Hello,

My brother-in-law has a 2002 Santa Fe that had the original engine replaced after a repair facility replaced the timing belt and shortly thereafter the new belt broke and damaged the engine. The replacement engine had been working well for a while and then developed a rough idle and stall condition along with a noise that is not always present, but when it is is more noticeable at idle.

He took it to a Pep Boys and supposedly the checked the upper part of the engine (no details on what this "check" involved) and then the lower end of the engine (again no details) and determined that the symptoms are being caused by a "bad" flywheel. I have difficulty rationalizing this as the root cause of the issues.

The vehicle has not been experiencing hard start conditions, no indication that there are broken/damaged teeth on the flywheel that would prevent the starter from engaging. I suppose a broken flywheel bolt or a chunk out of it could possibly bounce around in the bell housing and make a noise if it was getting hit by the torque converter or flywheel, however, I wouldn't think that would cause a rough idle or stall condition.

I spoke with him earlier this evening and during the past week the symptoms have changed. They are only driving it short distances (10 miles or less/day), but the rough idle seems to have stopped along with the stalling (it has only stalled once in the last week or so). The loud rattling noise is no longer present. The only thing now is a noise (described as sounding like metal-on-metal) as the vehicle is starting but it starts on the first crank.

I asked if the CEL is on and he stated that it is now and I requested that he go to AZ or Advance and get the code(s) printed so we have an idea of what the computer has recognized. I just thought in the meantime I would check to see if any others on the forum have had any similar symptoms and what thoughts are about Pep Boys flywheel diagnosis. I suppose they could have damaged it when replacing the engine and mating the transmission back to it. Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

Best Regards,

Ted

 

My brother-in-law's 2002 Santa Fe 2.4L automatic is getting the subject codes and makes a very loud rattling noise as the engine is first being cranked. However, once the engine starts the noise is gone. The code descriptions are as follows:

• P0421 - Warm up catalyst efficiency below threshold bank 1
• P0340 - Camshaft position sensor A circuit bank 1 or single sensor
• P0335 - Crankshaft position sensor A circuit

I saw some info on two of the codes in other posts:

• P0421 - Possibly the downstream O2 sensor or the exhaust flex pipe leaking
• P0335 - There was mention of a TSB for a modified timing cover that could result in timing issues that would trigger this code (for 2001 MY). The engine in this vehicle was replaced because a shop replaced the timing belt in the original engine and shortly after it failed, destroying the engine. I am not certain which model year vehicle the current engine came out of.

From what I have read, it doesn't sound like the Crankshaft position sensor is easily accessible on the 2.4L engine. Can someone confirm the location and what needs to be done to replace it?

Is the camshaft position sensor easily accessible (they typically are) and would it be worth changing it or could the P0340 code be triggered because the crankshaft sensor is not working properly (P0334) or vice versa?

I am going to get under the vehicle and see if I can find anything loose that could be making the loud rattling noise when the engine is first fired, however, with the crankshaft and camshaft position sensor issues I'm concerned that it could be resulting from a timing issue. I don't know that they will want to spend the money to go through replacing the timing belt again. They were told that a new timing belt was fitted prior to installing this engine, however, they have no way of knowing and I don't know if a new crankshaft position sensor was fitted (doubtful).

Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Ted