Thinking too much into it

For the past two months, my car has experienced a serious loss in power (not to mention fun factor). The engine was straining hard on acceleration and it seemed as if it were starved for fuel as I stepped on the gas during acceleration. There was also a lurching hesitation from standing start that signaled that major repairs loomed in the near future. I was beginning to think that my car might be nearing its end of life sooner than I had originally planned when I bought the car.

On top of that, there was an error code (P0170) in the computer with vague explanation that the fuel management in bank one was out of range. According to the troubleshooting guide, this meant that fuel wasn't getting to three of the cylinders. It also mentioned that the mass airflow sensor (measures how much air is getting to the engine) might need cleaning.

Ironically, two months ago, I had changed out the transmission fluid and did an oil change as well. The transmission fluid was pitch black, so I knew that the previous owner hadn't changed it in a looooooong time. I had resolved to change it again at the end of the summer to flush out more of the black sludge that likely had built up on the bottom of the pan.

This coincidence led me to believe that I might have done something bad to the transmission. I also remember reading somewhere that adding too much oil into the engine could cause the cams to bog down. This resistance might be causing a situation that not enough fuel was getting into the cylinders. I checked the oil level and I saw that it was a quart too high.

This morning, I resolved to spend the day addressing the laundry list of possible reasons for my poor car's ailments. This list included:

• Replacing the fuel filter and air filter
• Cleaning the mass airflow sensor and throttle body
• Changing the transmission fluid
• Changing the oil
• Checking all of the hoses for loose conenctions.
  

I will say it again, things were not looking good. This was a lot of stuff to do. I decided that the hardest (and most dangerous) job would be the first thing I did. So, I began replacing the fuel filter. First item out of the engine would be the airbox and mass airflow sensor.

Something amazing and a bit funny immediately became apparent to me. I was stunned by it. Really. The hose between the mass airflow sensor and the throttle body had a huge gaping tear in it. I taped the hose up (Duct tape works wonders) and went for a drive. Gone were all of the symptoms! The fun I had in stomping on the gas pedal and having the entire car surge forward was back!

Tomorrow, I plan to place an order for a new hose and that should resolve it all. There's a lesson to be learned here. As an engineer, I try to encompass as much information as possible before addressing a problem, also known as overthinking the problem. If I had merely inspected all of the hosing, I would have seen the rip eventually. I console myself with the fact that I learned a new skill doing this, at the very least. Eventually, I will check off all of those items on that list, but it is no longer as urgent.