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P2187 CEL on 2007 Sonata 2.4

For the last couple months, my CEL has been coming on with a P2187 DTC. I can clear it out and it sometimes takes a week or more for it to come back. If I leave it on for a while it will come up with a a pending for the same code also. During this time the car has been running fine. It is running very smooth at idle and I have been checking the gas mileage and it has not changed. Research says that its either a intake manifold gasket or Air inlet tube leak. I sprayed starting fluid around the air intake tube and as best I could around the intake manifold but without a straw on the spray , I'm not sure I got the spray in the correct place on the intake manifold. The Air intake tube looked to be in good condition without any cracks or loose brackets/clamps. At no time did the engine change speed or sound. I have some questions that if someone (hopefully Hyundaitech) can answer it would be very helpful. Question 1) What/where else should I look for on the Air inlet tube? Q2) If I need to buy a new can to get one with a straw/tube, do I buy carb cleaner or starting fluid. Q3) How best to spray around the Intake manifold? Can I hit the correct spot straight down from the top or do I need to come in from the side? Q5) Cyl number 1 is on the front (near belt) of the engine , right? Any comments/thoughts would be appreciated. I would like to find what the problem is so that my mechanic will not need to replace multiple parts until the problem goes away. That can get expensive in a hurry. Thanks

Reply to
Partner
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Since the car is running fine, I'd leave it be until the problem gets worse or a part fails. Do not let your mechanic throw parts at the car.

Reply to
dsi1

  1. You want to be looking anywhere between the throttle body and the engin e where air can leak in.
  2. The tube is helpful, but probably not necessary. I'd go with carbureto r cleaner. It's very volatile, but not as volatile as starting fluid.
  3. The idea is that when you spray a spot with a significant leak, the eng ine will run differently. So, orient the spray in whatever manner is neces sary to spray the area you wish to test.
  4. Cylinder #1 is on the end with the drive belts.

(Was there a Q4?)

Just going off what I've seen, the break is usually at the very end of the intake manifold gasket on cylinder number 1. In most cases, I can even see the paper gasket torn and poking out. Looking at the car outside in the d aylight, you'll probably need a very bright flashlight to overcome the ambi ent lighting.

In these cases, I can also often hear the sucking of air from the leak. Yo u can find the source by taking a long piece of vacuum hose, holding one en d to your ear and moving the other end around to find where the sound is lo udest.

If it still comes to spraying, try the area I mentioned above first. It al ways helps when you find the problem quickly.

Also remember that what we're discussing is the most common cause for the i ssue you mentioned. Other potential causes are: (excessive alcohol in fuel , faulty oxygen sensor, faulty MAP sensor, or faulty throttle position sens or, although I suspect the last one is much more likely to set a throttle p osition code).

Reply to
hyundaitech

Thanks , HyundaiTech. Given the fact that it does not seem to affect the operating of the car, is it OK to keep driving as is or will something be damaged? Its easy to ignore since I put a piece of black tape over the light. I read somewhere that it will/should/may throw a different code when it gets to the point that the cat may get damaged. Is that correct? The idea of the vacuum hose is pretty good, I will try that next.

  1. You want to be looking anywhere between the throttle body and the engine where air can leak in.

  1. The tube is helpful, but probably not necessary. I'd go with carburetor cleaner. It's very volatile, but not as volatile as starting fluid.

  2. The idea is that when you spray a spot with a significant leak, the engine will run differently. So, orient the spray in whatever manner is necessary to spray the area you wish to test.

  1. Cylinder #1 is on the end with the drive belts.

(Was there a Q4?)

Just going off what I've seen, the break is usually at the very end of the intake manifold gasket on cylinder number 1. In most cases, I can even see the paper gasket torn and poking out. Looking at the car outside in the daylight, you'll probably need a very bright flashlight to overcome the ambient lighting.

In these cases, I can also often hear the sucking of air from the leak. You can find the source by taking a long piece of vacuum hose, holding one end to your ear and moving the other end around to find where the sound is loudest.

If it still comes to spraying, try the area I mentioned above first. It always helps when you find the problem quickly.

Also remember that what we're discussing is the most common cause for the issue you mentioned. Other potential causes are: (excessive alcohol in fuel, faulty oxygen sensor, faulty MAP sensor, or faulty throttle position sensor, although I suspect the last one is much more likely to set a throttle position code).

Reply to
Partner

If you can see that the engine is running rougher than normal, it's time to consider doing the work. Even without that, you're still sucking in some amount of dirt through the presumed leak.

Additionally, the computer is not capable of adjusting the fuel mixture ind ependently on each cylinder, so if you do have a manifold gasket leak, your mixture calculations are probably already off a little, lean on one cylind er and rich on the others. Whether this is enough to cause catalyst damage is hard to say.

Reply to
hyundaitech

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