[xxKenNyDxx]

Hey guys,

Today I was driving and when I pulled up to a stop light, I noticed my engine "hesitate" for a second. As in, I thought it was going to turn off. It was just for a second, and it was fine, but it happened a few times.

Also, the same "hesitation" occurs when I am beginning to accelerate from a stop, from about 8-12mph then it's okay.

grey95chevyboy had checked the fuel pressure and he told me everything seemed normal and it was holding pressure just fine.

I had the spark plugs changed when headers were installed, and this most recent "hestitation" seemed to come after i put in Bryan's new PCM tune.

On another note, I DO have a intake manifold leak that I never fixed yet. I wonder if this could cause a problem like this...

No CEL codes are ever being thrown either. I don't see anything wrong with the spark plug wires or anything. In fact, I barely drive the car (60-70 miles a week if that)

Fuel pump? Regulator? Filter?....

This cars getting old, I'd love to sell it and buy a work truck (2004 Nissan Frontier. I drive a 98 with 194k and you just can't kill this thing) or get my dream car (2002 trans am...). I hope it's nothing serious, I am just about done with this thing....

Don't get me wrong, 3 years no problems because she was garaged kept, driven by a grandma for the first 10-11 years of her life (I bought her with 40k)... but I just don't have the money to fix these things anymore. I live in an apartment with absolutely no tools and need to drive this car daily so working on it myself is just no choice.

This is why 80% of B-body owners are always broke lol....the economy has been cruel to me and I am lucky to even keep this thing.

Any insight?
Kenny D

 

[DiGGM95]

Im having a very similar issue right now, but with delayed starting from time to time. Im gonna try my swapping my iac out, as it feels to me like the iac is freaking out and opening all the way, and closing completely at times. If this dont fix me, i guess ill tear my opti down and see whats up.

 

[xxKenNyDxx]

Don't say the O word.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

[xxKenNyDxx]

When you say "delayed starting", do you mean when you first start the car?

My car doesn't like to "start" right up, it takes a second or two. It sounds as if it isn't "catching"....I had the IAC (i think) sensor replaced and still does it.

Sometimes she starts right up, sometimes she takes a second. If I "prime" it, (turn ignition on and off before starting), she sometimes starts right up.

Nothing major, considering she starts every time. However, wonder if all of this is related....oy

 

[DiGGM95]

btw, the intake gasket leak, if bad enough, could also be whats happening with your car. Any air that enters the engine should have to pass through the maf, or the o2s see a weird reading and adjust for a false condition. Just my .02 EDIT: My car when its gonna be a bad day, will take up to 8 seconds to crank, and when it does, the idle is always at a wacky rpm, then it slowly returns to normal.

 

[xxKenNyDxx]

Oh, it's bad. Lots of leaky oil.

grey95chevyboy disappeared on me and he was my go-to guy. I have no mechanical skills and I'm not going to pay a mechanic 300 dollars to fix it, not in this economy...

Where the other FLA INC members help a brother out I will compensate for your time...

 

[xxKenNyDxx]

btw, the intake gasket leak, if bad enough, could also be whats happening with your car. Any air that enters the engine should have to pass through the maf, or the o2s see a weird reading and adjust for a false condition. Just my .02 EDIT: My car when its gonna be a bad day, will take up to 8 seconds to crank, and when it does, the idle is always at a wacky rpm, then it slowly returns to normal.

Oh, no mine starts up almost automatically. There is just a split second delay, nothing like 8 seconds, not even 1 at the most.

 

[DiGGM95]

My cars iac i suspect by looking at it, has most likely gave up the ghost. That explains my weird stumbling to almost dieing at redlights, unless you give it just enough pedal to idle, and once you get moving, it feels like a pulsing that effects the amount of throttle applied.

 

[Steve H]

Bad EGR? Bad control of EGR? Plug it up and see if it goes away. Mine did.

 

[xxKenNyDxx]

Okay, today was a lot worse.

It seems, as I am going down from 5-0mph, WHILE braking, she starts doing this. Also, when I have the A/C on it happens while braking.

At idle it sounds like I have a cam the way it is sounding sometimes.

I checked my intake and lines to it, they are secured tight.

The exhaust smells, but I also don't have cats.

This only happened after I put in Bryan's new PCM to account for the headers. I have my old computer I am going to switch back and see if the problem goes away.

Where is the EGR....grey96chevyboy usually did the work on my car and he is a ghost now so I am **** out of luck and thinking of selling the car because I am beginning to dump too much into it.

Thanks,
Kenny D

 

[DiGGM95]

The egr valve is on the back of the intake manifold, right behind/under the fuel psi regulator.

 

[xxKenNyDxx]

I'm wondering if the COMPUTER I got from PCM4LESS is causing this problem. I'm going to swap out computers sometime this week and see if it's it...considering this never happened until then.

It seems when I am braking from 10-0 is when it starts stumbling. At idle she will stumble a little more with the A/C on.

I'm going to take it to a shop and have them diagnose it. I am just not good with this stuff and have no access to any tools.

 

[xxKenNyDxx]

It also seems as though my secondary electric fan (the one on the driver's side) is not turning on. When I changed the computer I was using Gary's mechanical fan kit and you had that one green wire running from the harness to the PCM. I noticed it was a little burnt from I guess the radiator (we ran it through the top of the radiator and never had a problem). I didn't move the wire when I changed the PCM and today I noticed one end is burnt BUT one fan was running.

I have NO idea what the engine temperature is because the guy who installed my headers broke the temperature sensor....I wish I could have had him fix it instead of just "leaving it because other forum members havent had a problem with it after years and she'll never run hot". lol and it didn't

I am dropping it off to a mechanic first thing in the morning and will know the news.

