Guys... please help! I've just been humbled again by my 97 avenger which is turning into a large pile of expensive non running junk!

97 Avenger ES 2.5 auto 194K on motor and car.... 90K on just swapped trans....

Back in February the trans went out. With the help of you guys I was able to figure out this wasnt fixable. So.... after looking around I found a 95 Cirrus trans with 45 K on it. Well, as it turns out the trans physically was the same, but the electrical connectors were different.

So I found a 98 trans from a sebring..... and installed it myself at home. (what a PITA!) Anyways the car has been sitting for about 6 months total time for install and location of the replacement.

I got it all put back together.... and she fired right off! WOW! So i take it for a test drive and all of a sudden it starts sputtering and backfireing and wont go but like 20 mph.

Bring it back home.... and since it had been sitting for 6 mos with a 1/4 tank of gas I figured it had gone bad and prolly had condensation in it. So i go and get 7 or 8 gallons of fresh gas and put in along with some fuel stabilizer and injector cleaner. Car still runs like crap for a few minutes.... then clears right up and runs like it always has. I drive it around for 30 minutes and its 100% normal. So Im like "cool" that was the problem and its good to go now....

Next morning...... I go to drive it to work (50 miles one way) and get 9 miles from home and it starts its sputtering, missing, 20 mph non sense again. So I turn around and Im late for work and drive it 9 miles home sputtering and missing the whole way. When I return home later that night I start the car up and its really loud ! LOUD! For some reason its blown out the flex coupler in the exhaust pipe right under the oil pan!! It also now is making a LOUD ticking noise from the top of the engine! The engine noise is consistent with RPM's and doesnt go away....


HELP! Whats this ticking noise? I noticed the oil pressure acting a little funny. Why would it run like crap after the trans? I've put in fresh gas and it has been running like a dream.... so if the gas was bad it would do it all the time!

The ticking really has me bothered ..... its not injectors! The only motor parts I had off for the trans was the oil filter and filter bracket. I made the mistake of sealing the oil filter bracket back to the block with red gasket maker... could this be the problem? I was also thinking it could be jumped timing.... but I just put on a new timing belt about 10K ago myself and it ran 100% as always until the trans went so I know that it was right.

Any help on the top end ticking? and of course it seems like its the valve cover on the backside under the intake the noise is from!! Also any thoughts on this intermitent missing and sputtering and then running like it always has??


Please help guys.... Im at wits end with this car! Its driving me nuts.... to the point its about to go to the junkyard for scrap.... I wouldnt sell this thing to anybody and after my frustration I might enjoy seeing it squashed!!!!!

 

I also want to add the check engine light is flashing, going off, coming back on, flashing, just basically going crazy!

Where is the converter? Could it be plugged and have cause valve damage? Looking on ebay they call the pipe with converter the Y-pipe and they say that there are sensors before and after the convertor. On mine it looks like the converter or what Im typically accustomed to being the converter is farther back under the middle of the car and all the sensors are forward of the converter.

Thanks

 

OK Flashing CEL = Misfire ... Likely sitting all that time there might be corrosion/moisture in the Plugs/wires/cap/or rotor ... Thats likely the misfire ...

There is a precat on the manifolds and the cat is back under the middle of the car ...
The Flex joing likely failed due to sitting and drawing moisture and rusted out...

Also sitting so long might have caused the oil to run out of the heads and clog the passageways, causing the lifters to not get enough oil and the hydraulic lifters get noisey without enough oil ... Although it should increase with the revs

 

Could it be the fuel pump as well? I know in the past sometimes I've let things sit and the electric fuel pumps usually go bad if you let them sit in gas without use for a period of time...? As far as I know this is the original fuel pump and filter. I bought the car in 00 or 01 with 50K on it and Im the only one who has had it since then.......

Can I clean out the oil passages by removing the valve covers? I figured since Im gonna put plugs and wires on it anyways and I have to remove the plenum... I might as well go ahead and pop a valve cover off.

Has anyone seen the price of the collecter pipe!!!!!!!! HOLY SH*T its $501 aftermarket!!! I think I may just send this one to the scrapyard. I've already spent more in parts on the car than its worth in the past year and its to the point everytime I fix one thing.... something else breaks!!!

 

I wouldn't bet on the fuel pump ...

it's possible to pull the heads and clean the passages or even just an oil flush will sometimes dissolve enough out

disturbing motorsports sells a high flow pipe for far cheaper then that

 

where can I get one of these pipes if I can manage to fix the rest of this pile?

 

Hmmm, trans r&r... isn't there a crank sensor in the trans? could it be that maybe it's been comprimised/damaged or mis adjusted? IDK my 2.5's all the well but 3.0 w/OBDII have a crank sensor in the bellhousing.