I have been having trouble with my car recent. There are multiple things wrong with it at the moment.
[ul][*]The MAIN problem I have is when I drive the car, after about 25 miles the car begins to studder and acts as if it is out of gas which leads to it slowing down and stalling out. If I immediately try to start it up it will not crank, however, if I wait roughly 3-5 minutes and try to restart it; it cranks fine. Then I can drive it for about 25 more miles and it will do the same thing[*]Another problem is whenever it is parked, there are multiple drips under the car 2-3 ad they are not just when I turn the vehicle off. Primarily it will leak when I turn off, but when I get up in the morning and go out to check, the drip spots are still pretty wet meaning it never stopped but dripped at a slow pace.[*]Older problems I have had with the car was the transmission. The car set for roughly 2 years without being drivin. We had the transmission replaced by a rebuilt one which fixed most of the problems for a while, maybe a month.[*]After getting the transmission fixed, I had trouble with the gas tank. There was gas in the tank but it did not register. My gauge would read half a tank of gas and then cut off as if there was no gas in the tank. I know there was gas in the tank because it always seemed to cut off at exactly 3.1 gallons of gas intake from a gas station. However, this problem somehow resolved itself.[*]Recently called auto parts and they told me to check for a code. The code I got was 122155. To my understanding, '12' is the generic starting code, possibly meaning I recently changed the battery?(Yes, I did) '21' mean the is a Oxygen sensor problem? And '55' meaning the end of the code?[/ul]

Basically what I want to know is, what is the problem?
I understand it could probably be multiple things, however, I really don't want to put more money than is needed into the car.I have heard multiple things:
[ul][*]Fuel Filter[*]Fuel Pump[*]PCV Valve[*]Wiring[*]Spark Plugs[*]Head Gasket[*]Gas Tank[*]Condesation in the Gas Tank[*]Oil Issues[/ul]
But anyways, thanks for any information in advance.

 

Process of elimination never hurt anything. If it seems like it's starving for gas it probably is. You might be getting the O2 Sensor code from your A/F mixture being lean. If you want to find out where the leak is coming from, steam clean the engine bay really good, wait a little bit, and you should see it no problem. You can test the fuel pump with an ohm meter, or hook it straight up to the battery to see if it works. The fuel filter is a cheap fix. You might as well do a full tune up also. Another easy fix, get a can of seafoam, dump 1/3 in the tank and fill it up half way, 1/3 in the valve above the TB, 1/3 in the oil and drive it like you're running it into the ground. Makes alot of awesome smoke. Change out the oil afterwards with some synthetics. Maybe you can also get a new O2 sensor. All of these things will cost you less than 100 bucks and should make an immediate difference.

 

The old bad gas could possibly cause many of your problems from the way it's running to the gauge readings, but it is most likely just the gauge problem and the following is the most likely and probable causesfor your trouble judging by the info you've given.

Your cutting off and not starting until it's sets for a few minutes is most likely due to the O2 sensor code it's giving you. I take it that when you say cranking you mean starting and not just the engine cranking and turning over without starting, yes/no?The O2 sensor code simply means there is a problem in that circuit which usually means the sensor is bad, but it could alsojust be that the wiring to or from it is bad and not the sensor itself.

Your O2 sensor could easily be your first problem that you listed and replacing it could very easily fix it. When something goes bad on PCM (computer) controlled Mopars they can usually get by (keep running)for a short period to make it to the shop to get fixed, it goes into what they call limp mode. In your case, a faulty O2 sensor, it will run full rich to start and run as well as protect itself in the event you get on the throttle hard, like getting onto the freeway. When it runs full rich like this it will start just fine first thing in the morning or after it's sat for about an hour not running. The problem is after it has been running for about 10 minutes and it gets up to operating temperatures, because that is when it would usually cut back on the gas, butwith a bad O2 sensor it doesn't know that the air to fuel ratio is getting too rich and it doesn't cut back on the gas so it floods it out stalling the engine. This too is why it won't start back up right off, the excess gas in the cylinders and on the plugs needs to dry off before it will start again. After a few minutes the engines heat will exaporate the gas on the spark plugs and it will start and run again for a short time before stalling again. This can seem like it's running out of gas, but it's actually the opposite, it's getting far too much gas. Check your O2 sensor wires before you replace the O2 sensor itself, it would be a waste to spend the money on a new O2 sensor if it's a broken wire and not the sensor itself.

You would be wise to change your spark plugs too, the repeatedly being drowned in gas can ruin the plugs. Also, pull your oil dipstick and smell the oil on it, there's a good chance it will smell heavily of gas since it is running far too rich, there is a lot of unburned gas running down past the piston rings and getting in the oil. If it does you need to change the oil and filter as soon as possible, because you have gas in your oil and it will thin out the oil and it will not coat and protect the moving parts as it should.

As far as your leak is concerned, after the car has been parked for an hour or two roll it forward or backward a foot or so without starting the car and see if it leaves spots where you moved it to. This will eliminate any question as to wether it leaks just after shut down or if it does it the entire time. You can also check to see exactly where it's leaking from.

Finally you mystery gas gauge readings. When gasoline remains untouched and untreated for about a year or more it breaks down and turns into a varnish-like sludge. The bulk of it in the tank after two yearsmay remain useable, but the outermost part can be a problem and gum things up such as a gas tanks float causing it to read wrong. After running several tanks of fresh gas through it can clean it out and get rid of the old sludge-like gas and it's residue.

 

The code (21) is a fault in the O2 sensor circuit which meansthat the sensor itself is bad or the wiring to or from it is bad or both. The A/F ratio has nothing to do with this code and it cannot cause this code to appear. There are other codes for the A/F ratio which are 51 for a lean condition and 52 for a rich condition.