2legit

I just bought a 98 cl 3.0 with a little over 202k. For the most part everything about the car is as ideal as can be for a 14 yr old car. It's got a few issues I need to iron out though.

1. Starting with what I believe to be the starter. It has shows very labored starting but usually starts around the 4th try maybe. What do you think this could be?

2. After running for a little while it starts to overheat which I'm assuming could be a thermostat issue. Any other suggestions?

3. I think my power steering pump may be bad because when the car is sitting still it's very difficult to turn the wheel (more difficult than normal of course) but when the car is moving its fine. Where should I start with this?

4. When the car is in motion, it makes a scraping sound on the right side. What is this?

5. The power locks don't work for either door. Also, the driver's seat will not move neither forwards nor backwards. Maybe the seat's motor or fuse is out? Also, the passenger seat slides around when I drive. How do I keep it stationary?

6. FINALLY, the trunk lever is inoperable from the inside of the car and I can't get into it.

I'm fine with spending necessary money on fixing the car because I'm pretty proud of it being my first buy, I just need help as to where to look to start fixing it.

pitbullLOVER

hello fellow j30a1 owner.

... you have some interesting yet fixable problems.

(1st) the starting can be weak for different reasons-
1- bad battery, gives the starter not enough power, labored starts occur
2- bad battery grounds & power cables, power dont get to the starter
3- needs a tune up, mostly the plugs, wires, cap, rotor, air filter.
4- and my fav., shitty gas full of water from a shitty gas station.
5- and yes a bad starter, but i would check the other stuff first.

(2nd) overheating in your case might be answered by your other problems,... have you checked your fuses??? is your cooling fan working????
a bad thermostat could but you could have a problem with blockage, if radiator stop leak has ever been used in your car then i feel sorry for you, ive pulled apart engines that had and its ugly. also thermostat may just be too hot, if you drive in arizona, your car has all the goods on it still (rare) there is a lot of plastic and shit covering your engine holding the heat in like a womb and now if its covered in dirt n shit and needs a tune up your car can run hot. check and see the temp. of your thermostat, its stamped on the thermostat itself. ... ??? dont know???

(3rd) the power steering- 1st id check the tension on the belt if its loose it will could be an issue but it would probably squeal. could be the 1st problem, if the bearing is gone, the fluid is dirty and low it will be harder at stop but you should hear sounds corresponding with you moving the wheel. check the fliud level. change the fluid if its gross and pop the hood on your car with the engine running after you have been driving a while, have some1 turn left to right and listen for the pump (full of good fluid) to make noises.

(4th) scraping sound is just that, either the brakes catching, could need brakes., could be something rubbing on the tires in the fender buuuuut the worst case wheel bearings, a very, VERY common problem on our cars. also c.v. joints less so but still. id look for something rubbing in the brakes/ fender and if no its the wheel bearings.

(5th) the locks, seats n shit,.. check the fuses, these cars have some electrical issues and lately others have been having similar problems, if the fuses are good its the power door lock actuators for the doors, the heated seats could be the relays, again these cars have electrical issues.

(6th) HAHAHAHAHAH, AND FUNNIEST TO ME cause i had the same issue, your slider isnt engaging the lock, in my case it was a nickel stuck in the slider.make sure nothing is in the way of the slider release arm or in the slider track.

(7th) and final, your trunk release. if the cable is broke see if it just came out at the open lever, take the plastic caver off and see if its connected, if its off in the trunk and you dont have the remote to open it, ... i dont know if there is a emergancy release, ive never found one. you might need to get a new remote and battery, good news is people have been getting ones from auto wreakers and programing them for their cars with no issuse. if all that and the actuator in the trunk is bad.... ???????


well.... good luck.

2legit

Awesome feedback man thanks.

Luckily the overheating issue was just low fluid and that's taken care of.

Unfortunately the person I bought it from didn't have a remote so as of now everything is manual which is cool especially considering the price I paid for it.

I'm changing the brake pads tomorrow so hopefully that eliminates the scratching sound. I didn't see anything to make the scrubbing sound when I removed the tire.

I'll probably remove the trunk release cover tomorrow to see if it's unhooked. I didn't see an emergency release either but the cable running from the release cover to the trunk is luckily still functional so I can get in without that much hassle.

I had a code read for the check engine light being on and turns out I might have a catalytic converter issue so I believe that's going to have to take precedence over the starter issue for the time being but we'll see.

As for the electrical issues, i'll iron them out slowly but surely. I'm ready to get this bad boy on the road

pitbullLOVER

good to hear things are coming along with the cl. its even better when problems are just little ones.

as for your cat, cats fail for 2 reasons, they either plug up with carbon and soot or they melt and seal themselves off.
premium gas when its not needed, bad gas or a bad ignition system will plug a cat.
excessive engine heat will welt a cat but if a cat is plugged from carbon and soot it will built WAY to much back pressure and overheat.
(or so i was told buy the awsome guy at my fav. exhaust shop)

2legit

Yea I'm definitely going to get that looked at ASAP. The last thing I want is that thing catching fire.

97'CL2.2

whats the code ur car is throwing?...some codes will say somthing like catalyst threshold below limit but the cat isnt actually the problem...replaceing the cat should be ur LAST RESORT in the chain of actions when trying to solve the CEL issue as it is the most expensive

2legit

the light actually went off but i think it did say something like that. i bought some fuel cleaner to try to clean the cat if its plugged. so far everything is cool