A&Q about 350Z
Q:
gee jackass, thanks for always being so positive and making it all so simple for me.............anyways...there's alot more involved than just "getting another car".
I guess I'm gonna take it to another Honda dealership further away. NO, the check engine light is not on , so there wouldnt be a code to retrieve i guess. They fixed the "idle screw" and now the car runs a hundred times worse, but if they didnt then we were going to have to keep replacing the plugs b/c they said it was running "rich". All of this makes me want to become a mechanic so i can fix my own car from now on out...
A:
if your running rich, your air/fuel ratio is messed, which sounds like a ecu or MAF sensor.... I think its the MAF that controls air to fuel. not sure.
but, it deffinetly sounds like a sensor or ecu problem.
A:
See what i was saying about the sensors and wiring harnesses is that if the ecu does not get the right signal from some sensors after it goes into closed loop ( the engine is warmed up) than the ecu will go into safe mode and losd the car up with fuel and run it really rich, it is ttring to keep the possibility of a lean condition from happening. Anyway it really sounds like a sensor or ecu or wiring problem. Itis very possilble that ythe shop that swaped the motor did not connect something properly and this could be a loose connection or they could have connected something wrong and messed up the ecu. Those are the things i would focuss on first and check those out. Also just b/c the MIL is not on does not mean there is not a code stored in the ecu. Try to scan it anyway hondas are easy to scan you need no special tools at all. Hope this helps
A:
man it's really sad that people screw with you just cuz you're a girl. why do people always target those who can't defend themselves? the humanity! the horror! the injustice! sounds like you need a shrink, not a mechanic. he can give you medicine for all that paranoia. oops, i mean SHE can give it to you, because women can be psychiatrists too. it sounds like your lawyer and all those other mechanics are targeting you too, playing on your need for revenge (and making a buck in the process!). good job mentioning the fact that you're female--gotta make sure you capitalize on the sympathy factor. ok, ok, look. i'm not trying to make enemies, but something i've learned from troubleshooting in the telecommunications business: look at your equipment first. make sure all your ducks are in line before you go pointing fingers to the other end. blaming other people will only make you look like a crybaby. think the squeeky wheel gets the grease? nope the squeaky wheel gets replaced, as you have noticed from the difficulty trying to find a mechanic. why would they wanna work for you if they're afraid you're gonna sue 'em? so my advice: buy a manual and WORK ON YOUR OWN CAR. i didn't even know how to change a TIRE on my brand new cavalier (which i bought with MY money, not my parent's credit card!) when i was 19. but 5 years later when my clutch went out in my civic, instead of paying $400-$500 having some rip-off artist do a half-assed job on it (what does he care about me anyway?!), i did it myself for $200 and learned a whole HELL of a lot in the process! if you get anything out of this flame please let it be the last couple of sentences. or will you sit and mope because i "yelled" at you? he was so insensitive! make it so your car can limp and work up cash for a new/used one. and would i like it if my wife/sister/daughter/grammy was treated this way? let's see...if my wife/sister/daughter/grammy worked as a mechanic and was treated the way you treated those mechanics, HELL YEAH I'D BE PISSED! so uh...what was your question again...?
A:
oh and if you wanna throw out the injustice thing, why is it a post written by a girl has more replies than a non-girl? what we need here is for some democrats to impose some affirmative action for us abandoned males. where's jesse jackson and al sharpton when you need them???
A:
Like (most) everyone else posting, I wish you luck. This is obviously a very bad situation. I'm not going to make a judgement either way, on you or the mechanics involved. Before you go digging around poking at wiring harnesses and sensors and whatnot, find (like several others have suggested) a reputable shop nearby (particularly one with thorough experience in import cars.) Make an appointment with them. Tell them as LITTLE as possible about the situation, just 1.why your engine was replaced and 2. the current problems. Ask them to go through the whole engine bay, inspecting ANYTHING that is involved in the engine replacement process. It will probably be a couple hours of labor. If (hopefully) they find a fault (or faults), take note of them and bring it back to the place that installed your engine (they SHOULD fix the problems for free, if they're related to their engine work.) Even though you were told by that garage (the installers) that THEY couldn't find anything wrong, sometimes it just takes someone else with a fresh outlook on the problem to take a look. As far as the ECU side of things, I'd definately recommend doing what was previously proposed, and find someone with a similar model to let you swap the chip out for a test. The ECU is the brain- if there is a problem with it, then computer diagnostic scans could definately be affected.
