OK, I have 2 Questions as listed in the title. Any help is appreciated.
1. The engine issue has me more worried. The transmission was replaced about 15K ago. The car seemed to be running great, but had 130K miles. I decided to do a fuel injection cleaner and then followed that with a can of 104+. Ever since then, the car chokes and startles in the morning or on the road when cruising at ~2500 RPM. IF I punch the accelerator, it has no hesitation and plenty of torque and speed. I do not hear any knocking, clicking, banging etc… but does sound like the occasional ( 2-3 x week) muffled backfire type noise. I replaced the fuel filter and gave another premium fuel injector treatment. Someone said I may have caused the engine to run too rich, but have been using 89 octane for over a month with no resolve.
2. I have read several other issues regarding the blower motor, but my problem seems more odd. Sometimes the blower motor runs fine, but more often it only blows very low. I feel heat or cold flowing but the fan does not get up to speed. On occasion the starts fine and I hear it start to wind down? I wonder if it has to do with moisture in the housing but not sure where to check for this. Also of note, but maybe just coincidence, this issue started only after taking the vehicle in for an oil change at a (very cheap) discount transmission place.
Thanks,
MrBob
Problem 1: When the fuel cleaners loosen up dirt, it got into something more critical in your system. Check to see if any codes are recorded in the car’s computer (Auto Zone etc. can check it for you). If so, report back the codes. You may need to have the fuel injectors cleaned by a professional, or one or more injectors may now need replacement.
Problem 2: No relation to oil change and this problem. I suspect the switch that controls the blower motor speed is bad, or there is a problem in the wires or connectors between the switch and motor. A bad blower motor usually does not work at all, or is very noisey due to bad bearings.
For the blower fan … check to see if you have water inthe blower assembly or check the resistor to see if it is rusty. Either of these problems can cause the blower fan to behave like this. I had the same thing happen to me. It’s not too hard to do this repair yourself. Check out http://www.automotiveforums.com/t293907.html for the details. Here is a link to the TSB http://fcsdchemicalsandlubricants.com/supplier/tsb/04153.pdf
I had to replce the heater resistor (two screws and one plug ~ 15 minutes) and the heater blower fan assembly (about 30 minutes after removing the glove compartment) AFTER I fixed the water leak based on the TSB mentioned.
You can purchase the parts from a place like http://www.directfordparts.com
Good luck!