2003 Eclipse GT engine problems
 

My roommate has been having problems with her 2003 Eclipse GT auto for over a week now and has not gotten any good diagnosis from the shops she has taken it to. It is throwing P0300 CELs on a fairly consistent basis. It idles rough and the engine sputters whenever it is at low RPM (when its in reverse, at a stop light, etc.) It has stalled a few times when it is stopped. I have also just found out that the temperture gauge fluctuates and sometimes stays near the top of the gauge. She also says the heat does not always work when the car is stopped. It only blows cold air. If she revs it up in park, it starts blowing hot air again.

She has been told it is burning oil, I do not know exactly how much. At her last oil change, the "tech" said the oil level was extremely low. The latest shop says she has multiple coolant leaks and that two hoses and the thermastat need to be changed. The shop also said the leak is old and that there was a lot of damage done to the engine, but did not give any specifics in writing. The shop did say the head gasket was fine. This is all second hand info as I did not talk to the shop directly. My roommate is just looking for some advice. I don't doubt there could be a coolant leak but could that be causing the CELs and the engine stalling? She does not check any fluid levels and has left all the maintenance to jiffy lube type shops. I did some research on the P0300 code and most of what I could find point to some kind of vacuum leak. From my understanding a vacuum leak could explain the engine problems, the stalling and the heater problems. Is there an easy way to check for a vacuum leak? Should anything else be checked?

Any ideas or suggestions are welcome. thanks for any input.

-Mike

RE: 2003 Eclipse GT engine problems
 

First off get the coolant system flushed. That MIGHT fix the heater problem. Also replace the 2 radiator hoses and the thermostat. That could possibly take care of the temp guage problem, and the cooling system problems. As for the rough idle I'm going to guess the ISS needs adjusted. It's a small flathead screw on the throttle body somewhere. Adjust it slowly with the car running until it's as smooth as it gets.

RE: 2003 Eclipse GT engine problems
 

This is why you should take care of everything your self, you cant trust someone making 12 bucks an hour to care all that much about your car.

Sounds like the whole car needs to be tuned up like fo-rizzle, everything that sang said, some pugs, wires, and the vac leak... I bet a hose either dry rotted or came off something. I would start by looking at all of the hook ups for the intake manifold and work my way around from there. The vac leak would deff explain the stalling problems and such. There is a homemade tool you can use to check for a vac leak but its going to be a pain in the ass to do so(check me out fcc i'am a bad ass, thats right I said ass I think its okay)If you really want to make it search for boost leak tester and you'll find a million posts on how to make one.

RE: 2003 Eclipse GT engine problems
 

do not do this. It is a bad idea because it is not the problem and therefore will not fix the problem, only mask it. Because the code you are gettting is a random misfire code. Which this can be attributed to just needing spark plugs and wires