the past couple of days my check engine light has started blinking once i got to the top of 3rd gear and i couldnt go faster than about 90 mph. people said it was my cat and today this happend when i was driving... there are alot of vibrations when i hit the gas, it sound throaty like a wrx and wants to cut out. any ideas of what it could be? heres a video. http://videos.streetfire.net/video/b...a-9b2e01300593

 

Sounds just like this.....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vhf7lgLXQU

 

Is it smoking at all

 

first off, flashing CEL means SEVERE ENGINE MISFIRE. stop driving the car immediately. do a compression test, if all the cylinders are even, get yourself a new set of plugs and see what she does

 

nah no smoke.

 

i agree with blazin pull the plugs and see what they look like

 

i just changed my plugs saturday, i didnt set a gap because it clearly said on the box there is no gap required. they were bosch+4 plugs i believe. ill check it though.

 

Not setting the gap is not gonna make it sound like that i would get a compression test done to be sure its not the engine.

 

never put bosch plugs in your car! POS! take those things out and get yourself some NGK copper plugs.

 

will do, ill check the plugs tomorrow. i tried searching how to do a compression test, i know ive seen a thread about it before but cant find it now. help me out?

 

Buy a compression tester from Autozone and consult the manual.

 

And one size fits all......

Seriously, never just pull a set of plugs out of the box and toss em in the engine...take the 30 seconds to at least check the gap.

 

i thought the wrx sound means a broken rod...???

 

It usually means a broken ringland on one of the pistons. More commonly #4.

 

thanx for the correction, i was close! sort of... :/

 

i can smell unburnt gas when im behind the car. something isnt firing.

 

Let me ask you this...

Was your car fine before you changed your plugs?

 

idk if it was fine, i didnt notice any problems until after i changed them tho and decided to get on it. i dont get on it that much tho.

idk if it was fine, i didnt notice any problems until after i changed them tho and decided to get on it. i dont get on it that much tho.

 

Did you possibly Crack one of the plugs while tightning them??? I have done this in the past and the car misfired and ran like shitt !!!

GO back and CHECK your PLUGS since thats the first thing you touched. Sounds like its running on 3 Cylinders. I am almost positive its an iginition issue.

I Worked a friends 00 cavy with the 2.2 only ran on 3 cylinders due to a bad PCM and it sounded IDENTICAL to your video,

 

do not, I repeat do not use the bosch + anything in these cars.
NGK 1 step colder iridium's are the way to. Never had a single issue with them in this or my RX-7, or any of the other 20+ cars I've owned/raced.

 

First off, I love the replys you got to your video. One guy says its a cracked piston. Never seen that one before, rod maybe. Another guy says blown head gasket. Can you explain the horrific noise then Einstein? And the last guy "that'd be a definate prolly number 4 piston took a dump" WTF, where do i start with that one? You can tell which piston it is by hearing it on a video. This guy should work for NASCAR or something.

Anyway, everyone is giving you good advice by doing a compression check. Thats your first move. From there who knows though. I don't try to diagnose cars through video. I'm a mechanic not a pyschic. Good luck. Keep us updated on what you find.

 

I think I posted on there lol.
But as for #4 piston, it is a common issue.
But now that I see he was running the +4's in the car, well that takes it to a different level lol.

 

If an engine part fails, it's very common that it's a piston or ring. If a piston or ring fails, it's pretty common that it's #4 due to fueling issues.

Amazing post. I haven't seen a post dripping with condescension yet be completely wrong in a long time.

 

Its #4 most of the time when these motor take a ****.

 

[QUOTE=Dainslaif;3304184]If an engine part fails, it's very common that it's a piston or ring. If a piston or ring fails, it's pretty common that it's #4 due to fueling issues.

You're right but have you ever actually seen a Cobalt "crack" a piston. I've seen them burn some up and even blow apart some rings but never crack one. And I'm aware that 90% when Cobalts have engine internal problems it's the #4 piston but how can you be sure it's a blown engine just by listening to a video?

Getting back to actually helping the problem- If you think it might be a cat issue after you do a compression test disconnect the down pipe and see if it runs any better. Obviously if you find something wrong during the compression test theres no need to do this.