chugging and sputtering when accellerating

[andrewmoore13 10+ year member]

could be your timing belt

had a very similar problem with a ford 302, ran fine at idle, even spun up out of gear, soon as you put it in gear BLAH. turned out we switched some of the plug wires... but same differene

 

[mapolley07 10+ year member]

Sounds like a sensor,possibly collant temp sensor, yes this sensor helps to control fuel.You need to get it scanned by someone with a good scanner (snapon) not by auto zone or the like.

My new scanner cost me almost 10K so not everyone is gonna have one.

I don't have the money to pay for an in-depth diagnostics report, as i am in college with no money at all and no job. I can do the work myself, I just need an idea of whats wrong

 

[mapolley07 10+ year member]

Run some fuel injector cleaner through it and use some higher octane gas when you do.

forgot to mention, I had my oil change place do a GumOut fuel injector clean when i had an oil change in august, and actually they ran 2 fuel injector cleaners because they were so dirty. Also i ran a bottle of fuel injector cleaner through my tank about 2 weeks ago with a full tank of gas. I doubt thats the problem

 

[mapolley07 10+ year member]

could be your timing belt

how would I check that? and is replacing a timing belt something I could do in my driveway with basic tools? I don't want to mess my car up trying something that gets me in over my head

 

[andrewmoore13 10+ year member]

how would I check that? and is replacing a timing belt something I could do in my driveway with basic tools? I don't want to mess my car up trying something that gets me in over my head

i'm not sure what your specific engine looks like/calls for (be it a few degrees before or after TDC), but i think thats something you should have a garage look at if its the problem

the engine i worked on was in a boat as well, which allowed for a pretty easy view of everything going on. we also had an old school distributer cap with rotors and points so we could get away with being slightly off by turning the cap a little in one direction or the other.

 

[mapolley07 10+ year member]

i'm not sure what your specific engine looks like/calls for be it a few degrees before or after TDC, but i think thats something you should have a garage look at if its the problem

that was my gut feeling, I will replace the fuel filter and O2 sensor and hopefully that will take care of the problem. If you are familiar with the GM 3800 V6, thats the engine I have. Its the Series 1, but the newer model with direct port FI.

thanks for the help, everybody

 

[1320n12 10+ year member]

I don't have the money to pay for an in-depth diagnostics report, as i am in college with no money at all and no job. I can do the work myself, I just need an idea of whats wrong

You are probably going to spend alot more in parts guessing at the problem than if you actually paid for the scan. With newer computer controled cars guessing usually gets you nowhere unless you get lucky. Scan should only cost about $40

 

[mapolley07 10+ year member]

oh yeah, no distributor, my car is about 2 years too new for that, it has coil packs.

 

[Andrew12 10+ year member]

I had the same problem, but mine was my starter. Eventually died on me at 2am in the Mcdonalds parking lot.

 

[mapolley07 10+ year member]

You are probably going to spend alot more in parts guessing at the problem than if you actually paid for the scan. With newer computer controled cars guessing usually gets you nowhere unless you get lucky. Scan should only cost about $40

okay, most people have told me diagnostics prices run more like $80-100 and up, and I figured most people here, and with my own knowledge, determined it could be one of two parts, and the two together are only $25. I think I will call around and get a price on a diagnostic scan

 

[mapolley07 10+ year member]

I had the same problem, but mine was my starter. Eventually died on me at 2am in the Mcdonalds parking lot.

i've dealt with messed up starters before....my dad's Grand Marquis is on its second replacement starter.......a starter should only make it hard to start the car, shouldn't cause any other problems. also, you can get under the car and tap on the starter with a hammer and usually you can get the car started so that you can get home at least

 

[MorningWood]

Sounds like a sensor,possibly collant temp sensor, yes this sensor helps to control fuel.You need to get it scanned by someone with a good scanner (snapon) not by auto zone or the like.

My new scanner cost me almost 10K so not everyone is gonna have one.

Agreed, I think that having someone check it with a shitty scanner can end up costing you $$$$$$$$$$$$$ as it will misdiagnose the problem and you will pay to fix things that are not broke.

 

[mapolley07 10+ year member]

alright thanks for all the help everybody. i am gonna go ahead and replace the fuel filter because I'm pretty sure it will help, and for 5 or 6 bucks i can't go wrong. I will get it scanned and figure out what the bigger problem is, and hopefully it will be a cheap fix (under $100).

I drove the car to walmart a few minutes ago and it drove fine though, i don't know if it just gets worse with the cold or what.

 

[MrSwiss 10+ year member]

wow my 1992 lesabre has been doing the same thing for about a month. i was thinking it was the ***** stuttering. im gonna look into these other issues. i was going to get the ***** flushed tommorrow.

edit: btw i just got an oil change last weekend, and new spark plugs last fall, so those should not be an issue.

 

[audioatg 10+ year member]

Worked for a GM buick place for a bit. So My guess sounds like a ***** problem possibly a TCC seloniod or PCC seloniod. Both control shifting. Question about the stalling too. Has it ever actually stalled. When you said stall made me think could be the crank position senor. had alot of problems with them. But I hate to say I have a gut feelings its in the ***** the two control seloniods I said we had alot of problems with them. Ppl said the same thing you said shifting problems.