Road trip, Dast I, or Dasn't I??

I have a 500 mile road trip coming up and the CEL light just lit up. Two codes: P1531 and P1126. Cleared the codes, then with P1126, removed the airbox, cleaned it and the MAF wires, re-installed and put 10 miles on the car, CEL has not come back on. The P1531 code is camshaft actuator bank 1, short to short. Haven't done a thing to that, so is this a big problem, or something that can wait awhile? Question is, are either of those codes deal-breakers for the trip? I can take the car to the shop in January (their first opening) but should I/can I drive it until then without screwing the pooch?

Quotes source post: 17072080

Which car are you referring to?

My error, a 1999 Cab with 72K miles.

I had a P1530 or P1531, not sure which. Same exact code, the only difference is the bank. Same year car, too. I would not put a lot of miles on it. The cam timing is going to be off by as much as 12 cam degrees (24 crank degrees) at various points throughout the rev range. I�m surprised you aren�t getting misfire codes like I did. You are looking at a solenoid failure most likely, and if it�s gets bad, can short out your DME, which is a $770 repair by ECU doctors. The solenoid repair is not cheap. It cost me $2k. And you really should have the tensioner pads replaced while you are in there if you haven�t done those already. Early 996.1 engine tensioner pads are a known wear item.

Thanks, Mike. From reading other posts it seems like things are OK between 2-4K RPM when the Vario isn't involved. IF that's the case and I'm doing 99% highway driving, shall I risk it? I have other cars, so the question is one of preference, not need.

Quotes source post: 17073370

You can roll the dice and get lucky. But the risk, I think, depends on if the solenoid is causing the tensioner to be stuck open or stuck closed, and if the solenoid has a short or not. If it�s a short, it could damage the ECU and/or the other solenoid could be damaged due to receiving too much power (wattage) since I believe the same ECU transistor drives both solenoids at the same time. I had 2 solenoids fail within 6 months of each other, and my ECU was also damaged. My bill was $4k for the work for both side, instead of $2k for just one side. If the cost of the repair is the same no matter when you have the work done, why not just get �er done?I�m still not 100% certain as to when the solenoid is activated using the DME with voltage and amperage, if that�s at idle and at high RPM, or if the activation is between 1300-5100 RPM. I�m not sure if the engine cam overlap is by default, overlapped, or if the solenoid activation causes the overlap. Either it�s stuck on or off, and the other bank is going to be affected one way or another, since the change in activation is 12.5 cam degrees or 25 crankshaft degrees. Also, I would check your cam deviation numbers with a Durametric or another tool. Here�s my notes taken from a Renntech post: "VarioCam To increase the torque and to improve cylinder charging, the engine has two VarioCam actuators which are installed in the chain tensioners of the camshafts. The two actuators are operated by electromagnetic valves activated by the DME control unit. Functioning When the ignition is switched on, the electromagnetic valves of the camshaft adjusters are supplied with positive potential. If the engine is started, the control unit applies ground to terminal 25 (camshaft adjuster for cylinder line 4 - 6) and to terminal 52 (camshaft adjuster for cylinder line 1 - 3) if the following conditions are fulfilled (VarioCam activated); 1 - Engine oil temperature between -3�C and 133�C 2 - Engine speed > 1,300 rpm 3 - Throttle opening > 5% or 1 - Engine oil temperature > 133�C 2 - Engine speed > 1,480 rpm 3 - Throttle opening > 3.9% The ground potential is deactivated by the DME control unit (VarioCam deactivated) if: Engine speed > 5,120 rpm"

In three trips I've logged 70 miles and there is no CEL. I'll drive the car those 500 miles. Is this plan nuts?

Quotes source post: 17073780

If you have no codes after 70 miles, maybe it�s an intermittent problem. I wouldn�t call it nuts.

...and the code might have jumped years ago, because I didn't touch the sensor, just cleaned out the intake and cleaned the MAF and we're good to go. Thanks.

Make sure your AAA card is up to date

Sheesh, yer killin' me here!

I kinda have the same problem. Although i dont have any critical codes my car has over 200k miles and im debating on a 350 mile trip. Im just not sure im comfident enough in the car but i dont really want to take the wifes mini.

What a great thing to know that somebody has given the right kind of attention to get a car to those kinds of miles. Here I am dithering about something with less than 40K, I should be really happy to have found something so lightly used.

Apprrenty the 1st owner put a ton of miles on it and took care of it. I was able to get it as a cheap roller because of a track accident and brought it back to life. Got a bunch of maintanence scheduled over the winter to get the confidence level up. There is a "high milage" thread if u really want inspiration.

This car might see 5,000 miles a year, probably half of that, so wanting a full-blown invasive PPI kind of spends money to uncover maybe nothing, but at the same time if I spend it and something else breaks, it won't be because I didn't try to do the right thing. That said, $2,000 might be what I'd expect to pay for R&M over the next 5 years since I don't drive it much....so there's that.

580 miles up and back and no CEL, so let's assume that it was a glitch. at 72MPH we got 26MPG, and coming back it was closer to 80 and we got 24MPG. These speeds don't seem to phase the car even a little bit.

I find cruising at 100mph doesnt phase these cars . good deal on your trip. I think ill be taking mine for a 380 mile trip soon.

Well i made my 380mi trip today with zero drama. I tried to make it on one tank of gas but only got 23.8mpg so i had to stop about 15 miles from home. Filled up 14.5gal. Seems like i ran it pretty dry. also in case anyone cares u can fit a truck t18 transmision in c2 frunk. U can kinda make the shape out.

Jeeper, you are quite the gambler ; I would hate to see a Porsche on the side of the road out of gas. What speed did you do to get those MPG nuimbers, or were there hills involved, too?

Quotes source post: 17091518

It was basically Raliegh, NC to Wilmington, DE so there were some hills but no mountains. I was pretty steady at 75mph until i got to Richmond, VA. At that point i was in traffic, so i was between 50-85mph the rest of the way. I was around 3k rpm most of the way. I dont really drive for fuel milage so im happy with the efficiency of a 20yo, 200k mile car. It was good i picked last weekend as it looks like 6" of snow on wed for us. Time to put it on the 4 post, drop the motor and install all the good fri money i spent. That will be a different post.

Your numbers compare favorably to the ones from my 71K mile car. I'm about 26 around 72, and around 24 when we can go 85-90. With 200K miles, your car is doing great.