zaso Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 Hi All, 05' 2.5i with 125k Miles with a non-starting car. No prior issues with the car since owning it for 1.5 years. While driving on the highway, car randomly loses power including power steering, but did not lose electronics. It happened after going over a mild bump, legitimately a minor bump that did not shake the car or anything which causes me to be skeptical that its related but I figured I would include backstory. Pull over, nothing seems out of place so I try to start again and nada. Tow home (((. No CEL or poor performance prior to this event. No loss of trip counter or presets, and its a new battery so Im doubtful its a battery issue? Cranks fine! Troubleshooting: - Checked belts, crank pulley and all looks in good condition. No signs that belts jumped off. Since I was driving when it died and power steering went out at the same time, first guess was belts came off/failed. - Checked timing belt, had a weird film on some of it almost like tape residue? Still intact and looks to be in good condition but maybe im wrong. - Check battery with multimeter and put on good voltage, even when trying to start. - Sprayed starter fluid in throttle bottle, still no start. but I can hear the fuel pump working, so hopefully not a fuel issue. Current hypothesis: No idea lol. I'm thinking weird electronic glitch that I won't be able to figure out. Recent events: Replaced timing belt at 100k New battery <1000 miles Trying to troubleshoot it, but its feeling more and more like I need to find a mechanic (any West LA recommendations would be appreciated!) Let me know if you guys have any guesses, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tehnation Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 does the starter crank? or is it nothing or nothing but clicks? There are many levels to not starting lol, I love when people say it doesn't start.... Did you check all your fuses? The ones in car and under hood. Any check engine lights?? Details my friend, DETAILS!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaso Posted September 6, 2018 Author Share Posted September 6, 2018 hahah sorry for vague opening. Cranks fine! Just won't turn over (not sure if turn over is still right word for it). Checked all the fuses that seemed relevant (starters), but I guess I should check all. I was being dumb and didnt realize the CEL is now on, I don't have a reader and its MT so I need connect the connectors to display the error code. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tehnation Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 crank and turnover are the same thing! means the starter is able to turn the motor, but in your case it turns over but doesn't start. yes check all your fuses especially the ones under hood. no messages on the odometer? If all that is fine, seems like spark or fuel. Something may have jarred something loose or shorted something out. But from my experience no start and no cel leads me to suspect the fuel pump, maybe fuel pressure regulator, electrical problems usually trigger a cel, mechanical is more like your case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
relative4 Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 Check grounds & crank sensor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaso Posted September 6, 2018 Author Share Posted September 6, 2018 Connected the diagnostic connectors and no codes. Which I guess is good but still gotta search for the issue. --edit-- with no codes, still possible to have crank sensor issues? Ill plan on testing the crank sensor. Need to dig a little more to find out all the ground locations. Thanks already for the help guys. Also while I'm thinking(rambling), if it was a fuel or spark issue I can't understand why the car would shut off abruptly, with no stutter/putter etc., and why the power steering would quit at the same time. But maybe this is my lack of knowledge showing. --Never ending edit-- Checked Cam and Crank sensor, and both seemed to reading appropriate ohms (2.2k). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apexi Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 When the car is off and you switch the key to the first or second ignition position without turning it on, do you hear the fuel pump whirring under the rear seat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmP6889928 Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 Do the cam gears turn when you try to start the engine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaso Posted September 6, 2018 Author Share Posted September 6, 2018 When the car is off and you switch the key to the first or second ignition position without turning it on, do you hear the fuel pump whirring under the rear seat? Yep, fuel pump is whirring in the ignition positions. Do the cam gears turn when you try to start the engine? Yeah all cam gears are turning when starting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 The power steering is lost because the engine stalled, so no surprise there. Start with checking that the cam timing is correct. The cam belt may have jumped for a yet to be determined reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notorious Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 How do your spark plugs look? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaso Posted September 7, 2018 Author Share Posted September 7, 2018 Unfortunately, I need to get the car running by early next week so I put in more capable hands at my mechanic's shop. I'll update with what what they find, incase anyone finds this thread on a random google search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaso Posted September 10, 2018 Author Share Posted September 10, 2018 The guess relating to timing was correct, unfortunately. Shop called, and one of the belts jumped a teeth. They were able to get the car started but won't stay running due to misfires on 2 cylinders. My options are to have them do a valve & gasket job for $2300 to replace the presumably bent valves and hope the pistons are ok, or to have a 60k engine put in for $4200.... No real great answer here. Im not sure how fair the pricing is for the valve & gasket job but Im not sure how many other options I have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tehnation Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 Whoever replaced ur timing belt is obviously an amateur! You just had it replaced but it just screwed ur valves??? Connect the dots! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tehnation Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 I hope to god the people who replaced your timing belt aren't the same people giving u this quote! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
relative4 Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 Easy Teh, that TB job was 25K miles ago. A lot could have happened since then... Those prices are pretty reasonable, but you can maybe beat them. Call around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaso Posted September 10, 2018 Author Share Posted September 10, 2018 I hope to god the people who replaced your timing belt aren't the same people giving u this quote! Different shops, im not familiar with how easy it is for timing to come out of sync but the current shop hasnt mentioned anything regarding poor install of timing belt. Easy Teh, that TB job was 25K miles ago. A lot could have happened since then... Those prices are pretty reasonable, but you can maybe beat them. Call around. Well thats good to hear, thanks for the input. If it comes to be an engine replacement, its not worth the money for me to replace it and I'd probably sell the shell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apexi Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 I'm thinking the timing belt tensioner might've failed.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaso Posted September 10, 2018 Author Share Posted September 10, 2018 Something I totally forgot to mention was that when I was looking the belts I noticed that the slider bolt was not threaded into the lock bolt. The slider bolt was too big it looked like. I wasnt really thinking about it but maybe that bolt not being actually attached to the lock bolt allowed the tension to drop which then would have let it fall out of time??? too little too late cause I didnt notice until it was already dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laz Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 That's just the tension for the accessories belt, nothing to do with the timing belt. Timing belt has a auto tensioner. If you bought a cheap timing belt kit the tensioners are known to go. You would hear a winning sound before it completely failed though. The shop may be blowing smoke as well. Also these cars when the batteries are disconnected need to relearn throttle position and will stall until learned. I had that happened to my '07. Until it relearned the throttle position it kept on stalling on me. this is die to the electronic throttle control. --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaso Posted September 10, 2018 Author Share Posted September 10, 2018 Ah ok good to know. Yeah ive delt with the relearning of the throttle position so Im sure that wasnt it. Hopefully the pistons arent smoked. but only time will tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tehnation Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 Easy Teh, that TB job was 25K miles ago. A lot could have happened since then... Those prices are pretty reasonable, but you can maybe beat them. Call around. I just had to throw it out there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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