Breaking Down Far from Home (A Not-So Short Story)
So I drove up to Sacramento Wednesday for work; came back yesterday. I drove the 02 Protg 5 we just bought and had just finished tuning it up (coolant, coolant lines, plugs, auto-tranny fluid, air filter, etc.). Figured this was a good time to iron out any problems.
As I was parking at the Sacto hotel the idle started getting really uneven; the car was jerking. I turned off the a/c and it smoothed out. I thought it was maybe the a/c compressor belt slipping.
I tried to forget about it. Then yesterday morning I started driving home and as I approached the freeway in Sacto it was still running rough at idle; jerking. I started putting it in neutral at lights to smooth it out.
Then I got onto the 99 south, still in Sacto, and it got really rough and the check-engine light started blinking. How am I going to get home? What did I screw up?
I pulled off the freeway, limped it over to a gas station and looked under the hood; all seemed well. Maybe I used the wrong ATF (Valvoline Dex-Merc) in the tranny?
I called Triple-A but they only tow locally and dont offer rental car coverage. I called our insurance company to see if we have coverage for breakdowns, but no.
Check the ATF level per protocol, at warm idle. Looks fine. Sat in the lot and started scanning this forum about which ATF to use, and theres a split of authority. Man. Maybe I used the wrong one, indeed. Naw; the tranny wouldnt throw a code, would it? And this feels more like the idle than the shifting. Darn it.
What I really wanted to was read the OBD-II codes to see what the error code was. Triple-A wasnt sure if their drivers carried scanners. Argh.
Then I remembered that I had a Pep Boys card and they offer free scanning. I use my phones GPS to find the nearest Pep Boys. Limp over there. Stuck in heavy traffic! Is the car gonna blow up the engine or tranny?
Make it to Pep Boys after passing a Kragen. Guy says sorry, but our technician isnt here. But theres a mechanic right there!
Limp back to Kragen. I KNOW they have free scanning. But no; they no longer offer it liability reasons. Darn LAWYERS! I could buy a scanner, but theyre $220!
So at least they confirm I used the right ATF.
Thinking I might have to leave the car at a garage and rent a car to get home. Dont want to blow up the engine or get stranded in the middle of nowhere.
Then I chat with this older clerk and he knows everything. Says theres a local garage that will scan the car for $40. I ask him if hes sure. He says yeah and calls them up; theyre totally willing. Its nearby. He gives me directions.
I limp over there. Its farther than I thought. But sure enough, theyre totally cool there. We pop the hood and he scans the engine. Its missing on 3. Cool. Missing is no a big deal; I could limp home on that.
So is it the plug, the cable or the coil? They all look fine. I tell him that when I bought the plugs, I took what Kragen had on their computer as correct for the car: Standard Autolites.
Mechanic says standard Autolites are wrong; the resistance is too high for coil-on-plug configurations. Plus, he thinks maybe missing at idle is more likely to be plugs; missing under throttle is more likely coils or wires.
So I suggest switching plugs 1 and 3 to test our theory. We try it, reset the CEL and sure enough, now its missing on 1. Gotta be the BAND-NEW plugs.
He calls over to NAPA and they set aside some NGK Laser Iridiums for me; $14 each.
I limp over there (nearby) and buy the plugs. They confirm that the cheapos are OEM-correct, but they dont really recommend them.
I bring them back and the mechanic and I install them. He resets the CEL and the car runs like a freaking dream; smoove as silk.
I pay the guy $50 for all that help, then hit the road home again. Car runs like new. Phew.
Get home and start cleaning the car. Paint feels like sandpaper. But I just polished it! Start to clay bar and machine polish it. Finally figure that when Cathy spray-painted our kitchen chairs last week, the garage doors were open. The car is covered in green spray paint! I clay bar and polish it all off and wax the car. Used the Porter-Cable buffer and Scratch-X II to take out some old water-spot etching. Paint is like glass now.
This morning I check the Miata. Same darn thing. Clay bar and wax and its all better.
Endless.
Gotta love problems that wait 200 miles to emerge.
