i have a 2001 sonata, and when in gear(automatic) the engine rpms go down and because of that it vibrates enough to make the steering wheel vibrate and you can feel it everywhere else. i have removed and cleaned the idle air control sensor and another one on the intake, with carb cleaner(im concerned it may have been too harsh). but after that the car starts up a little quicker and idles at a slightly higher rpm upon first starting so it dosent shut off because of rpms getting too low like it did. so it is better but i want it to be the best it can be, and idle perfectly. does anyone have a diagram with locations of all the sensors? and does anybody know what else i can do to make it run better?

 

Carb cleaner is not good for the MAF sensor, might be a problem. The other thing is motor mounts tend to get loose as they get older and that translates into vibration. Do a ODB II code scan to find out how the sensors are performing. Did you check the timing belt? Do a tune up?

 

i scan it often since my input shaft on my trans is bad, it turns the check engine light off and on all the time, so iscan it often to make shure nothing else is wrong. im almost shure the timing belt has been replaced recently. and as far as a tune up i havejust cleaned the throttle plate. but i dont think i messed up the sensors because it runs better now. i will look into the motor mounts.

 

So if you get "check engine" lights all the time, what is the code? You should still pull the top cover off the timing belt and inspect it. It's a 10 minute job to remove the top cover and do an adjustment if necessary.

 

i dont look at the code, since the scanner i use is at a shop i work at in the summer and it tells you in words what the problem is, and the only thing setting off the check engine light is the input shaft. and i think i will take a look at the timing chain. any other suggestions?

 

Sounds like your scanner doesn't tell you much. You need a real scan. Take it to an Autozone for free and get an ODB II scan for free next time the "check engine" light comes on.


You don't have a timing "chain", it's a timing belt. Chains don't usually break, belts brake routinely. When they break, they ruin the motor.

 

a "real" scan at autozone? please. they have code readers. just like the $50 ones you can buy yourself. and bucannon, you are "pretty sure" you have a new timing belt? how did you figure that out? just a hunch or something more solid? like maybe a receipt for work done?

 

sorry, i knew it had a belt rather than a chain, but im a big fan of chevy small blocks and mopar big blocks, so my bad. but this scanner is the real deal, its an espensive color screen code reader, i dont operate it, but the full time guys do so we hook it up and it tells you what is going bad.

the reason im pretty shure is because the car is at 103,000 miles and at 98,000 it had a hundred thousand tune up, or whatever. but i think i remember changing the timing belt was included. but i will ask to find out for shure.

 

does anyone know of any other engine sensors that i can remove, inspect, and clean?

I want this engine to run like its new.

 

You need to stop messing around. You need the ODB II codes. Do like I told you and go to Autozone and get your codes, have them cleared, leave without buying parts, and report the codes back here.