Loss of power with a knock

BEETLEBAILEY55

MEMBER
2004 KIA SEDONA
6 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
127,000 MILES

I am helping a young local army man with his 04 KIA Sedona. He left Virginia on his way back to Illinois with his wife and four young children when he lost power in West Va. The mechanic diagnosed and replaced the catalyst convertor with a universal one. It is the one that runs under the vehicle and does not have any sensors before or after it yet the mechanic said the code was the cat. There are also two convertors directly at the engine and they do have, I believe the oxygen sensors. The convertor he put on was spliced in with the input end of the convertor over the the pipe coming from the engine and the ouput end of the convertor put over the splice. The output end of the splice was put inside the resonator pipe(I think it is a resonator). They got back on the road and an hour later he started losing power again, the oil light came on and he was getting a knock from the engine when under accelaration. There were no codes for the next mechanic and he diagnosed it as the rod bearings requiring another engine and $2200.00. This is where I came into the picture. I went to W Va and brought him, his family and hauled his van back to Illinois. We are now getting codes, 102 MAF sensor circuit low input, 113 IAT sensor circuit high input, and 431 Catalyst system efficiency below threshold (Bank 2) and still getting the knock under accelaration, which someone here believes it is a possibile spun main bearing. Now for the questions. Could the cat conv be installed wrong at the splice creating loss of power after warm up and if it did get too hot could it have caused a bearing to spin?
Thank you in advance for any light you can shed on this. Kevin "Beetle" Bailey

1 Reply

JIS001

MECHANIC
3,408 POSTS

I do not believe that would be possible. If there was some restriction then there would be loss of power to where the vehicle would eventually just stop running if the restriction was really bad. For the main bearing to have spun you would need lack of lubrication. More manufactures are starting to blame aftermarket oil filters for this. Here is a service bulleting from KIA

Model All Model

Group Engine Mechanical System(12)

Number KT2007121201

Date Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Area N. America

Subject
Aftermarket Oil Filters & Engine Noise Complaints

- Description

During engine research & development, the mechanical engine lubrication system is designed to operate at specific volumes and pressures to keep the reciprocating & rotary components properly lubricated. Kia has assigned specific guidelines for the use of oil filters (Cartridge / Spin-on) and oil viscosity to conform to; filtration, leak down, oil flow rate and pressure variations, to keep the lubrication system at optimal performance.

The use of aftermarket oil filters/ o-rings / improper oil viscosities could result in less then optimal filtration, leak down, oil flow rate and pressure variations due to different oil filter designs and construction. Some of the symptoms and concerns that may arise with aftermarket filters / wrong oil viscosities include:

- Valve train Noise

- Engine Knocking Noise

- Cold Start Engine Noise (2-7 seconds duration)

- Idle / Cruise Engine Noise

- Whistle Noises

Kia recommends the use of Kia genuine parts that are designed to operate at the specifications set forth during engine lubrication design and testing. If the engine oil has been changed recently and a noise condition has developed, perform an inspection of the oil filter and or Customer oil change maintenance records to help you in determining if an aftermarket filter or the wrong oil viscosity was used. If the vehicle is equipped with an aftermarket oil filter, perform an oil change and filter with the correct oil grade / viscosity and a replacement genuine Kia oil filter at the customer's expense.

Note:
This is not a warranty repair and any related damage is not warrantable, nor is changing the engine oil and filter to isolate this condition.

So what you should try as a first step is drain and catch some of the oil and inspect for shiny flakes in the oil. Remove the oil filter and inspect as well. Install an OE oil filter and correct viscosity oil and recheck. If the noise is still present and the filter is contaminated with a lot of shavings, then a tear down of the lower end should be done for further evaluation?