Stumbling and shaking, low idle

[Pookie]

So, I did something pretty stupid yesterday and drove through a pretty deep puddle. Right after that, my 2000 Echo just turned off. I started it back up but it had very low idle (not enoughto stall) and it stumbled and shook like crazy.

The drive home was frustrating because it seemed to lag and doesn't excelerate as quickly as it normally does. At home, I plugged in my obd and came up with p0300 which is random misfire. I checked and got new spark plugs, but the problem still persists.

This morning, the check engine light came on and obd reader came up with p0302: cylinder 2 misfire. Any idea what I should replace next? I was thinking coils later today when I get out of school.

Any advice is appreciated.

[ReTread]

Use silicone spray to dry out your ignition wires and system. Run your vehicle with hood up in the dark (garage or in the evening) to see if there is any arching of electricity between wires in harness. If so, replace.

[Pookie]

$100 and 2 hours later, Firestone diagnosed my car with having either a bad head or motor.

The PSI for 3 of my cylinders were 155-160 as for the one causing the trouble, it is at 100. So for them to open up my engine and find out if I need a head or a new motor, it will cost me another $800, and even more for the parts and labor

[ECHOKnight2000]

^^sorry to hear. Well I guess it depends if you deem worth it. How many miles on the car?? I did the same thing awhile ago cause I love going through puddles but I'm careful. Anyway my car started to do what you said and I even saw some steam! I was like OMG! BUt it "recovered" itself and the car has ran fine since then.

Anyway I guess if you really like your car or depending on your financial situation I would dump the car but its up to you. Best of luck and let us know. PS. I don't know if I trust Firestone, maybe check another place if you could.

[salmonz]

Check this out
P0300 & P0302 Codes - need your input

[Solace87]

DO NOT pay them a dime for any more diagnostic.
Lets say you pay them 800 dollars to tell you you need a new engine.

You could just take 4 or 5 hundred of those dollars and buy a tested used engine and drop that in.

then if you know what you are doing (and its not that hard once its out of the car) you can part out your old engine and make a good deal of that money back.

Maybe its just me. I hate paying for diagnostic. If im not sure what it is I will replace both things it could be and its always cheaper than paying someone else to figure it out.

Once again i second the distrust for firestone. I know it depends on the individual shop but I have a real distrust for shops. Just the other day a shop was about to charge my friend 800 dollars to replace the MAFS and temperature sensor on her altima.
I ordered the parts off ebay for 40 dollars and 25 dollars and fixed it. Couldnt believe they were gonna charge her that.

also, when my car had the stock intake i was terrified of this situation. The thing pointed right towards the outside of the car and water can easily get in because the echo (at least mine) doesnt have alot of plastic cladding.

[salmonz]

You can buy a diagnostics reader, a usb to OBD-II connector with software off eBay for $12. Just plug it into your laptop.

A trick is if you're really unsure, the shop tells you what's wrong, and then do the work yourself and buy the parts yourself.

I just had a p/s pressure line go and dealer wanted $200 for the part. I said forget it and paid $20 online for a new one.

The economy is bad, so cutting back where you can and being a whole lot satisfied is better than paying a shop bloated prices. Sucks for the shop owners but hey,money is money.

[nuwan]

salmonz you are 100% right. good advice thanks

[Pookie]

Yeah, I already have a diagnostic reader and I had used that but all that came up with Cylinder 2 misfire. My dad ended up taking apart my entire motor and assumed my rings had collapsed but we found out today that it isn't that.

The bar that is connected to the rings was completely bent! Echo engines have many layers (my dad doesn't want to put it back together, lol) so instead of just buying the new part to replace the bent ones, we're just going to buy a new head.

[Pookie]

Solace, you are right about shops overcharging but that is how they make profits, haha. I wouldn't have paid $800 dollars for another diagnostic even if my car depended on it. That's just BS.

[Solace87]

Excellent news!
Probably got it done for half the price of that diagnostic anyways haha.
I was just thinking of this thread this morning! We had literally the worst rain I have ever seen in my life and I was caught out on the highway. All I could hear was the sound of water hitting the underbody of the car and the fender guards. went over a bad spot and my battery light flashed.

Good times :p but ran fine for the rest of the day so i think im clear.

[96ToyoCam164K]

Originally Posted by Solace87

Once again i second the distrust for firestone. I know it depends on the individual shop but I have a real distrust for shops.

Yikes...so, is it atleast ok for me to get tires from Firestone? Its usually where I go

Then again, thats just tires. Once they start opening the hood, I get nervous. Its like no! Its a 96, only I'm able to look under the hood LOL.

Its a shame though that they try to get people like that. They make it seem like they are 'car angels' and all that, yet you have to break the bank just for them to do any repairs. I almost feel bad for people who allow big name tire shops like that look under their hood. My parents always told me to leave them to tires and nothing else.

[Solace87]

Originally Posted by 96ToyoCam164K

Yikes...so, is it atleast ok for me to get tires from Firestone? Its usually where I go
.

Yes they are fine for tires however they are pricey.

sorry to threadjack..
If anyone on this board (us only) needs tires I can put them in Michelins, Bridgestone, Continental, etc etc generally for about the price walmart charges for their cheap brands.

Tires have a HUGE mark up and I discovered this when needing to buy very wide tires for my other cars. Not wanting to shell out over a grand for a set of tires I researched and started a near wholesale relationship with some tire suppliers.

If anyone I know needs tires I let them use my acccount, view all receipts and everything. They just need to pay shipping

For small cars like the yaris/echo I can get you a nice quality set (4 tires) shipped to your door for 200 or less.

I do this because 1 im a nice guy, and 2 the more tires I purchase through them the higher my discount next time, which really helps when buying UHP tires when I need them.

[zythr]

Originally Posted by 96ToyoCam164K

Yikes...so, is it atleast ok for me to get tires from Firestone? Its usually where I go

Then again, thats just tires. Once they start opening the hood, I get nervous. Its like no! Its a 96, only I'm able to look under the hood LOL.

Its a shame though that they try to get people like that. They make it seem like they are 'car angels' and all that, yet you have to break the bank just for them to do any repairs. I almost feel bad for people who allow big name tire shops like that look under their hood. My parents always told me to leave them to tires and nothing else.

Some independent and corner shops are just as guilty of this as the Tire chains. By the way, We had a great mechanic, who was fair and actually cared about the work he did and his customers, and surprise, surprise he worked at Goodyear. The corner shop mechanics we then went to, weren't nearly as good and put on the act like they cared, when all they were in it for was the money. There is good and bad out there.