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Two Enclave problems any thought?

10K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  MandaPanda089 
#1 · (Edited)
I have a 2011 cxl needless to say it has some issues (the dreaded p008,p0017 codes) But it ran great ....So while my girl was driving to work she calls said there is a big problem with car!!! She limped it to work she said it wouldn't go it had no power and wouldn't go over 40mph AND she said the engine is revving very loud...So my first thought was she blew the tranny? Anyway I race right to her work to swap cars ...I take a look and I can hear an exhaust leak under hood (like a cracked engine pipe back in the day) Any way I start to drive it home and its driving ok tranny is fine just some loss in power and louder exhaust sound (from under hood)...Well I see its blown the flange gasket from engine pipe to the catalytic convertor on the left (or radiator) side ...Ok so no big issue right? WRONG after searching days to get the 3/bolt flange gasket (which by the way does not come on the car OEM from factory.... ONLY aftermarket cats use this gasket which apparently my Buick has and moreover you can't find just that gasket anywhere!! Ya gotta buy a new aftermarket Cat...But I was able to go through a box of gaskets at local NAPA and found a dead match (which was for a Nissan Juke LOL)

Ok so I am putting it back together and IDIOT I am I ground my ratchet wrench against the hot nut on the back of the alternator it actually welded itself in place and was smoking !! Well I couldn't even yank it off had to run and grab a hammer to knock it off !! (we will get back to that issue) So I button up the exhaust and fire it up and beautiful.. quiet as a mouse ...

Well I go to take it for a run and there is NO Power... like car has 100 horsepower It's barley going then I hear "POP" followed by a loud exhaust hissss .....Sure enough It popped the new gasket instantly!! As I kept driving it was getting louder and "SOME" of the cars power seemed to be coming back...

So my diagnostic guess is the Cat is completely clogged? Causing tremendous back pressure which blew the new gasket in a mere 2 mins? I'm gonna unbolt that Cat again and I'm guessing if I run it down the road with open engine pipe it will have good power again??

AND as for the grounding of the alternator the car now has the battery light on and charging amps are way down!! I cant find an ALT fuse or relay anywhere Googled it and nothing.. no helpful info...There are 3 big 50 amp Battery fuses but I swapped em' around no change.... Maybe I fried the alternator but you think there would be a fuse or fusible link or relay? I did notice on the alternator hot wire a rectangular box that says "200" on it which looks like a fusible link but it does not look like it can be opened?....So frustrated !!

Anyway any thoughts or help on either issue would be appreciated

JD
 
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#2 ·
Yikes. Sorry to hear about all of this. I would have guessed the CAT as well. Or the purge solenoid, mass air flow sensor, etc. I have no pointers as to how to resolve all of this right off the top of my head. Disconnect the battery and let it sit and drain the memory for 30 minutes, or even overnight. Reconnect the battery and see where that gets you with thething. And you might as well splurge on a new alternator.
 
#3 ·
Definitely sounds like the cat is clogged. That usually happens when someone drives on a bad misfire and the unburned fuel gets burned in the cat and the cat melts. I'm not sure if the p008 p0017 could cause a misfire but the fact that you don't have any misfire codes makes me think no, which means you've got a lot of troubleshooting on that side to figure out why the cat failed. Looking at your other threads I see you only bought this 27 days ago so it's starting to look like you bought someone's basket case they didn't want to deal with. At almost 250k it might be time to think about if this thing is what they call "mechanically totaled" where making it a reliable car just isn't worth the money.

As for the alternator the regulator is probably fried. A dead short with enough amperage to weld that wrench almost certainly pushed enough amps to fry the delicate regulator. Take the alternator out and have it tested.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Thanks all for responding ....Being that I was a wrench turner for 25+ years it's hard for me to give up on this Buick that quickly (It really is Cherry with a detailed service record and a ton of new parts Brakes, rotors, struts & shocks Factory replaced Tranny at 198K) etc...

So alternator problem is solved it fried the 200 amp fusible link on the lead cable (I dodged a bullet there after my bonehead move with the ratchet wrench)...And as far as the Cat I will be removing it in the morning so we'll see...

Also it has given some misfire codes P0301 303 and 305 But they have not comeback as of yet ...Also those codes are Bank 1 and the Cat in question is on Bank 2 ...

I will throw VVT Solenoids at it before I give in and do the Timing chain... From what I am hearing from my buddy who own's the Shop in town he has had 4 or 5 Acadia's, Traverse's and 1 Enclave that all Gave the dreaded p0008 and 0017 codes and everyone of them he replaced the VVT's (or cleaned the screens) and did not have to do the timing chain..

I will follow up and thanks
JD
 
#5 · (Edited)
Occams Razor: Simplest explanation is usually the right one.

