Greetings,

I need some help. I have a 2002 Protege with 137k on the 2.0l engine.

I've had issues with the car stalling and then not starting in the past. However, the issue was intermittent.

2 weeks ago I was driving along in very cold weather and noticed my car was loosing power very quickly. I had it to the floor just to get off the freeway. Then the exhaust became very loud and sounded like it was coming from under the hood. The car stalled out on the off ramp and hasn't started since.

I have 3 OBD codes stored in the computer. They are0421 - cat not up to threshould
p0300 - random misfire
p0480 - fan circuit malfunction

I had a friend stop by yesterday and we cleaned the MAF and changed the coils. But when we tried to start the car, black smoke poured out of the pre-cat on the manifold. This tells me that the cat is clogged and a hole was burned through the wall of the precat.

Now here's the scary part. I'm concerned that the engine melted down due to the excessive heat created by the clogged exhaust. Has anyone heard of this problem? Any idea what to check next?

 

the motor should be fine because on these newer cars the computer will take over when it thinks the car is in trouble and go into a safe mode which is what happened to you on the freeway it will give you enough power to get home but it won't let you access the full potencial so it should be fine thats what that safety option is for but you could allways check the spark plugs make sure there alright and if not just change them.

 

Ok here's an update. It's been one misfortune after another.

First, I rented a compression tester but then it wouldn't back out of cylinder head because the tester had a defective fitting.

Then, the starter pinion failed but motor was ok. So, I replaced it.

Now I tried to start it again today after all of the exhaust components were removed after the manifold and the engine turns over a quarter to a half turn and then locks up. It's like the compression is not releasing from one or more of the cylinders. This tells me that I have a stuck component in the valve train.

I'm not sure what to do anymore. I'm thinking about taking the car as a loss and buying a new Kia or Hyundai...

 

Reading this thread briefly, and having some experience with issues such as you are experiencing now, I would guess the catalytic converter needs to be replaced... perhaps the O2 sensor too. It is a good idea to replace one with the other, since a faulty O2 can cause the CC to become ineffective and clog.

 

The cat has been removed due to a hole in the side of that was the size of a baseball. So currently, the exhaust manifold is open.

We've rotated the engine by hand and found no unusually difficult points in the rotation.

The timing is good. The I and the E and facing each other.

We try to turn over the engine and get some fireballs out of the manifold but there's also what sounds like a sucking noise. Is this normal?


Cliff notes:

1. new plugs
2. new coils
3. new starter (previous starter failed during starting attempts)
4. removed cat to open manifold to remove any obstructions
5. timing is correct
6. engine turns but stalls when combustion happens (sucking noise is heard from the manifold)
7. Battery is charged but all electronics go dim on combustion

 

what kind of fuel are you running in it? 91 oc or 87 octane... did you remove the exhaust manifold? if not take it off and check the seal to see if thats shot.. that might be where the sucking sound is coming from