codes and translation

[lonewolf]

Okay now that I have a handle on the suspension. Turns out not to be as bad as the guy at the garage wanted me to believe, go figure, bowtie fan I guess. The second more annoying problem has come up I need help with.

I thought at first this was a hick up from sitting a while but it returned with avengence the other day and has me puzzled. I ws driving home the other day and my SHO began to shutter and skip. I was very close to my parking place and was thankful for that. I saw that the check engine light came on and that at that same time the tach quit. I was able to pull her in and let her for a bit while I scratched my head and shut it off. I decided to restart it and at first it cranked, then bucked, then cranked again and restarted. Running rough and not tach. So i shut it off and went inside to ponder this. What to do next. I went out later and tryed to restart and without as much as a hesitation she started right up and ran fine. No light, with Tach working. ???? Now I know these are nice cars but they do not fix themselves. Yesterday my roomie and I pull the codes which I do not think we did it right. He gave me two digits this car has three. So when I got home today I re tested and collected the codes, which if I am not mistaken were 111, which says system is fine? then 214 came up? is this that dreaded cam positioning sensor? and finally 542? now I heard the fuel pump come on and off during the test and could only be thinking poor ground. After this I disconnected the battery and cleaned the posts and clamps and left for a while. When I returned I reconnected the battery and restarted the car. She started right up and didn't hesitate one bit. But, even though she ran smooth the tach lay still. I drove around the block and felt nothing unusual. When I backed into my spot I let her run for a minute and the tach came on and the light went out?

Finally! question? do I go get a cam sensor and put it on? Also the car sat for a while and has had new high test put in it and a new filter. Can I fill her up with more hightest and put in some seafoam to burn off any moisture? The K&N filter is new and all the fluids are changed. This car leaks nothing nor burns or blows it either. Any help would be appreciated in pointing me in the right direction as I have many more questions as I learn the ins and outs of this ride.
Thanks to all who reached out with my suspension woes. Fell free to answer me personally by e-mail or here. I am planning on buying the sensor tomorrow.. Glenn

 

[SHOtime2511]

check your fuel pressure,should be around 40PSI@idle
and id bet your other problems are due to a failing CID camshaft id sensor

 

[lonewolf]

Thank you for the info. I have done a bunch of reading on this here and am going to pick up the part today and put it on. Your threads on this particular problem and on the codes themselves have been extremely helpful. Combined with the pheonix project. There is tons of info here on this car. I am glad that the guy I bought it from told me about this. Again Thank you. Glenn

 

[projectSHO89]

Yep, put a cam sensor in it and you should be OK until the next time.

The cam sensor is the easy one. The crank sensor is the "dreaded" one...when it fails, the engines STOPS.


Steve

 

[lonewolf]

Okay, I picked up the cam sensor today and when I got home took a look at where it is located. Yikes! that is a tight fit. Tell me i am correct here. It is on the right side of the engine about three inches down from the test plugs. Looks like two 6mm or 1/4" bolts holding it? There is a small hole in the strut tower that I can get to one with an extension and 1/4" drive tools but I don't know about the other one. Any suggestions as i will tackle this guy in the morning. My friend has a "94 MTX I guess his was in a differant spot than this "95. He said he used a screw driver one long one short. I don't see this happening on this one. LOL! Maybe I will tackle the crank sensor in two weeks just to prevent it from failing. Want to get the cam sensor in in the morning so I can drive this buggy up the mountain to my friends so we can work on the suspension and maybe look into why the passenger window won't go up or down from any switch. I need a book on this car also. Any suggestions on that. I have a chiltons manual thats okay but not really year specific or make. SLO -vs- SHO Thanks a million. Have a blessed day.

 

[projectSHO89]

Move the PS reservoir out of the way. If your car has limiter strut installed, remove it. Now you have plenty of room to get to the cam sensor.

Unplug the sensor. Keep track of the orange gasket.

Use either a 5.5 mm (rare) or a 7/32 (common) socket to remove the two screws. Don't loose them..

Remove the old sensor, inspect for oil inside the cam sensor housing, then reassemble everything if dry. If oily, you WILL need a cam seal replaced to fix the leak.

Clear the computer and drive it.

As for the CPS, you can plan on a full day on that one the first time. Schedule the rest of your front-end 60/100K at the same time (WP, timing belt, etc...) since the labor is the same.

Steve

 

[lonewolf]

Great! thank you steve. I suppose this is easier done from underneath? I would be shocked if i found oil behind it. I have looked this engine over for any signs of leaking and haven't spotted a drop anywhere but ya never know. I do know the previous owner before my friend got it did the regular scheduled maintenance. My friend never drove it because he got his '94 shortly after. So this one just sat, waiting for a new owner.. Me. I will go after that sensor after some good ole coffee in the morning.. Thank you again for your help.. Glenn

 

[lonewolf]

Test drive complete and man what a differance! Steve, thank you for the tips. I had the sensor changed out in about 30 minutes and she now runs better than ever. While I had things so visible I was able to inspect the belts and pulleys which are all new and found that when the under drive pulleys were installed one was rubbing slightly on a rubber hose. No damage was done but because of your tips I saw this and was able to adjust things away from pulleys. Thanks again.

It is so nice to have a place to come and ask questions and get answers. I read somewhere in here last night about how some shops no very little about these cars, or ones like them. And no it sure isn't a '70 Nova and I am glad it isn't...

 

[projectSHO89]

Glad to be of service.

Poke around. You'll find I've done a lot of the common repairs and have discussed most of the common issues on these cars..

Steve