Had P0023 (2012 Enclave) (also had P2099, P0430) engine chugging slightly in OD. (150K on 2012 Enclave)
Finally SOLVED it by replacing VVT Solenoid (think problem was: I cracked solenoid plastic housing when replacing my alternator - I push have pulled the wires and damaged VVT solenoid connector as alternator is in a PITA spot to replace).
But codes indicated Camshaft position sensor or Exhaust (pre-cat) sensor. I replaced Camshaft Position Sensor & Lower Exhaust sensor bank 2 (see steps below) but didn't get rid of codes so I replaced VVT solenoid after solenoid connector cracked off in my hands when trying to unplug connector to test. Also used liquid electrical tape to reseal connector wires as they were pulled back from connector and showing bare wire. I must have pulled on them leading to this issue when replacing my alternator in that cramped space.

Side note: Did all the following and didn't solve it...ugh but it was alot of work so I thought I would document it anyway:
Replaced the Camshaft position sensor & bank 2 lower O2 Sensor... but code came back.
Bank 2 exhaust is located just to the left of the Oil fill cap (near top of engine). Unfortunately, it is hidden behind a ton of stuff that needs to be removed to get to it. Heres what it took: Detach negative battery cable from battery. Remove10mm holding ac line near top front. Remove (2) 10mm holding overflow tank (move aside). Remove Fusebox cover. Loosen (2) phillips 10mm bolts (holding fuse wire harness) inside fusebox. Remove (1) 13mm bolt connecting positive battery terminals to fusebox. Unclip and remove fusebox middle part (with fuses) removing wire harness from bottom. Unclip/remove fusebox bottom. Remove (3) 10mm fusebox aluminum baseplate. Unclip wire harnesses from baseplate. Remove (2) 15mm engine mount bolts (holding rubber figure 8 mount). Slide rubber figure 8 mount out sideways. Remove (2) 18 mm bolts from part of mount that bolts directly to engine. Remove (1) 10mm camshaft position sensor bolt. Remove sensor. Detach sensor wire clip. Reverse to replace everything. Lots of parts to remove - it wasn't that bad once I figured it all out but just a lot of little maneuvering to get such a small part out. I would give yourself 1.5 hours (or more) to remove and 1.5 hours to replace. This same/similar procedure can be used to get to the alternator on this car also but I'd also remove radiator hose for alternator and plastic shroud for alternator.

I think we often try fix one problem & unknowingly create more. If you try to fix something and get another issue, it's probably related to what you did before. Slow down, sleep on it and don't assume it's a wholly new issue that has arisen. But now my Torque convertor is shuddering - ugh - I need to sell this car but it rides so nice when its working.

In order to replace VVT Solenoid you have to remove fusebox, move overflow tank, remove engine mount. You don't need to remove Radiator hose for VVT. can get an idea here:
 
#6 ·
Nice write up I had the exact same problem but it was bare wiring shorting vvt solenoid. Pita! I do however have a simple alternator replace hack. NOT HACK per se, experience, use a 6,7 Or 8mm (sorry cant remember which)socket to remove the two alternator mounting studs ( not the nuts on the studs) then the idler pulley mount. You now have enough room to remove the alternator. You are welcome
 
#7 ·
Just a follow up on my 2011 CXL-2 Alternator problem solved.... so onto the Catalytic Converters I have now gutted ALL 3 and the Buick is running like a rapped Ape!! I have Spark Plug non-foulers with extra extensions to pull the 2 downstream O2 sensors far enough away from the exhaust to stop any P0420 or P0430 Catalytic codes ...Working great!!
So my only remaining issue is the P0008 (and occasional P0017) code that keeps returning ..I did a B&G engine oil flush hoping to get lucky and clean the VVT screens....I just refuse to believe an engine running this quite and good has a bad timing chain!! So I will install new VVT solenoids all around and see where I'm at then....More to follow
 
#8 ·
Just a follow up on my 2011 CXL-2 Alternator problem solved.... so onto the Catalytic Converters I have now gutted ALL 3 and the Buick is running like a rapped Ape!! I have Spark Plug non-foulers with extra extensions to pull the 2 downstream O2 sensors far enough away from the exhaust to stop any P0420 or P0430 Catalytic codes ...Working great!!
So my only remaining issue is the P0008 (and occasional P0017) code that keeps returning ..I did a B&G engine oil flush hoping to get lucky and clean the VVT screens....I just refuse to believe an engine running this quite and good has a bad timing chain!! So I will install new VVT solenoids all around and see where I'm at then....More to follow
GREAT idea on the non-foulers. I might need that someday. Which non-foulers and extensions did you use (link)? Thanks
 
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