Topic: Ohhhhh....so that's what a MAP sensor does!

[gpw11]

It makes it so your car isn't a stuttering mess that dies only when you're in really bad places for a car to die.  It's also one of the hardest things to diagnose if your computer isn't working (goodbye $100) and a total bitch to find.  Strangely enough, it's also the only car part I've ever dealt with that costs $3.00 used and roughly $200+ new.  Now hopefully, I don't dye before this ebay auction ends, because I'm not paying that much more for something I can get for $3.

[Cobra951]

Interesting.  So the MAP sensor performs a function similar to what an MAF sensor does, but the "MA" mean different things.  LOL.  My car uses MAF.

[gpw11]

Well, that's certainly interesting.  I've actually always looked at this thing and wondered what it was, little did I know it would one day bite me in the ass.  Trust me, if that thing goes it is the biggest pain to diagnose.

That said, I'm left in a little bit of a tough situation.  It's extremely simple to switch out (on my car at least), but expensive if  I buy new.  I currently am bidding on one through Ebay for like $3.99 which apparently works (and the seller has a good rating).  The downside is that there is no 'buy it now' option and the auction ends in like 4 days.  I've contacted another seller and offered $30 if he ships to Canada, which he is willing to do tomorrow, but I still don't think I'd get that bitch by the weekend.  Beyond that, the only marginally cheap option I have is to drive out to an auto wrecker, rip it out of a car myself, and hope for the best.  I wouldn't mind doing that, but I really really hate those motherfuckers and don't want to drive for 40 min for a hit and miss proposition. I've left a message with my mechanic because he probably has some connections into the underground world of MAP sensors, but that guy is terrible at getting back to people.

The Ebay option would be great, but I don't really want to deal with the whole "is my car going to die on the highway?" thing all weekend and I need that bitch solidly for the next week.   

[Ghandi]

As your attorney, I advise you to rent a very fast car with no top.

[WindAndConfusion]

Ghandi first came to this forum after losing his job as David Caruso's lawyer.

[Cobra951]

Beyond that, the only marginally cheap option I have is to drive out to an auto wrecker, rip it out of a car myself, and hope for the best.  I wouldn't mind doing that, but I really really hate those motherfuckers and don't want to drive for 40 min for a hit and miss proposition.

What is it about salvage-yard people?  They are consistently the biggest assholes you would ever bother to deal with.

[gpw11]

Yeah, I don't know.  It's not even really all that shitty of a job, I don't see why they're so bitter about the smallest things.  Kind of like when your car gets impounded and you go pick it up.  The people are so miserable (did I ever tell my tow-truck company girl story here?...because it's awesome). "Can you move this so I can get my car?" is always met with such disdain.  What the fuck?!  Why are you so bitchy?  I'm the one paying you $100 for an hour of impoundment you fucking clown.  If anyone should be pissy it's me.

[gpw11]

Oh, and this better be the fucking MAP sensor.  I'm assuming so because that's the error code being given out and it definitely feels like it's a problem with the the fuel mix or delivery (if it was an older car I'd assume something with the carb), but the motherfucking thing died on me while waiting to make a left hand turn today and it was a huge bitch.  Luckily I was on a hill so I could roll down it backwards once all the people behind me figured out what was going on and got out of the way so I could pull over to get it started. 

If it's not the MAP I think I'm leaving this thing on the side of the road next time, going to the bank and getting them to draft a certified cheque, and buying a $10,000 new Hyundai accent (with a ten year power train warranty I think) on the spot.  Fuck this shit.

[gpw11]

Ok, so I bought this used sensor off of Ebay and put that motherfucker in. The problem still persists here and there.  The shitty thing is I don't have an OBDII scanner, so I have no idea for the moment if the trouble code went away when I changed the sensor.  I changed the actual sensor, the module, and the vacuum line, basically everything but the electrical connection because I didn't want to splice wires and because I thought that was the least likely to have anything wrong with it without it crapping out completely thus giving me an engine light because there was no signal at all.

So, now I have this weird stuttering, hesitating, stalling, sometimes won't start problem and no idea what the fuck it could be.  Like  I said, if it was carb equiped I'd blame that...but it isn't.  O2 sensor?  Who the fuck knows.  Fuel Injectors?  Maybe.  Fuel Pump? Could be.  Whole mother fucking thing trying to kill me?  Very possible.   I also have a mechanic who doesn't seem to want to get back to me, which is kind of cool because I'm just trying to pay him really, so he can dodge that call for as long as he wants. 

But the shitty thing is that if I bring it into another mechanic with a better set-up for diagnosis I probably will get rapped because there's like 6 things I know it COULD be, all of which too expensive or too much of a pain for me to want to do myself (which makes them expensive too).  If I was some mechanic, I'd find out what the problem is, fix that, and do whatever else gave me a huge profit margin as well that MIGHT have had a similar symptom.

So, here's where I am (I know it's probable something really fucking simple):

-Water in the gas tank

-Dirty fuel injectors

-O2 sensor (unlikely as it was cleaned and a completely faulty one should give me a check engine light I think)

-Some other motherfucking shit.

The answer?  The same thing I used to do to cars in mechanics class in highschool:  3 bottles of Seafoam poured into the tank, engine, and crankcase.  If not I'll probably find out how much it is to change the O2 sensor and fuel pump before I just throw the thing out and buy somehing new.

[scottws]

I'm kinda with you here.  I noticed I was getting a lot more vibration out of my engine lately, with a rougher idle.  Then a few days ago my Check Engine Soon light came on.  This sucks.  I spent $320 last time that happened.  They put all new spark plugs in and tuned the engine.  There was some other thing wrong they fixed but I forget what.

I'm hoping it's something stupid like a bad O2 sensor.

[gpw11]

I'm about at the end of my rope.  I don't really want to spend any money getting this fixed because although this car has been retarded cheap to run and very reliable, over the last 8 months or so it's started to nickle and dime me to death (lack of previous care on my part for sure).

That said, I'm going to seafoam the cylinders tonight while the neighbourhood sleeps. Who wants to take bets on the cops showing up and following the mushroom cloud of smoke coming from my tailpipe?

[Antares]

you're going to what the what?  Stop speaking canadian... or gearhead... I'm not sure which.  I don't speak either.

[gpw11]

Seafoam

Cleans your engine like nothing else, but you seriously wouldn't believe the how much smoke comes out of your car after.