Welcome to the all new Geo Metro Forum. We hope you enjoy your visit.You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are features you can't use and images you can't see. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: Join our community! |
| 2000 Chevy Metro, engine problems?; Metro running terribly, possible blown gasket? | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 15 2013, 11:06 PM (2,409 Views) | |
| Reiske | Feb 15 2013, 11:06 PM Post #1 |
|
Fresh Fish
![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Alright, I'm needing help here. All the people I've asked to diagnose my car have given me different answers. Figured I'd post the symptoms and such for it and ask you pro's about it. I will like to state now that I'm not very car illiterate. I took woodshop, not autoshop :\ Chevy Metro 2000, 4 cylinder (lsi, I think) The check engine light has been on for over a year now, and I've been neglecting it due to my financial situation, but now its too much. AutoZone's free engine check gave me the code PO300, which relates to either the ignition system, vacuum leak (still don't understand what that is), an injector fault or a high or low fuel pressure. The vehicle has been getting terrible gas mileage, at first when the problem arose, it was about 20-25 mpg, now its about 10-15. When the light first came on the gas just didn't give me enough power, and I could hear a slight Clop or clunking sound, almost as if a large metal valve was popping or trying to, pop in to place. Eventually the problem went away, or at least the sound. I could tell I definitely wasn't getting full power while pressing the gas, and she was still running a tad rough. A friend of mine took a look at it a few days later and we noticed there was a wire cut that was originally connected to the... I'm sorry, I'm not sure what the device is, Suzuki is labeled on it, its a grey cylinder like contraption just above the engine. Not sure if it has to do with fuel or air, but yeah. I then had a family friend tell me that it was actually a ground wire, since its only connected to a bolt, but I still haven't found the connector to rewire it, I can take a picture of it, if necessary. I took the advice of a friend and just switched out the spark plugs, figuring it was a cheap and easy fix. I was able to take out the first 3 easily, but the one on the far left seemed gunked up inside with black oil or something? Figured this was the fouled one, so I tried to remove it, I could not so I took a screw driver and shimmied the oil bits around, I eventually get it all out, only to find out there was a black rubber like tube around the spark plug? I was confused but I needed to take it all out to even get the socket onto the plug, once I got it out, I gauged the plugs to what I understood was right .042? and then put the caps back into place. Well, that just made the car run even worse. In park she'd run basically the same, a tad bit rough, but when I put her in drive or any other gear other than park and neutral, she'll shake and almost sounds like shes going to just die on me. But she doesn't, the idle sounds really high when I put her back into park too for about 5-10 seconds. While in drive or reverse, she'll run extremely rough, acceleration is so slow, but once I hit 37~ish mph, she'll run pretty much normal. That clopping sound has come back and there is a slight whistle while accelerating (A family friend said he'd think it'd be a vacuum leak if it was whistling while in park and drive, but not just drive). So these problems came after I simply changed the spark plugs, which is odd. Now tonight, I was driving home from work and I began to see smoke come up from my hood, I rolled down the window and could tell it was coolant (anti-freeze, is the same thing, right? :\), Worryingly I made it home and popped the hood, she's now running just as rough as she did while in Drive, when she's in Park now. I figured she was just leaking coolant, but under the hood I could feel air rushing out from two places. One from the bottom right corner of the entire thing. Then the second was near the engine block. More towards the top right of it. It felt to be coming from near the solenoids? There's 4 of them on the back side of the engine, they're orange or red in color, plugged into the engine and wires leading from them, but that area is where the air feels to be rushing from. So, I know its a lot, but any suggestions would be helpful. I'm unsure, but I'm guessing the rushing air is from maybe a blown gasket? And I've always thought maybe there's something wrong with my fuel/air intake bits, that's why I don't get full power? A friend of my mom's who has a geo, took a look at mine when I was at work, before tonight, and he thought it was two fuel injectors? Also, I bought the car with a bad u-joint, or that's what I've come to understand what makes a popping sound when I turn. I'm seriously considering just selling it if these problems are too major and use my tax money for a down payment :\ |
![]() |
|
| Woodie | Feb 16 2013, 07:34 AM Post #2 |
![]()
|
Welcome. Sounds as if you have multiple, unrelated problems. This is not helpful at all, well, the code is, but their explanation covers a ton of different things. P0300 means misfire, one or more of your cylinders isn't working right. Finding one spark plug all gunked up fits in with this. The rubber tube is probably the end of your spark plug wire. If it stayed on the plug, then it's no good and needs to be replaced. If, by "the one on the left" you mean the passenger side, that's cylinder #1. You need to replace the wire that goes over to the other end, cylinder #4. If you mean the one on the driver's side, then you need a new coil. Should look like this: ![]() Those orange things are your fuel injectors, I have no idea why air would be rushing out at that location. Whatever, you need a real mechanic to look at this. You shouldn't have driven it all that time with a misfire, and you certainly shouldn't drive it at all with coolant leaking out. |
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| « Previous Topic · Engine Tech & Diagnostics · Next Topic » |


Welcome to the all new Geo Metro Forum. We hope you enjoy your visit.


![]](http://z3.ifrm.com/static/1/pip_r.png)





2:28 PM Jul 11