MAD King

Hello,

I surfed through craiglist to find a mechanic, who got good prices for car repairs.
My intake manifold gasket was gone on my 1998 Lumina 3.1. I found then a mechanic, which posted on craigslist, that he is certified and that he has the only original home repair service, means he is coming to you to fix your car. After talking to him he sounds very knowledgeable about Lumina and kept telling he knows this engine from inside to outside and he can this work done in 5 hours. He started at 9:00 am today and the first hour it seems he knew what he is doing. The only thing I was concerning about, he came with a Skylark, all tools thrown in his trunk and not very organized.
He broke a few things while he was taken the engine apart, but that can happen in every good body shop. So I bought the parts without saying a word. After about 4 hours he started to putting the parts back together. Not mention that I have to go to the parts store again buying a missing part he could not find anymore. After he had done it, he told me to start the engine and after about one minute to turning off because he missed to bold the power cable back on the alternator. After I asked if it would be better to unscrew the battery he negated and said it is not necessary. It is always happen when you do not unscrew the battery to be on the save side not getting any short circuit. He came on the body with the cable and it was like he was welding. And guess what? Yes, he damaged more than what was broken before.

What’s broke now?

When I turn the ignition on, I have now a clicking when I push the brake pedal. The clicking is right under the steering wheel somewhere in the dash.
When I start the engine, I can feel that the engine is not running on all 6cylinder. It scratches when I hit the gas pedal. It’s not going well.
When I turn the key in the ignition to the position before the engine turns on, I can hear a noise in the engine room, not loud, which sounds like a rattling, like if you have a cricket in the engine, like rrrrrrrrrrrrr.

What can it be and how can I fix it?

Thank you

MDTAHOE

Well with that experience it would be hard to tell if he fried the computer or just did not do the intake job right in the first place. I hope you did not pay him. He was clearly an idiot. Unfortunately you will probably need to take it to a real shop to have it checked. There are so many things that he could have screwed up that there is really not much anyone could do to help you without seeing the shotty work.

MAD King

Great. Thank you for your response.
How much could it cost if I take it to a body shop to let it check on the computer?

MDTAHOE

I do not think a body shop would have the knowledge to do mechanical repairs especially performance/computer issues. I do not think anyone will be able to tell you how much it will cost to find out what is wrong. There is no labor guide for what you need. You will probably have to pay test time for how ever long it takes.

MAD King

Thank you. I am going tomorrow to a store for testing.

MAD King

I bought a error code reader and it shows following codes wich I have no idea how to solve it and what it all mean:

P0118
P0122
P0300
P0118 pq
P0300 pq
MIL ON
Monitrs
CatLyst
EVaP
02 Snsr
02 Htr
EGR
Misfire
FUEL
Comp

Thank you for any help

MDTAHOE

You really need to pay a professional to look at the car. Codes do not tell you what is wrong on what is being affected. The money you spent on the code reader would be better off at a shop. Be Careful you are on your way to spending way more money then if you took it to a shop. Based on the above codes it is highly likely the computer is shot. A new computer must be programed before it is installed because it is OBD II. I wish I could be of more help but that guy jacked your car up beyond online help.

shawn95lumina

the clicking in the dash whle u put ont he brakes is for the shift locking release. mines does that too.

MAD King

But it is very loud and it is getting very hot too when you touch it you almost bourn your finger. When do I know it is broke and needs to be replaced?

shawn95lumina

the ignition key area gets hot to the touch now?! i have no idea what to look for . if they guy only worked in the engine area it shouldnt have affected the ignition switch area