I sympathize with you, as I echo the general feelings of people toward mechanics. It is VERY hard to find a good mechanic, for anything!! (My father is currently having trouble with both the mechanics for his Harley, and the mechanic for his powerboat) I've never understood why there are so many bad apples in the mechanic biz. If you enjoy your job, and like fixing cars, why try to screw someone over? It can't be the money- at $50-$70 an hour average (PLUS what they make on the part), they should be bending over backwards for their customers.
A:
That was absolutely not helpful at all please if you are not going to help constructivly then stay away!
$50-70 is not what the mechanics see, it is much less that that, and she should check for the things I said and not take it back to the shop that swaped the motor b/c they sound really shitty also b/c they did not even try to changre the broken wires when tring to fix the idle problem.
A:
I had a thought probalbly wrong but worth a shot. Did your car come with a v6? If so does it have a v6 in it now? I was just thinking that just maybe they swapped the wrong motor in. I know this is highly unlikely but I have seen worse.
A:
*sigh* sorry. just don't like the damsel in distress approach. i know plenty of women who do their own work--that are even still in touch with their feminine side. if you knew there were problems with your car, what made you decide to go on a 200 mile road trip anyway?! hind sight is 20/20 i guess. well, if you're afraid to get dirty and are absolutely against trying to learn something new, go find a...muh...muh...mecha...mechanic. yuck, that word tastes like crap. but instead of having them fix it, get an estimate, take your estimate to somewhere else and have this other mechanic fix the problem. DO NOT go there like you're ready to sue at the drop of a hat! something i've learned when i was younger also: the dealerships overcharge. you mentioned $191 for plugs and wires. they were probably stock or stock spec. i spent $50 for iridium plugs and $90 for 8mm plug wires and installed them myself. 5-10 minutes of work, 2 minutes to wash up. here's another approach: everyone has someone in the family that will do the work for you. maybe even for free! get your estimate and have your sister/daughter/mother/grammy do it for you. i just wanna put something out now. a honda dealership would have SO much to lose by doing something like what you're accusing them of. that's why i'm so skeptical. carefully remove that chip from your shoulder please.
A:
Thats funny b/c a friend of mine took her new eliment to the dealership and they forgot to tighten the oil plug and guess what? It locked the motor up! She had just got done hooking it up too, 20" rims etc etc. Anyway they stood behind the bad service though and gave her what she paid for it new. She had bought it from them as well, only had it for 6months
Now she is sporting a S2000 so I guess it worked out for the best
A:
Hey man my dad sells Pre-Paid Legal, it's like legal insurance. It's incredibly cheap and I have used it several times and have solved legal problems every time I used it. Plus you have a lawyer on demand 24/7, even on holidays. So you dont just use it for this but if you ever get pulled over and the cop wants to ticket you then he'll have to talk to your lawyer first. If you decide to take it to court then court expenses are only like half plus the lawyer will press the matter and release court expenses that way you still make more money off the matter and you have to pay only for a lawyer and jack shit else. I'd say it's worth it. if your interested then email me at
. Good Luck Anyways.
A:
The cap, rotor, plugs & wires and an oil & filter change are FREE for a one-time visit to a Honda dealership as long as your '97 Honda has 75K-150K miles on it. Ask the dealership for Honda Service Bulletin 98-081 (dated Mar 18, 2003). To find out if this particular service was ever performed on your car, ask for a "VIN Status Inquiry". It would show whether your car has ever received this free warranty service from Honda.
Thought you might want to know this since you've been paying for cap, rotos, plugs, wires, etc. along the way.
Also, under the same service bulletin, there are an ENORMOUS amount of emissions-related parts covered under "the Emissions Warranty Extension". Your car's emissions system is covered for 14 YEARS or 150,000 miles - whichever comes first. This applies TO ALL '97 HONDAS EXCEPT THE PASSPORT MODEL.
You mentioned the "idle motor" was supposed to be defective (also covered by emissions warranty).
Since the engine has been swapped out...I'm not certain how the warranty would be affected (should be covered as long as a '95-97 engine was put in place of it). Take the car to a reputable dealer and don't tell them about the engine swap. Have them start throwing parts at it that are included in the bulletin.
A:
The thread is over a year old you poop-head, nobody is going to answer or read your post. All these people have probably forgotten this thread.
You dumb nub-cake