2007 EL with high miles, experiencing possible cam phaser issue. lack of power

[jruppert]

Hi guys. I have a little bit of a situation with my 07 EL and I am not sure which direction to go with it. It has 198,000 miles on it and having a couple issues. 1 being that when the car sits for a few hours or over night at start up you hear a loud clatter/knocking sound. This sound is evident for approximately 2-3 seconds and is only heard when the engine is first fired up. Once the 2-3 seconds passes, the sound is gone. However I have a ticking sound that carries on while engine is running. So this tells me cam phaser. What throws me off though is that the sound, to me sounds almost like possible chain tensioner, but no 100% sure. I have owned the truck for 2 years and has always made the sound but it has gotten worse. At one point, I had a code and at this point I cannot remember what exactly it was but it pointed to the solenoid that goes into the driver side head for camshaft. I replaced this and code went away. Now another issue I am having is that this thing is an absolute turd in acceleration. Given that it has 198,000 I cant complain too much but it seriously cannot get out of its own way. At any speed down low, I press accelerator down and it refuses to accelerate. Its almost like it is stuck in a higher gear. Once the rpm's climb, the engine begins to respond. Last in my issues are that I have found on a couple occasions after starting the car and hearing that clatter that the engine has a noticeable shake. This shake feels almost like a misfire. You put it into gear and it has zero acceleration. It is much worse then without the shake. After 10 seconds or so, the shaking feel goes away and engine becomes more responsive.

So I am thinking a cam phaser but I would hate to replace these if it truely isnt the case. In some ways, I am thinking chain tensioner. But I dont see how this would cause the loss of power.

Any thoughts?

 

[stamp11127]

At that mileage it is due for some maintenance. It all will depend on how much money you are willing to invest and how much of the work you are going to perform.
When was the last tuneup?
Fuel & air filters changed?
Any cel's?
EGR passages cleaned?

The list can go on...

 

[jruppert]

I replaced the plugs and coils last year. Had the fuel pump replaced last year. Come to think of it, I believe they replaced the filter at that time. No CEL.

Not sure what you are referring to EGR passages.

 

[k9education]

Not sure what you are referring to EGR passages.

The Exhaust Gas Recirculation Valve

 

[jruppert]

Sorry.. should have been more specific.

I know what the EGR is. Just meant that I wasn't familiar with any buildup that the system might have.

 

[Truck3]

A turd on acceleration? Had a similar issue when cold on much lower milage. Took a chance and replaced the TPS (Throttle position sensor) and all is well. It is a cheap part that may be worth replacing just to help narrow down the problem.

 

[jruppert]

A turd on acceleration? Had a similar issue when cold on much lower milage. Took a chance and replaced the TPS (Throttle position sensor) and all is well. It is a cheap part that may be worth replacing just to help narrow down the problem.

My thoughts were with the TPS as well. When accelerating, it acts like it doesnt know that the pedal is pressed down. I have an actron scanner and took a look at some TPS numbers last night. There are quite a few of them. The TPS cmd (command) recognizes a full sweep from 2% up to 100%. However, there are other TPS data that I do not know how to interpret.

Last night I took the MAF out and cleaned it. I also sucked up some seafoam into the upper intake through a vacuum port. Surprisingly, the car responded well to it. So.. I will pick up 2 cans after work. 1 to run through intake again and another for the tank.

 

[jruppert]

After a few days of running some seafoam into intake and cleaning the MAF, I have to say there is some improvement. However, it still is somewhat sluggish. If I go to floor it taking off, it feels like I have a trailer hooked up. Then as the engine begins to climb, I feel these sudden bursts of power. It you were to look at a graph, you would see it as some up and down marks. The power is there then it cuts out and begins to steady come back and cut out and so on. As the engine rpm's climb, you will feel the power steadily increase.

One thing I forgot to mention, when I checked for codes, I had a P0316. This is a misfire first 1000 revolutions. I suppose this would explain when I had the extreme chugging last week after I started it.

 

[stamp11127]

Check the exhaust back pressure, cat may be clogged,

 

[jruppert]

Check the exhaust back pressure, cat may be clogged,

Is this something that would show up on my Actron Scanner? It will datalog load,etc.