dont' know exactly which part of the engine was red hot, but I don't think the tranny would have that problem.. if it did, it would have surely died and left you on the side of the road, or the thing would have caught fire and burned up on you. only thing I've ever seen get red hot on a car are brake rotors and exhaust manifolds.


back to the issue here.... when the car cools off, check your tranny fluid and see what it looks like.. it should be red and smell kinda sweet- something like antifreeze.. if it's brown, smells burned, or has metal chunks in it (or isn't even there), then your tranny has some problems and you need to get it to a shop and have it taken care of.

N34JZ

iTrader: (1)

and we always check the fluid and we changed it about 1.5k ago

and no potatos. what else could cause it to dump fuel?

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

bad O2 sensor..

I think it's time you took it to a mechanic.. it's not anything obvious, and unless your friend at the tranny shop can conclude it's a bad tranny, then it's something that you won't be able to fix in your garage anyway.
Sometimes it's best just to hand it over to someone else and pay a little more to have it done..

N34JZ

iTrader: (1)

I ussually do take it in when somethings wrong. just figured id ask. mabey save some money so I can just sell this stupid car and get the se fixed. you know the deal, I cant drive anymore after driving my se.