ScottieBoy Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 I talked to my buddy and he seems to think maybe the cats might be clogged. He has a pressure check gauge that I'm going to use tomorrow. I'm also going to see if he has an inline gauge to check fuel pressure as well. Hopefully that will give us an idea. A clogged cat seems like a possibility because when I bought my car it had a severe oil consumption problem. I guess if that had been going on for quite a while, it's possible that it clogged it. I'll update what I find out when I do Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apexi Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 I think the problem might be something much simpler. I would pull one of the plugs, and verify that it's a NGK BKR5EIX-11 plug, which is also ngk part number 5464. The gap should be anywhere between .039"-.044". You mention that the car wants to die when you put it in neutral, have you disconnected the battery recently? That's normal if you have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottieBoy Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 Yes I disconnected the battery and it did die on me once. I'll pull the plugs and check but I'm pretty positive the plugs are those. Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottieBoy Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 Well I got it figured out. Did a back pressure check and it pegged his gauge that read up to 15psi. Got an appointment at the dealership to have them verify and replace my cat under warranty. Good thing too because I'm 700 miles away from having to pay for it myself lol Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apexi Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Hopefully he's right so that you don't have to foot a diagnostic bill. I'm still in disbelief that your cats are clogged, but anything is possible. Back pressure testing is new to me, how did you guys perform the test? I can't help but think that being a pzev car might mess up the test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottieBoy Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 Just unplugged the upstream o2 sensor and screwed in the pressure gauge. Apparently 1-2psi is normal and anything above that is a problem. To be honest, it's the first time I had run into it as well. I know when I bought the car, it burned through three quarts of oil in 3k miles through the pcv system. I replaced the pcv valve and put in full synthetic and haven't had a problem since. The test makes sense tho. Too much back pressure and the air won't flow like it's supposed to. I'm excited to get it fixed. I imagine it'll have more power that it had when I bought it lol Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrownLeggy Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 I'm thinking that's why they did the recall on the cat. They told me that the pzev ECM is causing the cats to go bad way early. I'd see if it's covered under recall before you get any warranty company involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottieBoy Posted April 29, 2014 Author Share Posted April 29, 2014 I checked to see if my car had and open recalls when I picked up the valve cover gaskets. The service writer said both ecm reprograms had been done and nothing else was needed. Either way it'll be covered under warranty. Good thing it happens when it did tho. 700 more miles and I'd be flipping that bill myself lol Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottieBoy Posted April 29, 2014 Author Share Posted April 29, 2014 Took it to the dealership and the put a scope down to visually look at the cats. Apparently they had started to break apart causing the blockage. Warranty is going to cover it luckily so I'll have it back by the end of today! Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottieBoy Posted April 30, 2014 Author Share Posted April 30, 2014 Got it back and my power is back! Sadly, now my clutch is slipping lol. Yay cars! At least that won't take forever to diagnose Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrownLeggy Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Good to hear she's back to normal, mostly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottieBoy Posted May 11, 2014 Author Share Posted May 11, 2014 Update on all of this. Replaced the slipping clutch and came to realize it wasn't actually slipping afterwards. The third cat was partially clogged and causing my car to chug feeling almost exactly like a slipping clutch. It's now in the shop getting fixed but I won't have it back until Wednesday. This car has been such a pain in the ass... I just want it back and working perfectly Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEE-OTTO Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Sucks but once these issues are sorted she ought to run fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottieBoy Posted May 12, 2014 Author Share Posted May 12, 2014 I certainly hope so lol. Driving this Focus zx5 sure makes me miss my car. Although, it's nice being able to get to freeway speeds Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEE-OTTO Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 I recently drove a yaris as my LGT was getting waxed at the dealer it was interesting to say the least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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