"02 SE running horribly

**cajun98** · 08-17-2012

Hey guys, this is my first post. My son has an '02 SE with the 3.1 that barely runs. I took it out for a drive and the car can barely accelerate. It just sputters and sometimes will accel when it downshifts. When it does downshift, it revs to around 3500-4000 rpm but has no power. It starts right up and idles a bit rough. In neutral, it won't rev past about 3200 rpm. I've got a "Service Engine Soon" light but don't have a diagnostic tool to retrieve the codes. Can you use a jumper wire between the A and B ports on the OBD port like you can on some of the older GM vehicles? I've also got a "Change Oil" light on but I just changed the oil a few days ago. The oil does look awful dirty for only a few miles on it. I also noticed that the rear bumper facia, right above the exhaust is really sooty looking. Any ideas on where so start with this car?
Thanks,
Brent

**Bluemagic** · 08-17-2012

Sounds like a bad cat. No you can't jump the pins as far as I know. You need to stop past an auto shop to get the code retrieved.

**ctracer** · 08-18-2012

i second the bad cat idea.
as to the dirty oil...is it extra black or is it mixed with a little white in it? kinda milkshakey?

**cajun98** · 08-18-2012

Thanks for the suggestions on the cat. I'll definitely look into that. The oil isn't milky at all. I changed it no more than 100 miles ago and its now black. I just changed the oil in my Titan and it looks cleaner after 5000 miles.

**dsmuts** · 08-18-2012

You probably need to change the lim gasket. It sucks on the 31/3400 compared to the 3800. You could possibly have a clogged cat as well. You can pull the front o2 sensor and drive it and see if it runs any better.

**LS2 BLAZER** · 08-18-2012

clogged cat gave me the symptoms of the tranny and rough running.. my car just sputtered like crazy.. tranny wouldnt shift at all, and if i floored it, the trans would slip...

took her to the dealer, they took it for one test drive, instantly knew it was a cat... amazing what kinda problems that thing can cause... had it changed out with an OEM one over universal, and all has been perfect since...

**krautfed20v** · 08-20-2012

i have a similar issue, is your tailpipe also white when this happens?

**dpzelenak** · 08-20-2012

i had this problem on my 3100 and i thought it was the cat but it was a clogged res instead, drilled some holes in the res and it was running 100% better, sounded kinda funny for a few days but at least i could pull out with out ran over. Smell the exhaust, if it kinda smells like rotting eggs then check out the cat

**cajun98** · 08-20-2012

Ok, so it sounds like the it may be the cat thats bad. Before I go out and spend a bunch of money on a new cat, how can I check for sure that the cat is whats causing the problem? Someone mentioned that their tailpipe was white. Not this car. The exhaust and rear bumper facia has a black sooty residue.

**dpzelenak** · 08-20-2012

thats from it running rich, which running to rich for a long period time well cause the cat to fail.. take the car to any auto parts store and tell them to read the codes for you, if there a p0420 code good chance the cat is bad and some other codes(thats the only one i know off the top of my head)

**AJ1G** · 03-12-2014

How did this thread play out? Been searching the forum for similar problems with my 2001 SE...I also strongly suspect that the cat was this guys problem, would be nice to know after he picked everyone's brains what his final fix was...lots of dead end threads like this...

**cajun98** · 04-24-2014

Sorry for not following up on the original issue. Turns out it was the cat that had plugged. Replaced the cat and the car ran much better.

Thread: "02 SE running horribly

Thread Tools

Display

Similar Threads

Anyone running 17" wheels?

"Stage 2" ZZP axles: A..."mild"...quality issue.

Chug at start, "bouncing" tach when key turned to "on"...

running a 3.25" pulley

3.5" tuned PCM running on 3.8" engine

Bookmarks