1997 sportage please help at wits end

[gordonsajambo]

Problems started with excessive fuel consumption and loss of power, and had backfiring. I have changed oil filter, oil, fuel filters, air filter, spark plugs, HT leads and gaskets. I have also changed the O2 sensor (not sure if happy with this as was universal 3 wire one which I had to wire myself)

Thought problems were nearly sorted as got some power back but engine still sounds quite rough compared to normal and when take foot of gas pedal revs fall and car stalls. PLEASE HELP

[JTROCKS1]

Any chance the timing belt slipped a tooth. How many miles on the current belt. I would also check all of your grounds as well. A poor ground really screws up these little buggers.

[gottaknow]

Hi! This Is My First Try At A Forum, But Have Read So Many Informative Answers, And Questions, I Thought There May Be Someone Out There Who Might Be Able To Answer A Question I Have. The Timing Belt Broke On My '95 Sportage. I Was On A City Street Going About 25-30 Mph, When The Engine Just Stopped. Before I Discovered That The Timing Belt Had Broken, I Tried One More Time To Start It. It Turned Over, But This Time Had A Back-fire Kind Of Noise. I Did Not Try Again To Start The Engine. I Don't Know If This Is The Kind Of Engine (i Forget The Term For It) That Immediately Is Damaged When The Timing Belt Breaks. And If Not ,is It Possible That The Noise I Heard, Could Have Been Damage After The Fact? Should I Go Ahead And Try To Change The Timing Belt, Or Would Anyone Know If It Would Be A Waste Of Time And Effort? Would Appreciate Any, And All, Input From You Guys And Gals Out There!

[tlstotelmyer]

According to KGIS all Sportages 95-02 are non interference engines so I would have to say replace the belt it should be ok.


No. KT20050302142 Language English
Published 3/2/2005 Area N. America
Model All Model(all)
Gr./Sys./Comp Engine Mechanical System / Timing System / Timing Belt
DTC P0300 - Random/Multiple Cylinder Misfire Detected
P0301 - Cylinder 1-Misfire detected
P0302 - Cylinder 2-Misfire detected
P0303 - Cylinder 3-Misfire detected
P0304 - Cylinder 4-Misfire detected
P0305 - Cylinder 5-Misfire detected
P0306 - Cylinder 6-Misfire detected

Symptom EN1000 - Hard/No start
EN4000 - engine stalls
EN5000 - poor engine power/acceleration
EN7000 - back-fire/knocking
EN8000 - improper exhaust gas
EN9000 - MIL ON (Malfunction Indicator Lamp)
ENN001 - Noise
ENN002 - Vibration
ENN003 - Others

Subject Engine Valve Timing Interference.
Description Tech Line tells us they get a fair amount of calls asking about valve/piston interference on our engines. The Sportage and Sephia/Spectra are the only "freewheeling engines." The valves do not interfere with the pistons if the timing belt fails. All other Kia engines are "interference engines.” The valves may interfere with the pistons if valve timing is off.

[Baratacus]

jtrocks: Have you pulled the codes on it? The problem could be a throttle position sensor or cam position sensor, you could have a dirty MAF sensor or a faulty coil pack. Are you still getting backfiring or is it just an issue with the hesitation and stalling now? If you had fouled plugs or wires before and were dumping unburnt fuel into the exhaust it could have fouled your catalytic converter. Excessive backpressure could cause the symptoms you're describing. You may have fixed the initial cause of the problem but secondary problems resulting from the first may be the issue now.

Check to see if theres any codes to pull and if there aren't clean the MAF and throttle body first. (make sure to disconnect the wire harness from the MAF before you clean it) those are the easy things. If it's still running rough, Check the backpressure before the CAT, it should be around 1-PSI. If the CAT's bad then replace it, if its not, then you may need to get a more extensive engine diagnostic to figure out whats wrong.