Did this fall off my car?

edit : 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse, 2.4L 4-cylinder cylinder, automatic
edit: scroll down more than half way to see a a second set of photos that were added.

I think a part fell off my car, but here is what is going on. My car has been acting up for the past 2 days and finally it would not start.

  1. Low-rev on cold start-up, around 500 rpm, almost wanting to stall but would eventually rev normally after driving it a few minutes

  2. Today same, but when I gave it gas to get the revs up, it would rev high to around 3000 rpm…there was no in between, no matter how hard I
    tried, it was either 500 rpm or 3000 rpm and it would fall back to 500 rpm.

  3. I was able to pull out of the drive way but it would stall so I drove back and now it won’t stay on for long. Actually if I hold the brake while giving it gas (so I can get it to 3000 rpm), I can manage to move it but it is difficult.

  4. It starts for about a second, but I hear a wheezing sound, then a little pop.

  5. The weather dropped about 15 degrees lately by the way, around the time this all started.

6 ** I found this little part under my car (see photos)…I have no idea what it is but has smoke/exhaust coating on it, so I guess it’s from the car?

  1. I found this other part (a ring shaped thing) a few yards away, but I think it’s just some random junk maybe?

The part in the photos is about 2.5 inches long, diameter about the width of a U.S. quarter at the widest end.

What could the problem be? If this belongs in the car, where does it go, and what is the part called?

What kind of car? Year/make/model would all help.

2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse, sorry I forgot to add that

V6 or 4 cylinder? Manual or automatic?

2.4L 4-cylinder cylinder, automatic

Lemme make a guess… I think the picture is the internal parts of this assembly

This is the EGR switching valve. An open EGR may make your car run (or not run) like you describe. Rockauto has these for under $30.

Hey thank you so much…I also noticed a little hose missing up there by the intake, so this part looks like a fit. I should take a photo, but thank you I will check it out.

Don’t really know much about it but the part looks like it might have come out of that hole . Why don’t you see if it fits in there ?
You mentioned a sucking , wheezing sound , why don’t you check if that noise is coming from that hole ?

^ hmm, I think that might actually be the Cruise Control Actuator in the photo, I really dunno, but anyway…

I can’t get my fingers in there Sloepoke; trying to find some of those clothes hangers or wire to maybe get it in there. But either way what is the part called? It probably needs a new one if it did in fact come from that hole.

I have no idea what it is but it appears that the part might fit the hole . The ear on the part with the bolt hole looks like it might line up with the threaded bolt hole in the picture . If that part was originally in that hole the bolt that held it in likely worked looser & looser over a period of time before it fell completely out . If you had any abnormal noises or engine running problems before the car really started running poorly it could be because the part worked loose for a while before it completely fell out .
Just speculating here because the part definitely looks like it might fit the hole & yes if it is you probably should get a new one .

I just wanted to follow up on http://community.cartalk.com/discussion/2306095/did-this-fall-off-my-car#latest (thanks again Mustangman)

2001 Mitsu Eclipse, 2.4 L 4 Cylinder, Automatic, wheezing/sucking or blowing sound, bad idle, starts but stalls right away.

Took some more photos and wanted to make sure I get it right. Oh it did overheat slightly a couple of days ago; went to about less then 3/4 of the temp and so I turn the heater on, went back to normal, added water later that day.

I poked around and noticed a ~1 inch hole there by the whole EGR area. Could this piece have come out from there? There seems to be some wear there. Though there is a little hole in the 2nd photo (top right) but it looks clean, like nothing has been there in a while, if ever.

I combined the two threads, @darth_tater.

ok ty cdaquila…I wasn’t sure if I should’ve started a new one to begin with.

But yeah Sloepoke, I’m hoping someone can spot it right away and know exactly what the part is called. Fingers crossed. Thanks though. Oh well, I’ll be back later.

Yes!

It belongs on the throttle body.

Tester

By jove Tester , I believe that’s it . Do you know if that other little part he found is part of it or something totally unrelated ?

I don’t know?

All I know is if you look at one of the images the OP provided, you can see the sticker on the throttle body that states “Assembled In Mexico”, and there’s nothing in the hole.

The image I provided has the same sticker, and the part is mounted in the hole.

Tester

Well that could certainly affect engine performance.