1 Lucky Texan

someone needs to get the car on a lift and look at the axle , bushings, differential, even inspect for a cracked spring, etc. basically, a trained eye should check it out. If possible, take the mechanic for a test drive and demonstrate the problem. details on car?

2 of those codes point to a problem with the O2 sensor (front or 'main') and the 0340 is a cam position sensor. You may have more that one problem but, with the cam pos code - one more reason to triple-check cam/crank timing. If you smelled something sweet - like toasted marshmallows, in the exhaust - I suppose it's possible a coolant leak nto a cylinder led to 'poisoning' the O2 sensor. I hope someone else with more experience will chime in. i suspect you will need to pin-down whether or not you have a headgasket leak or some odd way coolant is getting into the exhaust (sometimes, pulling plugs and comparing will find the bad cylinder as the coolant makes the plug look different). If that isn't addressed , you might destroy the next O2 sensor. Worth looking for wiring problems too - pinched or chewed cables or bad ground connections will sometimes cause multiple codes to be set.

you can run the engine with the covers off - if the belt is running true, tensioner is OK.

Blackstone or maybe Polaris Labs can do an oil analysis. I think increased aluminum would be piston slap, increased iron? yeah, probably from a bearing that's getting pounded. a bad/loose tensioner can let the timing belt slap around - it might mimic a knock.

could the rad fans be intermittent? When it overheats, are you cruising down the road or does it always happen at a stoplight/railroadXing/idling? bad fans will allow overheating at a stop or very slow speeds - on the highway - air is moving thru just fine. you might be able to 'map' the radiator with an infrared remote therm - maybe the radiator has cool areas because it's partly clogged. how old is the timing belt? maybe the car has slipped a tooth and is not running at correct crank/cam timing - or the back-side of the belt is glazed and the WP is slipping?

we have an 03 chains are supposed to be the life of the car there are beginning to be more HG issues mentioned - not sure if the RATE of problems is approaching the 4cyl. the engine is glass smooth and has great highway passing power - a little 'doggy' off the line. - probably like any typical 6 cyl. some say that valve clearances might be tight at 200K miles (exhaust valve particularly). we like ours overall. not many miles on it but - I like driving it still. there are some well known, 'fairly' minor common problems; (acc belt pulley bearings)

yeah, look for the fre-version of the Torque app. crank sensor could be bad - no spark means lots of unburnt fuel. it would be unusual for all the plug wires or the coil to be so bad there isn't any firing at all. getting the code read could help a lot.

check the timing belt - it may have slipped or broken. (when was it changed last?) do you have a smart phone? you can get an elm327 BT adapter and an app to read codes. maybe under $15

I see where some Acuras and Hondas can get a start (maybe only one?) even if the transponder is absent. The brake pedal is used to enter a vin-specific code. anything like this on newer soobs?

waterpumps on our cars are exceedingly reliable, I didn't swap mine out when I did my first TB service on my WRX. but, I will probably accelerate the next service by 10-20% . You might consider just the tensioner, rollers and belt unless they see oil seepage - then add the cam/crank seals. Save the WP and re-sealing the oil pump back (GG - is this still needed on cars as new as 07 ?) for the next service.

it needs a timing belt system service now/soon. (105K miles OR 105 MONTHS) But that sure seems like a steal! You might even show her a dealer estimate for the timing belt service to bargain it down a little more. think of it this way - the money you save over the typical price paid in your area for a similar car will pay for a lot of gasoline!

well, yes the disconnect likely caused the system to run from the factory map and monitors are trying to complete and adjustments are being made to a:f and timing. Surprising though that the car stalled. Is the CEL on? Could the work with the battery cables have caused the problem? triple check that connections are tight and no hoses near the battery and batt. cables were knocked loose. if there is a concern the cd changer is a parasitic load on the battery, you might consider pulling the fuse for its circuit. (on some older models, a stuck CD can drain the battery)

I doubt it's gonna help since you are getting spark and it's cranking - but you could try a coupla lock/unlock sequences with the key fob in case the security system is confused.

but, it's still metered air - I guess it throws the whole airflow off-kilter enough to fool the MAF? glad it's back to normal.

5spd? could be torque bind. After the car is warm, will it smoothly turn tight circles on dry pavement?

maybe spritz some carb cleaner in the intake while cranking to see if it fires. Check fuel pressure? does exhaust smell like fuel? if you pull a plug and it's wet, put it back and try cranking with the gas pedal on the floor - that is the clear flood routine for the ECU to shut off fuel. you timed the crank pulley using the dash on the tab at the back? NOT the triangle/arrow on the front right?

IACV hose may have dropped off the intake tubing. Not sure though - and may not explain the rich condition.... odd, I'd triple check everywhere I worked, everywhere they poked around during the test for hoses or wire connection loose - including grounds. might be worth checking cam/crank timing. did you scan for pending codes?

kinda wondering about loose/corroded grounds and perhaps robent-chewed wires. Certainly, an older car could use some attention to ground connections - take 'eme apart, wire brush all the surfaces, reconnect and maybe coat with dielectric grease. do you still have a check engine light? what codes are being posted?

maybe check ebay and craiglsist for someone parting-out a car?

tried LKQ ?

how many mile of the clutch? sounds worn-out. usual test is on the freeway in 5th - punch it and revs go WAY up faster than car accerlrates. smell could be burning compound/metal from clutch slippage. split axle boot slinging grease on exhaust also good possibility.

must check level while idling

yeah, there's enough feedback on the permatex green that I might avoid it - or limit it to areas without the chance for rubber contact. the purple cermaic is 'probably' OK for everything. MANY people prefer syl-glide it seems.

lol! Just that it's kinda educated guesswork on our part and the problem could be something we've not though of. Some folks have posted video or even audio files and some of the real gurus at this site can sometimes tell what is causing the noise - but I'm not sure you should be trying to run your car anymore until compression/leakdown test is done and timing components are confirmed in good shape. what did the end of the loose plug look like? was the electrode beat-up?

code like P0302 is misfire cylinder 2, P0304 is cyl 4 misfire, etc.