check engine light

[holder]

Hello, all. Recently bought a '98 328IS with 86,000 miles. Already had to replace the t'stat and coolant temp sensor. Now I have a CEL and AutoZone says it reads a possible vacuum leak, bad cats, or bad valve seal letting nasties into the exhaust flow. Can't determine if fuel economy is down, its the same as when I bought it here in Central Ohio a few months ago. It runs great and is a really fun car. No idle issues. I do hear that hot tick-tick sound after the car is turned off, but don't know if that is a bad cat or symptomatic of a problem upstream. Anyone out there with a similar experience? I'm getting tired of having a CEL for all but 6 weeks of ownership and will have to look at a Lexus IS if this keeps up. Thanks.

[Furious]

what they need to do is clear the codes and see what code actually is the root problem.. .when one code goes off, normally it creates a chain reaction of faults (most are dummies that are related to the initial problem) once they clear the other codes they can at least go after the proper code.

[Hamfisted]

Yeah buy yourself a code reader so you can read the codes yourself. I like the Actron 9135, its easy to use and made in the USA. Its usually something simple that causes a chain reaction of codes.




Actron Website


You can find them on Ebay or just about any autoparts store.









Mike

[holder]

Many thanks, I'll do that.