Somebody PLEASE HELP ME!!

[BarryNYC]

Hey everybody,

I have a 2012 1LT and it currently has 64,000 miles. Long story short, I don't know how to fix my car anymore and I'm running out of money quickly! Before I get into detail about the problem(s), here is a current list of my mods:

1. Cold Air Intake from Cold Air Inductions (installed over two years ago)
2. Solo Performance High flow Catalytic Converts (installed ~ 11 months ago)
3. Pypes Cat-back exhaust system (installed ~ 11 months ago)

About 6 months ago, I started experiencing problems with my car. The one mod I had on then and not now is the flash tune by Trifecta. My car would not put power down when I wanted it to. Exhaust fumes smelled terrible and the engine was misfiring. I reverted the entire car back to stock and began trouble shooting. The problems continued. I finally ended up changing all the O2 sensors and spark plugs. It still didn't work!

Two weeks ago, I took the car to GM (with all the mods on besides the tune) and they cleaned out the valves which had carbon build up in it. I was finally relieved thinking my problems had finally come to an end.

Just days after the cleaning, I noticed another problem. After a hard pull (5-6k RPMs), the car starts violently shaking after coming to a full stop. The RPMs fluctuate erratically and the engine sounds like its going to quit any moment. I found out that tapping the gas pedal lightly temporarily fixes the problem. The car is running very rich. It becomes hard to stand behind during idle when the engine is running due to the fumes. There is no check engine light or any trouble codes coming on. However, everybody can tell that something isn't right.

I'm suspecting the fuel injectors to have gone bad. Maybe it can be the high flow catalytic converters from Solo Performance too. I'm not sure. The current temperature readings on the cats are about 350-400 degrees F all through out. Sadly, my stock cats are gone and I have no way of singling out the issue. On a side note, I once got a code for fuel pump control module and once for circuit malfunction in the ECU months ago when I had the tune on but I don't think either one of these is the issue..???... I also saw some carbon build up inside of the throttle body. Seems like the GM guys didn't bother cleaning that out. Does anybody have any ideas on whats going on? Any suggestions? THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.

P.S: Message me if you are selling your stock Cats (working condition please)

[Twin Town Terror]

What kind of cleaning service did the dealer do on the valves?

I have heard a couple times on here that the SOLO cats have failed or gone bad. That could possibly be the issue.

I would sell you my cats as they only have 4000 miles on them but I am saving them, for a while, in case I ever get into a situation where I need to trade my car in. Sorry...

[BarryNYC]

Originally Posted by Twin Town Terror

What kind of cleaning service did the dealer do on the valves?

I have heard a couple times on here that the SOLO cats have failed or gone bad. That could possibly be the issue.

I would sell you my cats as they only have 4000 miles on them but I am saving them, for a while, in case I ever get into a situation where I need to trade my car in. Sorry...

I'm not sure on how they cleaned it exactly. I do know that they used some sort of cleaning agent and that there was a lot of crap that came out of the exhaust when they fired the car up. It cost me 500 bucks which Isn't TOO bad... A close friend of mine did experience issue with his solo performance cats. I love the way these things sound when combined with the pypes exhaust. When I had the tune on with these cats and the pypes exhaust, the car would pop and crackle so much. I fell in love. My friends and I started joking around calling it a baby Huracan.

Ahh I see. Yea I should really buy the stock cats... They cost 2500 from GM.... Yes 2500 dollars. No thanks.

[Twin Town Terror]

Originally Posted by BarryNYC

I'm not sure on how they cleaned it exactly. I do know that they used some sort of cleaning agent and that there was a lot of crap that came out of the exhaust when they fired the car up. It cost me 500 bucks which Isn't TOO bad... A close friend of mine did experience issue with his solo performance cats. I love the way these things sound when combined with the pypes exhaust. When I had the tune on with these cats and the pypes exhaust, the car would pop and crackle so much. I fell in love. My friends and I started joking around calling it a baby Huracan.

Ahh I see. Yea I should really buy the stock cats... They cost 2500 from GM.... Yes 2500 dollars. No thanks.

