First off I must say this isnt my car but I need some help here. I myself own a 98TA so Im not a noob to the car world but what these shops are telling him is fishy as hell to me.

I couldnt really find a forum to post this in as it is for my brothers V6 Monte Carlo. I think its a 2003? But I am not sure and he is having some serious issues with shops dicking him around and I cannot figure out what is wrong mostly because he is in a different state. Any helpful ideas? What I am posting next is his email to me.




"Ok, here's the scoop: We started with the MAF Sensor and the problem persists. I take it back and after the diagnostic they say that the Pressure Control Cylanoid is malfunctioning and they want to replace it. In the process they also have to replace the Side Cover Gasket and the Transmission Filter. $1000 and the problem persists. So I take it back a third time. The agent says the problem must be in the Transmission. He says they can tear it apart and try to figure out what the story is or they can just drop a brand-new one in there for the same price and the new one will have a three year warranty or 100,000 miles. I had to give him a $500 deposit to get the car back because I needed to take it to San Francisco last week. I got back to Sacramento on Tuesday and the family was super weird about us staying there so we just bombed it straight for LA. They've got the Tranny up in Sac now, but for $500 I'd be willing to bail on it for a better diagnosis. They want $3000 minus the $500 deposit for the whole job.
Some more symptoms: When climbing the surging intensifies and the motor tends to overheat. I checked the coolant and it's fine. The problem doesn't seem to be getting worse. I've put almost 3000 miles on it since I started seeing the problem and it's about the same. The biggest issue the climbing because there's no available power if it's overheating and surging.
I've talked to some other guys on the phone and they all say that they'd want to see the vehicle and there's going to be a diagnostic charge ranging form $160-$200.
At present I'm guessing the smart thing to do is take it back to Sacramento but it's a drag because crossing the Angeles Mountains is tough and feels dangerous and then it's almost a 7 hour drive.
What do you think?"


Any help is appreciated !

 

Has anyone thought about checking the Cat?

 

Hmm as if it were plugged? I recall blowing a cat out on my TA years ago, but I cant remember if it surged at all. O2s are fine. Car is throwing no codes.

 

Alot of the times when a car looses power going uphill, its usually the Cat. But i remember back in my hotrod days, my Apache had a bad rad hose. Would overheat when i traveled on highways, but would cool down when i was stopped or running on the streets.

Just something else to think about.

 

hmm i dont think the shop is jerking u around but they certainly shouldnt keep shoving it down his throat while they just guess. what kind of shop is this? a dealer?

 

Not sure if its a dealership or not, but it sucks to have to keep spending money to diagnose a problem.

 

Having him check on those 2 things mentioned atm.

 

hmm ok ill ask a more experienced tech at work 2moro and c what he says

 

My vote would be to just change out the PCV valve and the Cat.

For starters he should have a new cat on there VIA downpipe by ZZP if he's an SS
and the PCV shouldn't cost him more than 5 minutes and $15

 

could it be the TPS? just a thought.....