Ok, a couple weeks ago, i took my car to pep boys. The reason why is because it has been losing power and struggling to accelerate. Pep boys did an engine diagnostic and a compression test. They told me i needed a new engine and radiator because the radiator had leaked into my engine and ruined it or something like that. I am still able to drive my car in the city ok, it just accelerates a little slowly. Because of that, i wasnt sure whether or not to trust pep boys. I took it to another place, asked them to flush the radiator and see if it was leaking at all, they said that it wasnt and the loss of power came from the catalytic converter. Everything was fine when i went home last night, but this morning, my car didnt start at all. So my question is this, if the radiator was leaking into the engine and such, would my engine have still run? And, would you guys trust pepboys? the estimate they gave me for the cost was $5800.00. What about my car not starting? any suggestions? I replaced my battery about three months ago, im thinking possibly bad cables, or my engine finally gave out. Any help, ideas or suggestions would help, so thank you for anything you guys can think of. Kevo1123

 

if the motor turns over and dosent make any irregular noise, I doubt you need a new motor, I wouldnt trust pep boys.. they are in the buisness of selling parts, and kinda sounds like thats what they are trying todo... it could be many things.. I dont know but, do you hear the fuel pump run when you turn they key on? sounds more like its a fuel problem pump?, filter?, or it could be a plugged exhaust.. when you turn the motor over do you feel anything comming out the exhaust pipe? How many miles are on the car?

 

i was thinking the same things about pep boys, that estimate is just seems too high to me. When the car would start, there wasnt any irregular noise, just sounded like it was struggling to get power, and i am not too sure what the fuel filter would sound like. When i took it to an exhaust shop, the tech there said it could be the catalytic converter, but suggested that i get the fuel filter checked out. The only problem with that is it is inside the gas tank. Now that my car isnt starting, i am worried it is something more serious. I have 94,000 miles on the car, and the new engine isnt sounding like a horrible idea. btw, i tried jumping it today hoping it would just be bad cable, but that didnt work.

 

Sounds to me like a completely clogged fuel system.If i were you i would replace your injectors,fuel filter and fuel pump.Don't trust pepboys.When was the last time you had any work done on your fuel system?They say if you haven't replaced your fuel pump by 100k Your on borrowed time.It's also usually a good idea to replace your fuel filter a second time about 5k later,if your fuel lines ever get that clogged because you might clogg up your new filter pretty fast.

 

i treat my fuel system with the pour in cleaner, but i havent replaced the pump or filter. I think i will go drop my car off today and see if that helps. I was wondering. I was looking around for fuel pumps online, and i found one that had a higher flow rate than the stock pump. If i replaced my stock pump with a more powerful one, would i get better acceleration or would it be the same? also, would that affect the milage? thanks guys

 

Adding a higher rate fuel pump won't make any real difference unless you upgrade your injectors and add a pressure regulator.Unless your going to add a turbo kit i wouldn't bother.

 

If it was the cat they should have done a bypass pressure check (shows how much backpressure the cat is making). Cant do that if the car wont start though. But that may be why the car won't start. If you drop the exahust and the car starts, that would point to the cat but I don't know why it would plug up. Usually suggests you are running rich or you have put some antifreeze through it. Did pepboys give you any evidence as to why they thought that anitfreeze was in the engine (either milky oil or excess vapor in the exhaust) Either way that's probably a head gasket if true. I wouldn't replace the motor without finding out what's wrong first, no way.

 

my car did the same thing when the catalytic converter went out

 

my car did the same thing when the catalytic converter went out

 

Pep Boys did not give me any reason for why they thought there was antifreeze in the engine. I got it started, and when i put my hand behind the exhaust, it didnt feel like much exhaust was coming out. I want to take it to a different place and get a diagnostic run there. I have seen universal cats online for about $100 and the info on those said that they would fit my neon. Would one of those be okay to throw on my car, or would i run into more problems? Thank you for the help.