andyv94

Hello everyone,

I have a few questions for you guys.

#1My car antenna does not work, but can hear the noise from the little engine when radio turnes on.

#2 Stronger then normal gas smell from engine ( i think),any ideas?

#3 Cruise control will not work, how can I pin point what the problem may be or how hard it might be to fix the car??

Thank you,

Andy

MTI

That probably means that the Hirschman motor is fine, but that the antenna drive cable is stripped. A replacement cable and mast is a lot cheaper than replacing the whole unit.

What may smell like gas, could be oil. Check the air cleaner to see if oil is being deposited from the valve cover. There's a pressure relief system that routes excessive "blow by" pressure that builds up under the valve cover to the air cleaner filter. Excess pressure under the valve cover could be a sign of a leaky valve or valve stem seal that is allowing some of the cylinder compression to pressurize the area under the valve cover.

If you think it is fuel, then inspect the fuel lines and the injection system, but I'll bet it's the valves. There is a charcoal cannister hidden in the driver's side fender well, behind the plastic wheel arch, that is part of the evaporative fuel recovery system. You might check to see if that steel box has rusted and is now swiss cheese.

As Miracle Max says in "The Princess Bride" . . . there's a big difference between mostly dead and completely dead. To work, the cruise control needs the brake lamps to be in working order, the speedometer should also be working flawlessly (no bouncy needle), and then the cruise control amplifier (under the front carpets) and cruise control actuator (under the fuel intake in the engine bay) need to be working.

Typical failures are bad solder joints in the amplifier or bad actuator.

andyv94

Men, I am impressed.

Thank you very much for your help.

"That is exactly what it is, I noticed that I have a little bit of oil . Could it also mean that maybe there is too much oil in the engine??
If it is a leaky valve or valve stem seal that is allowing some of the cylinder compression to pressurize the area under the valve cover, is this expensive to fix or fairly simple??

Again, thank you for your wisdom

MTI

The oil dipstick will tell you if you have too much oil, but I doubt it. The dispstick should show the oil level anywhere between the two red plastic markers. Put too much oil and the crankshaft is going to whip the oil into a froth resembling the topping for a latte . . . which is terrible for lubrication.

You should get the compression tested in the six cylinder bores and have the valve stem seals inspected.

andyv94

that does not sound good

andyv94

this one regarding the "low oil" sensor...................mine came on twice during my long drive from Minnesota to Texas..............it seemed like it would come every 400+ miles................but to be honest, I am not sure that it might just be something wrong with the sensor??

Last time in came on it was about 400 miles ago and the engine is nice and full of oil as it should. any ideas??

The other question has to do with my transmission, it seems as if it is not super smooth and when I gor from P to any other setting, it has like a metal sound to it, not a grind just like a clanck once you set it in P, D, R, 3, 2.
It feels as if it is not super precise, does that make sense??

Again, thank you for all of your help.