 

[xxKenNyDxx]

I know that both fans do not run at the same time, only under a full load I was told.

I have no idea what is wrong and I'm going to be honest I think it's time to sell this car before I end up in the hole fixing a 14 year old car.

I also noticed that there was a ticking sound coming near the alternator. I know my serpentine belt needs to be replaced (ripping)...maybe all this is from the alternator....

I will let you guys know the verdict tommorow.

 

[xxKenNyDxx]

Well, guess what the problem is?

MIS-FIRE on cylinder. The verdict? New OPTI.

5 hours labor + Opti at 400 dollars, plus the 120 for my serpertine belt and temp sensor= 1,000 DOLLARS to repair.

F*ck this

 

[Stu]

So who made that verdict?
Did you check the injector wires? Especially the ones to the rear of the engine on the driver's side, crushed under the wiring harness. That causes a lot of mysterious intermittant miss-fire issues. It's counter intuitive to diagnose because there is a time delay when the PCM notices the prob and shuts off the injector, and another when the wire begins to work again.

Is it a 'surge' kind of thing, like the tach bounces up n down? We used to have a bunch of threads on that one. Hell, mine still does it and everything is mostly fine. If nothing is broke, just ask Bry to speed up the idle a skosh, see if that helps. There seemed to be a number of causes, one related to the EGR system.
Unfortunately, I'm a little shy on details, the brain's like a figgin seive sometimes.
And get some damn cheap tools! I live in an apartment (Co-op) in NYC. No parking within blocks. If I gotta fix something I either have to get really lucky or sneak outta work a few hours early to secure a spot near the building.

 

[xxKenNyDxx]

The mechanic I went to made the verdict.

900 for everything, new plugs, new Opti, new wires. All AC Delco.

I called two other places and someone wanted 1,200 to do the job, the lowest was this guy.


5 hours labor at 89 an hour. Plus the Opti, wires, and plugs.

Come to think of it, this all started happening after I had a member on this forum change the water pump. Hard start, funny "hesitation" upon acceleration, to now this....

I guess I am going to give him the okay to do it. I was going to sell the car for 3,500 dollars and buy a 2004 toyota corolla because I am getting out of this money pit. Now I guess I have to repair it and drive this car until I save up enough for a down payment. If I tried to trade this in at the dealership I'd be lucky to get 1,500 because of the mis-fire.

When I get it fixed, I am thinking of selling it for 3,500 dollars. It only has 81k miles, it is probably the CLEANEST caprice you have ever seen (I have been told by 3 forum members that is it).

Maybe I will make out okay after all.

 

[xxKenNyDxx]

So who made that verdict?
Did you check the injector wires? Especially the ones to the rear of the engine on the driver's side, crushed under the wiring harness. That causes a lot of mysterious intermittant miss-fire issues. It's counter intuitive to diagnose because there is a time delay when the PCM notices the prob and shuts off the injector, and another when the wire begins to work again.

Is it a 'surge' kind of thing, like the tach bounces up n down? We used to have a bunch of threads on that one. Hell, mine still does it and everything is mostly fine. If nothing is broke, just ask Bry to speed up the idle a skosh, see if that helps. There seemed to be a number of causes, one related to the EGR system.
Unfortunately, I'm a little shy on details, the brain's like a figgin seive sometimes.
And get some damn cheap tools! I live in an apartment (Co-op) in NYC. No parking within blocks. If I gotta fix something I either have to get really lucky or sneak outta work a few hours early to secure a spot near the building.

No, it isnt a surge thing. It's like the car wants to DIE at idle. And, when I was driving it home, power felt horrible and was ticking coming from the cylinder that is getting the mis-fire.

Yesterday it got to the point where I didn't think I was making it home. Every stop light, engine would sputter to the point where I thought it was shutting off, then I'd give it gas and it would be very hesittant to move.

My EGR has been deleted and blocked off by plates. Tuned by Bryan


Should I ask the mechanic to check the wires...I am not mechanically inclined and to be honest don't even want this car anymore.

 

[grey95chevyboy]

sounds like u got a arching wire.

hes a shop kenny hes gonna want to cover all bases.Probably just One plug cable, or spark plug....a set of wires and spark plugs=100.....beats 900.

if the hesitation is only happening when u apply the brake it screams vac leak. ....if mis is present at idle deff a mis fire.

 

[xxKenNyDxx]

It's present at idle. I'll be sitting at a stop light and that's when the problems start. Goes away when I give it gas, but as soon as I am idle it will want to die bad. It feels like it's "skipping" a beat when it's idling.

Braking seems to make it worse, however it doesn't do it all the time when braking.

I put it into neutral and it still does it. I even put it into park, let off the brake and she still sputters.

Then she was ticking on passenger side when I was giving it gas.

But dude, this seems to be the same problem that I told you about 2 months ago when Chris was in the car. That "miss" when I was accelerating, is now doing it full-bore at idle. It could have started after the water pump being switched out, and now it's on the last leg.

I just find it hard to believe it happened in a period of one day. I know it's not EGR related because I could have sworn I bought those block off plates to put in the back of the IM and you deleted it and Bryan tuned it out.

John what the hell man, where you been I need your help man this guy is going to bend me over and rape me. I told him I'll sleep on it. I'm not going to pay 1,100 dollars to fix three things. He charged me 100 dollars to put on the serpentine belt and 40 dollars for that stupid f*cking sensor from the headers.

You want the car go get a loan it's your dude. I am not kidding anymore. 3,000 man. You know how god damn clean this car is. I am just not feeling it and you know this isn't the real car I want. I'll write it off as a gift so you wouldn't have to pay taxes everybody wins. Rommel and Nikki don't seem interested I'd rather keep it in the "family". You and me both know it's just 4.10 gears and 3200 tq converter away from running 13's all day.