Does SOLO have a warranty on their cats? I've never looked into them.

[Shawno72]

Also your shaking at idle is completely normal for the Lfx engine. Do a search and you'll see all of us have this problem until you get a tune. The rough idle and herky jerky acceleration is removed with a good tune

[Eddiefuzz]

You could have a vacuum leak around your manifold. Last year, my car would run really rough and have cylinder misfires on and off for about a month. It would happen once, then wouldn't happen for a few days. I finally figured out that the RTV sealant that I used for the ISOLATOR that I installed a few years ago was leaking. I bought a second gasket for the top of the ISOLATOR and it solved the problem. It was so sporadic that it was hard to diagnose.

[BarryNYC]

Originally Posted by Twin Town Terror

Does SOLO have a warranty on their cats? I've never looked into them.

I'm not sure. I'm going to look into that. I hope they do because I paid 700 bucks for the pair....

[BarryNYC]

Originally Posted by Shawno72

Also your shaking at idle is completely normal for the Lfx engine. Do a search and you'll see all of us have this problem until you get a tune. The rough idle and herky jerky acceleration is removed with a good tune

Its not the average jerk... Im aware of the average shaking. This is completely different. It feels like a legitimate earthquake. The engine feels and sounds like its going to quit any second. As if its about to come off of its mounts. The RPMs fluctuate erratically. Its intense lol

[BarryNYC]

While driving the car at cruising speeds last night, the infamous flashing CEL came on. I immediately grabbed my OBD2 sensor and plugged it in. P0302 was the code that came on. This is the code for a misfire in cylinder number 2.

I changed the spark plugs, O2 sensors, and coil packs all a couple months ago. It is impossible for one of these to be the issue. I will be changing the fuel injector for cylinder 2. If this doesn't solve the issue I'm screwed because then I know something mechanical has gone wrong...

I will keep everybody updated. Thank you all for the support!

[chevy 3]

Good luck on this. Some times just need something to break to figure it out.

[fastlane2010]

Before you change you injector where did you buy the coil from is it a gm factory coil and before did it throw a code before you started replacing parts

[BarryNYC]

Originally Posted by fastlane2010

Before you change you injector where did you buy the coil from is it a gm factory coil and before did it throw a code before you started replacing parts

Yes the coil is from GM. The codes were coming on while I had all the mods on and the trifecta tune. I reverted the car back to stock after a couple weeks of the misfires. So yes, the codes were coming on way before I began changing parts.

The CEL is flashing on and off. If I'm not mistaken this means that the issue is nothing mechanical. 1) If it were mechanical the CEL would not shutoff or flash. It would stay on constantly 2) the car wouldn't drive at all

This has to be either the injector, throttle body, ECU (possible corruption from tune) or somehow the cats from solo performance

[lkurek]

Surprisingly my Trailblazer has a similiar problem a few weeks ago. I was freaking out.....and upon some digging, found that a throttle body cleaning could help. I have been VERY skeptical that cleaning a little buildup in the TB could make that big of a difference, but I gave it a shot. Pulled it off, cleaned it (and the throttle blade) COMPLETELY of gunk.....which wasnt bad.....but it worked. 100% better, idles smooth as silk.

Also, in your original post...you said you returned the car back to stock. Except the tune. And except the stock cats. Soooo...it wasnt really returned to stock Just saying

[fastlane2010]

Originally Posted by BarryNYC

Yes the coil is from GM. The codes were coming on while I had all the mods on and the trifecta tune. I reverted the car back to stock after a couple weeks of the misfires. So yes, the codes were coming on way before I began changing parts.

The CEL is flashing on and off. If I'm not mistaken this means that the issue is nothing mechanical. 1) If it were mechanical the CEL would not shutoff or flash. It would stay on constantly 2) the car wouldn't drive at all

This has to be either the injector, throttle body, ECU (possible corruption from tune) or somehow the cats from solo performance

I would try and first switch the #2 coil with number 5and switch the plug with#6 to see if it follows and if it was an injector you would have another code