I dropped the truck off at the dealership last Wednesday (I think it was Wed.). The insurance company cut me a check for $800 to get the door fixed, and the manager of the body shop did it for $400 It pays to get to know people. They also found a few things wrong in the service department. One bad injector, and something with the brake system that was causing the ABS light to stay on. The tech that always works on my truck (brother-in-law to the body shop manager) asked me abour replacing the air pump. He said he'd do the labor for free, but the parts would cost around $150. I said I'll pass since it's useless anyway.
I do have one question. In a previous post, I mentioned the severe lack of power below 2K RPMs. Would a bad injector cause that? Or make a big difference in power at all?
My extended warranty has paid for itself again He said between the injector and the brake thing, I was looking at $1200--covered by the warranty w/ no deductible.
Walt, see if you can get the SFI to MPI injector upgrade. When my original SFI system was failing there was a definite loss in power and some engine shake when idling. The newer MPI system seemed to have a little better throttle response vs the SFI (when it was running good ). My gas mileage stayed about the same after the swap, so there is no gain there.
Walt wrote:Well. I'm still very frustrated. after getting my truck back, there is still no power below 2k.
Walt, did you mention this problem to the dealership, and if so what did they have to say about it? Something is obviously wrong and I'll bet your consistent low mpg is somehow tied into this lack of power problem. Did they fix the injector problem?
That's really all I told them about the engin--No power below 2K RPMs. They replaced the defective injector. I didn't get a chance to talk to the tech I know who worked on it, as someone else picked it up for me. I do trust him though, and don't think he would do me wrong.
You mentioned that your air pump is not working, but you also said the dealership wanted to charge you for the replacement pump and not labor. I don't understand why your extended warranty won't cover the air pump and labor costs. It should be covered! I wonder if one or both of your air pump check valves are stuck open and letting exhaust gasses pass the wrong way possibly causing your air/fuel ratio to be off. If the PCM is constantly trying to correct an imbalance in the 02 sensor readings maybe this could cause a power loss. I might be completely wrong here, so don't take any of this too seriously.
The Tech I know was going to do the labor for free. My extended warranty is from a private company. They cover pretty much everything the GM extended warranty covers, and a bit more, with the exception of the air pump. I'm thinking about taking the air pump off. Is there a way to plug the lines or tubes to completelly bypass the useless thing? That should take care of my problem IF the airpump is causing it.
Walt wrote:My extended warranty is from a private company. They cover pretty much everything the GM extended warranty covers, and a bit more, with the exception of the air pump.
Well that sucks!
I'm thinking about taking the air pump off. Is there a way to plug the lines or tubes to completelly bypass the useless thing? That should take care of my problem IF the airpump is causing it.
If you really want to eliminate this system you will want to cap off the exhaust manifolds with some pipe plugs. I have no idea what size they are on the CC, but I found the plugs for my SS at a local hardware store. It would probably be easy to find the right size plug if you just took one of the fittings off one exhaust manifold and have someone take you down to the local hardware store and try matching them up. Make sure you don't drive your CC to the store without that fitting attached. Is your air pump completely dead? If it is there might be a relay that you could remove also.
I don't know if it's completelly dead. The fuse is blown of course. When I replaced the fuse a while back it just blew again. Where are the points that I need to plug? Are the at the air pump? Or is there a way to keep the check valves closed to prevent any air from passing either way?
Walt wrote:Where are the points that I need to plug? Are the at the air pump? Or is there a way to keep the check valves closed to prevent any air from passing either way?
You'll want to install a pipe plug on top of each exhaust manifold. If you look at the exhaust manifolds you will see a tube going into each one that has a black check valve attached to it. These tubes need to be unscrewed and a plug put in their place.
Here is a picture of one of the exhaust manifold plugs on my SS.
It pays to get to know people. They also found a few things wrong in the service department. One bad injector, and something with the brake system that was causing the ABS light to stay on. The tech that always works on my truck (brother-in-law to the body shop manager) asked me abour replacing the air pump. He said he'd do the labor for free, but the parts would cost around $150. I said I'll pass since it's useless anyway. 
He said between the injector and the brake thing, I was looking at $1200--covered by the warranty w/ no deductible. 
When my original SFI system was failing there was a definite loss in power and some engine shake when idling. 
The newer MPI system seemed to have a little better throttle response vs the SFI (when it was running good 
). 
Something is obviously wrong and I'll bet your consistent low mpg is somehow tied into this lack of power problem. 
If the PCM is constantly trying to correct an imbalance in the 02 sensor readings maybe this could cause a power loss. 
