'03 AWD suddenly ball-less wonder...

[torque2k]

Hey, all.I've got a 2003 AWD which, while always relatively ball-less, has over the course of the past two months become a real dog. I'm reminded of an old Yamaha moped I had when I was a kid, which had an engine regulator to keep it from going over 25MPH; try and go faster, and it would just bog down... "Bwaaaaahhhhh"... Anyway, I've switched gas to Shell 87 (normally use any old 87 octane), have run two bottles of Regane through the tank (in a row), cleaned the MAF sensor thoroughly, and just dropped new plugs in (iridium-tipped Autolites, as I couldn't find NGKs). Air filter is clean, oil's got 4000mi on it...I live in Michigan, so we're on winter blend gas, but that hasn't been an issue in past years. Car has 117000mi on it. Normally, I get 24-26MPG in the winter, 25-29MPG summer. I'm getting 21-24MPG now.I've not changed the belt yet, but I'll do it if anyone thinks it'll help. Car idled fairly rough and had a slight ticking noise prior to MAF sensor cleaning, but that went away and it sits nicely at about 800RPM now.Can anyone suggest the next best step to take to regain some power in this thing? I loved the car, even with the underpowered 1.8L, but lately I've been looking longingly at the Mazda 3...TIA.

[northvibe]

clean the iac valve and maybe replace the pcv valve (not sure if you can clean that). Also have you done the proper oil changes for the rear diff, transfercase, and transmission?Oh also if its that old, could be a bad cat converter. they can cause the car to perform bad and smell....

[Zimm]

do you have a hitch? if so, maybe you should get a pair of those truck nutz. i've spent enough time in Lowell to know they'd fit right in with the locals.

[06pvibe]

117k? Has the catalytic converter ever been replaced? That's what it sounds like to me, a clogged cat. From what I have read on these pages, they are not known for a long life and if not previously done 117k sounds like it may be time....

[keithvibe]

not going to do any better... don't bother... Unless you Supercharge it.

[BlueCrush]

Huh....funny, my awd has always been a ball-less wonder.... except for between 3K-6K rpm in 1st gear only.

[Caretaker]

yep, my AWD vibe has always been a piece of crap. I have never changed the fluid in the rear differential and never will. I may get the PCV valve changed, but the way this car looks, I could only hope that it suddenly accelerates into a telephone pole. I will never get an AWD car again. Not with all the other safety features available now on cars. It simply was a waste of gas.Joatmon: have you found any solution to our oil consumption issue yet? It's warm out now

[keithvibe]

Quote, originally posted by BlueCrush »Huh....funny, my awd has always been a ball-less wonder.... except for between 3K-6K rpm in 1st gear only. for me it's second gear... but I hope to change that... soon... secured myself an emanage ultmate

[millster]

If it gets worse when the engine has warmed up, or in other words, if when you first start out you don't really notice the problem, then I would say bad catalytic convertor. Here's the thing, though. Cats don't just go bad. Something has to precipitate the issue. You mentioned cleaning the MAF sensor and the car idling better. Chances are, you were running rich which loads up the cat and could cause it to plug up. You want to make sure there isn't something else wrong with the engine before replacing the cat otherwise it'll just go bad again.

[metso5]

intake manifold gasket,,it happened to mine and it got very noticeable in the cold weather,,warm weather it was a lot better,,its very common on the 1zz motor,,its a very cheap fix

[torque2k]