So I drove up to Sacramento Wednesday for work; came back yesterday. I drove the 02 Protg 5 we just bought and had just finished tuning it up (coolant, coolant lines, plugs, auto-tranny fluid, air filter, etc.). Figured this was a good time to iron out any problems.
As I was parking at the Sacto hotel the idle started getting really uneven; the car was jerking. I turned off the a/c and it smoothed out. I thought it was maybe the a/c compressor belt slipping.
I tried to forget about it. Then yesterday morning I started driving home and as I approached the freeway in Sacto it was still running rough at idle; jerking. I started putting it in neutral at lights to smooth it out.
Then I got onto the 99 south, still in Sacto, and it got really rough and the check-engine light started blinking. How am I going to get home? What did I screw up?
I pulled off the freeway, limped it over to a gas station and looked under the hood; all seemed well. Maybe I used the wrong ATF (Valvoline Dex-Merc) in the tranny?
I called Triple-A but they only tow locally and dont offer rental car coverage. I called our insurance company to see if we have coverage for breakdowns, but no.
Check the ATF level per protocol, at warm idle. Looks fine. Sat in the lot and started scanning this forum about which ATF to use, and theres a split of authority. Man. Maybe I used the wrong one, indeed. Naw; the tranny wouldnt throw a code, would it? And this feels more like the idle than the shifting. Darn it.
What I really wanted to was read the OBD-II codes to see what the error code was. Triple-A wasnt sure if their drivers carried scanners. Argh.
Then I remembered that I had a Pep Boys card and they offer free scanning. I use my phones GPS to find the nearest Pep Boys. Limp over there. Stuck in heavy traffic! Is the car gonna blow up the engine or tranny?
Make it to Pep Boys after passing a Kragen. Guy says sorry, but our technician isnt here. But theres a mechanic right there!
Limp back to Kragen. I KNOW they have free scanning. But no; they no longer offer it liability reasons. Darn LAWYERS! I could buy a scanner, but theyre $220!
So at least they confirm I used the right ATF.
Thinking I might have to leave the car at a garage and rent a car to get home. Dont want to blow up the engine or get stranded in the middle of nowhere.
Then I chat with this older clerk and he knows everything. Says theres a local garage that will scan the car for $40. I ask him if hes sure. He says yeah and calls them up; theyre totally willing. Its nearby. He gives me directions.
I limp over there. Its farther than I thought. But sure enough, theyre totally cool there. We pop the hood and he scans the engine. Its missing on 3. Cool. Missing is no a big deal; I could limp home on that.
So is it the plug, the cable or the coil? They all look fine. I tell him that when I bought the plugs, I took what Kragen had on their computer as correct for the car: Standard Autolites.
Mechanic says standard Autolites are wrong; the resistance is too high for coil-on-plug configurations. Plus, he thinks maybe missing at idle is more likely to be plugs; missing under throttle is more likely coils or wires.
So I suggest switching plugs 1 and 3 to test our theory. We try it, reset the CEL and sure enough, now its missing on 1. Gotta be the BAND-NEW plugs.
He calls over to NAPA and they set aside some NGK Laser Iridiums for me; $14 each.
I limp over there (nearby) and buy the plugs. They confirm that the cheapos are OEM-correct, but they dont really recommend them.
I bring them back and the mechanic and I install them. He resets the CEL and the car runs like a freaking dream; smoove as silk.
I pay the guy $50 for all that help, then hit the road home again. Car runs like new. Phew.
Get home and start cleaning the car. Paint feels like sandpaper. But I just polished it! Start to clay bar and machine polish it. Finally figure that when Cathy spray-painted our kitchen chairs last week, the garage doors were open. The car is covered in green spray paint! I clay bar and polish it all off and wax the car. Used the Porter-Cable buffer and Scratch-X II to take out some old water-spot etching. Paint is like glass now.
This morning I check the Miata. Same darn thing. Clay bar and wax and its all better.
Endless.
Gotta love problems that wait 200 miles to emerge.
Last edited:
