Doing some engine work and interested in your suggestions. 03 Pontiac vibe gt, stock motor ~190000 miles. I have a cel code showing PO420. I've read both that means a bad cat and also a bad air/fuel ratio. A few symptoms I'm noticing:
1: coolant level in the overflow tank in front of the radiator has been dropping since I got the car.
2: sludge all over the underside of the engine.
3: white smoke early in the mornings, moreso when I really get on it when I'm late for school.
4: friends have told me they smell coolant when I pull in their driveway.
5: really dirty air filter with broken clasps that holds down the upper part of the breather box.
I had the coolant system flushed and checked by firestone several months ago and they told me they found no leaks. Yet the coolant level keeps dropping, which had me thinking maybe it was leaking in the exhaust, giving me the bad cat code? I brought it back the other day and they told me they found a leak from the water pump.
I plan to Jack it up and throw some gunk on it to try and find exactly where the leak is. If it is the water pump, what do you guys think about this underdrive pulley from Mwr?
http://www.monkeywrenchracing.com/produ ... ts_id=1104" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Or this water pump?
http://www.monkeywrenchracing.com/produ ... cts_id=311" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I can get the normal water pump from advance for $50, is it worth it to go for this one? Also can they work on our vibes 2zz-ge? Has anybody used either one?
Either way that air filters getting replaced. I don't imagine that the purolator pureone should be avoided for any reason. I was thinking about going ahead and replacing all the gaskets from head up, is there anything else I should grab while I'm there that's fiscally reasonable for this stage in a build?
Thanks