2004 Chevy trailblazer loss of drivetrain power
Okay, please describe the problem more fully (need engine type, miles, description of power loss, etc); in the meantime, here are some common power-robbers:
Bad O2 sensors. Just changed mine on my 03 5.3 LS-motor Sierra, and power went from mundane pickup truck with 145,000-mi to high thrust similar to my \'11 Camaro SS/RS. Yes, it makes that big a difference. About $25-50 each, and most modern V6 or V8 vehicles have 4.
Dirty throttle body. Easy enough to clean your self, but you will need the environmentally-NOT-friendly cleaner (about $6 or less per can at parts stores--get 2 cans). LET DRY COMPLETELY--1 HOUR MINIMUM--BEFORE STARTING. Same effect on power as O2 sensors. Usually about $100 or less for Chevy vehicles.
Dirty or bad Mass Air Flow sensor. Clean with same stuff as for throttle body. Similar effect on power. LET DRY COMPLETELY--1 HOUR MINIMUM--BEFORE STARTING. If bad, this won\'t help.
Dirty fuel injectors. Use high-quality injector cleaner (usually about $6 or less per bottle at parts stores), or bite the bullet and let the dealer do the professional injector service, usually <$150 at a Chevy dealer. Any dealer work on Chevrolet vehicles, it makes sense to have the Chevy dealer and not the Ford or Billy Bob\'s Tobaccy Chaw garage do it. Many, many of us mechanics are qualified and trained, but many, many are not.
Bad gas. This is a deal-killer, and it is even worse than you know, because bad gas--even one time--usually kills the in-tank fuel pump. Bad gas is gasoline that has somehow gotten water in it. By the way, NO DEALER EVER SELLS "WATERED-DOWN" GAS, no matter what you have heard all your life, even if your Daddy told you that. The reason is simple chemistry and economics: gas and water do not mix, water does not burn, and water causes immediate spitting, missing, bucking, farting, and twitching, kills fuel pumps and catalytic converters and fouls plugs and O2 sensors, and costs hundreds to repair. Water does accidentally end up in underground fuel tanks, however, and usually as the result of the fuel deliverer not sealing the caps after a delivery, followed by a rain or hose activity in the station lot. Water is not the only definition of \'bad gas\'--I recently repaired a vehicle that the fuel deliverer had accidentally poisoned with diesel fuel--he either forgot to clear his hose after filling the underground diesel tank, or just put diesel in the gas tank, but this car\'s tank was FULL of diesel after fueling from an island that doesn\'t even have a diesel pump on it--I checked the station myself. Contaminated fuel can cost you thousands of dollars, so always buy gas at a reputable, name-brand station, and smell the nozzle before you add fuel. You won\'t catch water this way, but you will catch diesel.
Stopped-up or internally-fractured catalytic converters. This one is REALLY expensive, and it DOES happen. Converters don\'t last forever, and they can be killed by you or by your fuel. Bad gas or even misfiring kills modern catalytic converters right now--like yesterday-fast--and there is no fix but replacement, usually costs about $300-2900 (that\'s right) to repair, depending on vehicle, catalytic converter type and quantity. Buying gas for even 10 cents a gallon cheaper really doesn\'t save you squat...the average tanks hold something less than 20 gallons. Even at 20 gallons, 10-cent cheaper gas saves you TWO WHOLE DOLLARS per fill-up...is $2 a tank off worth possibly $3000 in repairs due to bad gas?
Please ask for help performing any of these repairs if you feel like you can do them with a little coaching, and please be more specific in describing vehicle problems. You can even say "It makes this chick-chick-chicky sound," and a good mechanic can get insight from that. You don\'t have to be as technical as us.
×