Ive had my Eclipse since I bought it off the lot in 99. It ran flawlessly for years until 4 years or so ago. It is still completely stock, 183k miles on it. I dont race it, but I do like to enjoy its power and quickness when I need it.

The main problem is when I floor the gas pedal, the engine cuts out and sputters, like its trying to GO but its not getting enough fuel or air to really go. If I ease into the gas pedal, the accelerates nicely. So it only does it when I floor it. Ive changed wires & plugs to no avail.

Second problem: When its hot outside and my engine is warm, it idles high, like between 1500 rpm and 3000 rpm. If its hot outside, I can start the car in the morning run errands, like go to the store etc. When I get back in it and start it again after being in the store, it will then idle high for the rest of my errands. In the winter it idles perfect at all times, and it only happens in the summer after the engine is warm and it is shut off and started again.

Third problem: Once the engine is warm (no matter the outside temp), there is alot of white smoke that comes out the exhaust. I really only notice it when Im idling (high idle or not). The smell is hard to describe but to me it smells mostly like a water vapor smell, not really sweet but
not a harsh smell for sure.

Fourth problem: Its a manual transmission, and here just recently the bottom gears (2, 4 and R) intermittendly go out, like they just arent there anymore when I try to drop the stick into them. I took it to a buddy of mine who has done some work my car in the past, he felt the linkage on the left side of the motor and said it felt fine. Then he sat in the drivers seat and just kept working the stick thru the gears until magically the stick would slide into the bottom gears again. Fixed, right? The problem is, it
doesnt stay fixed. I can be driving 15 miles thru traffic and have the bottom gears disappear, then I will work the stick thru the gears at a stop light and get them back, then go out again a few miles down the road. Sometimes they are fine for a days driving but the next day its doing it again. What gives?

The first 3 problems I have had for 4 or so years, but I don't remember if one happened before the other or both happened at the same time. I can drive the car just fine, but its kind of a pain with the high idle and the bottom gears going out intermittently.

It would be nice if i could get the acceleration without sputtering when I floored it. That and the white smoke kinda worries me that there might be something else wrong with the engine.

After some research the consensus seems to say the sputtering when I floor it is a boost leak. When I called one of the few shops around that will do a boost leak and described my issue, he didnt think it was a leak but told me to check my codes, so here goes:

Codes:
P1105 - Fuel Pressure Solenoid. Just clean and/or replace? Could this be affecting any of the above problems?

P0446 - Evaporative Emission Control System Vent Control Valve Circuit. Just a gas cap maybe? Is this part of one of the above problems?

P0505 - IAC Malfunction. This seems pretty straight forward, and could be the direct cause of my high idle. but does it mean IAC valve or IAC motor? I replaced an IAC valve in an 01 Escape and it was 2 bolts and done. How hard are these to change out?

Sorry for the terribly long read, but I wanted to give as much info as possible. Im a bit of a noob when it comes to auto mechanics, I can do simple things and can follow instructions from a detailed youtube vid if need be. I dont have a bunch of cash to throw at a mechanic so Id rather try to do most of it myself if it isnt too hard. If it does need a boot leak test, Id have the shop do it for $70, is that a fair price?

Any help is MUCH appreciated!

 

reset the ECU and then see what codes come back. however:
replace. and yes likely contributing to problems.

no, evap system draws off exhaust vapour from cold engine/incomplete combustion and puts it back into the engine to burn when it's hot.
"control valve circuit" indicates electrickery. replace things.
and again, yes, contributing to your problems.

only further diagnosis will differentiate

it doesn't sound (to me) like a boost issue, although that is difficult to diagnose underneath the other problems (and over the internet), so fix them first.

taking out all the computery sh*t, it sounds like a fuelling and/or timing issue.

considering all the computery sh*t, that means its sensors.

 

I need to get my bottom gears working first, so I did some checking over the weekend. I removed the center console to look at the linkage under the gear shift. I was hoping to see something broken off, but it all looks fine.


Then I looked at the linkage near the transmission, it all looks ok too. There is some play with one of the cables near the transmissive, but I'm not sure if it is supposed to move in that direction or not. I will post some pics at the bottom of this post. Hopefully you can tell from the pics, see something I am missing because I'm not really sure what Im looking for anyway.


Just to recap, the car sat for a couple months, when I started driving it again, the bottom gears would work, then just go out randomly as I was driving down the road. At first, I could work the stick shift around while at a stop light and get the bottom gears back. That worked for a week or so, but for the past couple of weeks, the bottom gears wont come back at all. This is where I am now.


This first pic is under the stick shift. The right sided skinny pole (not sure what the proper name is) slides backward when I put it into 1st, 3rd, or 5th and that works fine. It slides forward when I put it into 2nd, 4th or reverse, and for some reason, it wont slide forward. I put arrows on the pic so you know what I'm talking about.






It seems that something is blocking it from sliding forward, but I couldn't really see anything obvious in the linkage next to the transmission. I took a few pics (below) but its kinda hard to get a clean pic of it.








Can any of you make heads or tails of this?