Alright, I have been experiencing a few problems with my car. First off,
my check engine light has been on and I have been around to places in town
and they all say that its my charcoal canister. I need to have someone who
works on emissions to fix it, I may have a blockage in the hose that leads
to the charcoal canister? Is this something I can check myself?

Okay, secondly, when driving my car, you can feel that back end sway back
and forth on the road. Sometimes it feels like it is sliding on ice..if I
hit bumps or am on the highway...the backend totally rocks back and forth.
I have had several alignments and that doesnt help the problem much. I was
told to have my struts checked. Is this true? How do I get the struts
checked?

If anyone has any info on this stuff..would totally appreciate your help!

 

On Tue, 27 Sep 2005 14:51:13 -0400, "wyckstr" <wyckstr@comcast.net>
wrote:


>Okay, secondly, when driving my car, you can feel that back end sway back
>and forth on the road. Sometimes it feels like it is sliding on ice..if I
>hit bumps or am on the highway...the backend totally rocks back and forth.
>I have had several alignments and that doesnt help the problem much. I was
>told to have my struts checked. Is this true? How do I get the struts
>checked?

You've had several alignments and the people that did this didn't
check the struts after you told them about your issues with the car?
It could be worn bushings but my 97' Tiburon doesn't do anything like
you state you are experiencing. How many miles on the car? More than
75,000 on the suspension and you should have all of the shocks/struts
replaced anyway. My Tib has 185,000 and the struts/shocks have been
replaced twice.

...Ron
--
68' Camaro RS
88' Firebird Formula
00' Mustang GT Vert

 

wyckstr wrote:

> Okay, secondly, when driving my car, you can feel that back end sway back
> and forth on the road. Sometimes it feels like it is sliding on ice..if I
> hit bumps or am on the highway...the backend totally rocks back and forth.

Have you checked your tire pressures?

> I have had several alignments and that doesnt help the problem much. I was
> told to have my struts checked. Is this true? How do I get the struts
> checked?

A "quick and dirty" test is to put your weight on the rear bumper, then
release it quickly. If the struts are OK, the rear end will spring up,
then settle, with maybe a slight bounce upward again. If it cycles up
and down more than once, the struts are shot. Also, check them for oil
leaks. Any oil on the outside of a strut is a bad sign.

BTW, it seems rather odd that whoever did your alignments couldn't check
the struts. Are you sure they're competent?

 

Without more information, I have little reason to doubt what anyone's told
you about your check engine lamp, especially if they're all saying the
same thing. Do you have a trouble code or anything to offer? The way to
check for blockages is to disconnect both ends of a hose or pipe and check
for the ability to pass air.

Is there some reason you can't replace the charcoal canister yourself? If
you can check the hoses, you can replace the canister.

And I'm with Brian on the swaying. I'd almost place a significant wager
that your rear tire pressures are very low.

 

thanks for the replies guys. As for the tires, the pressure is fine and
have them rotated on a regular basis. I have taken it to the dealership
and they told me time after time that its my alignment, but every time I
get an alignment, it does little to help. I dont know what else to do
about it. I will have to have the struts checked out.

As for the charcoal filter, I would check these things, but I am not clear
as to where it is located in the engine area. sorry, I might be a bit car
iliterate, is there a book I can get to help me? like by haynes or
something?

 

oh, also, the error code that I have for my charcoal filter is P0441

 

wyckstr wrote:
> thanks for the replies guys. As for the tires, the pressure is fine and
> have them rotated on a regular basis. I have taken it to the dealership
> and they told me time after time that its my alignment, but every time I
> get an alignment, it does little to help. I dont know what else to do
> about it. I will have to have the struts checked out.

Who is doing your alignment? Is it a tire shop or an alignment
specialist? If it's the former, I suggest that you try to find a local
"front end" shop instead, as a specialist will often do better work. If
you find one that's been around for decades, it's a good sign that they
know what they're doing. Ask around for recommendations and check you
Yellow Pages under "Wheel Alignment - Automotive".

> As for the charcoal filter, I would check these things, but I am not clear
> as to where it is located in the engine area. sorry, I might be a bit car
> iliterate, is there a book I can get to help me? like by haynes or
> something?

Online service manuals are available at no charge on the Hyundai WebTech
site: http://www.hmaservice.com/

The only caveats are that it only works with Internet Explorer and you
have to sign up to use it. If you don't receive your password in a
timely manner, use the "lost password" function and you'll be all set.
It's worth the trouble to access this valuable resource.

 

Replace your purge control valve. I've never seen this code turn out to be
any other problem. The definition is "insufficient purge," but Hyundai
uses it also to indicate purge when none is desired. In many cases, I've
been able to remove the purge valve from the car and blow through it.
(You shouldn't be able to do that when it's not activated; i.e. wiring
disconnected or key off). On your car it will either be in the hose
coming off the intake manifold or in a hose along the left front frame
rail by the strut tower and master cylinder. The easiest way to find it
is probably to go to the dealer, buy one, and then go look in the places I
mentioned. Also, if you go to www.hmaservice.com like Brian suggested, you
can go to the schematic section (ETM), and there will be a link at the
bottom of each page for component locations. Click on the link and then
select purge control solenoid valve from the list and it will show you a
picture of the valve and where it is located.