Thanks, all, for the ideas. Well, except the truck nutz. There's an old farmer up the road from me who actually has these on his old Chevy; otherwise, I would've been scratching my head at that one. From the Matrix troubleshooting section:1. Injector2. Fuel pump control circuit3. Ignition coil (w/ Igniter) circuit4. A/T faultyAll fun things to figure out... and that's not taking into consideration the catalytic converter, O2 sensors, or any of the myriad other items you've all mentioned.This week has been hell, so I haven't had a chance to sit under the hood and stare, but it's getting worse now. If I take off from a "Michigan stop," the car bogs in 2nd gear, then I have to punch it to grab 1st to get moving. I feel like the fraker's gonna stop moving completely this time next week. I think I'm gonna have to take it in to a shop before this happens (it's a time vs. money thing for me, otherwise I'd figure it out with the help of this forum and the manuals).So, if it's a catalytic converter, what kind of pricing might I be looking at? I had a '95 Camry before this, drove it for a decade with 270,000 miles put on it, and the four-banger was still strong at that point. However, I did have to replace the cat at about 100,000, as it cracked open. I had to replace from the engine back to the muffler (it was also pretty worn out, not the original stainless model unfortunately). That was a huge chunk of change!Are there things I should be watching out for when I'm quoted a price? Like, is the oxygen sensor able to come over to the new assembly, or is it integrated? Things like that... things I could get screwed on...Thanks again!

[torque2k]

Um. I don't quite know what happened, but my Vibe's now running like normal!On my way to work a few days ago, I climbed a fairly steep hill, chugging away, topped it and coasted down. I had my foot off the accelerator pedal, doing about 35MPH, when I felt the car jerk (slowing, not speeding up) and I heard a "pop" noise from under the center of the car. I thought maybe I'd hit a rabbit or squirrel. At the bottom of the hill, I hit the gas and the car MOVED! Suddenly I had my old Vibe back! The car has the same power it used to have, but is now smoother sounding and idles very quietly.What the heck could've caused this? For almost two months, the car's been sucking air or gas through a straw, and suddenly POP, and it's fine?! It's been almost one week since this happened, and everything seems normal. I'm a technician; odd happenings like this make me nervous...

[06pvibe]

Quote, originally posted by torque2k »Um. I don't quite know what happened, but my Vibe's now running like normal! ...... What the heck could've caused this? For almost two months, the car's been sucking air or gas through a straw, and suddenly POP, and it's fine?! It's been almost one week since this happened, and everything seems normal. I'm a technician; odd happenings like this make me nervous...I'm "guessing" that what ever was clogging p the cat converter, it has simply cleared itself... or destroyed itself in the process?

[keithvibe]

Quote, originally posted by 06pvibe »I'm "guessing" that what ever was clogging p the cat converter, it has simply cleared itself... or destroyed itself in the process?^^^ this would be my guess.... don't be shocked if you get a cel from the bad cat again.

[Digger]

Could it have been a stuck rear brake? If it was loading up you could have had a back fire and it cleared the pipe. Or someone stuck a potato up your tail pipe and it finaly shot out the back

[DoubleBaril]

Hmm, Im thinking i may need to start doing some of this stuff. It seems to be working so far. When I first got the car, I averaged 16 MPG, and i've since replaced the pcv valve and ran some injector cleaner through it. Also installed a Cosmo SRI.The most recent tank, I averaged 21.9 MPG.Next I think will be the intake manifold gasket and see what happens.I also picked up some NGK Iridiums, which will hopefully help it out.The weather was a lot colder when the MPG's were low, but even still, only 22 MPG seems pretty low.

[vibolista]

Quote, originally posted by DoubleBaril »Hmm, Im thinking i may need to start doing some of this stuff. It seems to be working so far. When I first got the car, I averaged 16 MPG, and i've since replaced the pcv valve and ran some injector cleaner through it. Also installed a Cosmo SRI.The most recent tank, I averaged 21.9 MPG.Next I think will be the intake manifold gasket and see what happens.I also picked up some NGK Iridiums, which will hopefully help it out.The weather was a lot colder when the MPG's were low, but even still, only 22 MPG seems pretty low.Wow, Double, 16 mpg out of a 4 cyl is near epic. Check to see if the engine can breathe! Stat! What air temperatures were you experiencing and what kind of driving were you doing during the 16 mpg tank?

[DoubleBaril]

16 mpg was when it was around the -20C to -30C mark.Even with the warmer temperatures, Im only getting just above the 20 mpg range.Im thinking the intake gasket is next on the list to do, then maybe the cat?Just put new plugs in, but dont think thats the problem.Im only getting about 350 KMS per tank.

[AdmRose]

Wow that sucks. I get an average of 29-32 MPG with my '04 AWD. 90% highway though.