Car Problem

[Maine-ah]

1997 Geo. Engine died. It's at the shop. Runs great while in a warm garage, runs "rough" when out in the cold. This is all the info I have, it's my mom's car. Any thoughts?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. I'd guess the fuel mixture is wrong.

But that's just a wild guess.

[Maine-ah]

2. i know that they tried some dry gas

and that wasn't the problem. That's of course all the dealership has done so far since it's a holiday weekend.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. It wouldn't be the gas itself.

By "mixture" I meant the mixture of fuel and air that goes into the cylinders. If the ratio of fuel to air is wrong (too much fuel, or not enough, for the amount of air) the engine will run rough or not at all. So the fuel system has to be adjusted for the right ratio. The correct ratio is affected by air temperature (cold air is more dense than hot air), so the fuel system has to adjust the fuel/air mixture accordingly to make the engine run properly.

[noamnety]

8. I had that problem in an old ranger

on cold and especially damp days, I had trouble even starting it without stalling. I'd have to open the hood, pop the lid off the air filter, lift the little flappy thing in the middle of it, jam a wrench in it to prop the flap open, go back in and start the car, then have my daughter, who was about 7 or 8 at the time, climb out and take the wrench out and put the air filter back together and close the hood, climb back in, and we could leave. (It was a stick shift with no working emergency brake.)

Then it would stall or threaten to stall at interesting moments. :D

On nice days, though, it ran fine - more or less.

[wartrace]

3. Could be the temperature sensor.

Did you have them pull the engine codes? It sounds like a very minor problem though. I have no formal training but I do all my own repairs because it seemed when I took the car in to a shop I NEVER got out of there for less than 500 bucks.

[Pierre.Suave]

4. IS this engine carbureted?

or fuel injected?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. You're thinking carburetor ice, right?

I'm guessing this car is fuel-injected -- they haven't made cars with carburetors for a long time -- but carb ice would cause that problem if it had one.

[Pierre.Suave]

7. Thats one possibility

I was thinking that maybe there is grime that is causing something to stick that loosens up enough to let whatever piece move when it gets warm, like a float valve or something...

Whatever it is, It is probably simple, but finding it will be a PITA.