My kick has recently started to act funny

it starts great takes less then a seccond sometimes itl run fine sometimes like right now the idle bobbles a little (cant see it on the tach but you can hear it) when you give it gas if you push to far down to quick itl like stumble and if you dont back off itl die basicly what has happened is it has become un drivable lately

it always starts perfectly and sometimes itl drive for a bit w.o the stumble almost dying problem

i deperatly need help it is my only car and i need to goto work

thanks for any help

Hi Mike, long time no see.

Have you checked the usual? You know, all the tune up items like spark plugs, wires, cap and rotor, etc?

Check to make sure your Cat isn't plugged?

Like hcgalvin said, if a tune-up has not been done recently, like spark plugs, plug wires, fuel filter, air filter and cleaning of the carbon deposits in the throttle area, this could be the cause of your problem.

If the above is ok, I would make sure I have new fuel filter.  A bad fuel pump and/or fuel pressure regulator could cause intermit hesitation too.

Again, like he hcgalvin said, verify that the catalytic converter is not plugged.

If that does not work then try replacing the O2 sensor.  A weak signal from the O2 sensor could cause your problem.

It could be a lot of things, so pulling the codes usually makes this task cheaper!  I nearly replaced everything on my Toyota when it was hesitating until it finally went away.  It was a combination of a lot of things (I figured).  It was not throwing codes, but like you said, it would hesitate just enough that I WOULD FEEL IT, but maybe the passenger didn't.

I have changed the plugs and wires and the fuel filter

how do i check to see if the cat is plugged? the little book deal i have says that might be a problem but im not really sure how to check backpressure

also it is throwing no codes at all right now..my check engine light only came on for the o2 sensor at like 60k and 100k miles (the 02 was replaced at 86k miles because it was abd and the car was running rich so i belive the cat sustained injury) otherwise i have never had any problems with the car

i checked to see if the fuel pump was getting power ( thats all i know how to check) so i had my G/f turn the car to aux while i listened at the open filler cap and the pump did whiiir to life.

so 1. how do i check the cat?

2. how do i check the fuel pressure regulator?

3. how do i check the cap and rotor..or should i just go ahead and purchase a new cap and rotor because the car has 104k miles?

thank you for the quick replys =-) im kinda slow with this stuff so i may be bothersome lol

p.s i like the zuki heather =-) not sure i saw it that big before i left

3.

sorry i forgot my truck is a 91 geo tracker 1.6 8v 5spd it has 104k miles on it..and ummm think thats all the info

oh its still totaly stock lol

i just went and bought a new cap and rotor since it was only 16$ i dont have the rotor yet its on order but i have the cap..is there anything i should look at while im in there?

ok so i took the top silver intake apart to see the butterfly and such and it was all clean in there

when the car was idleing the gas seemed to kinda of pool on the top a little..is that normal? also with the intake deal off and the hoses off it still had the problem

i tried to get the cat off to take a look but i am having trouble getting anything under the exh. manifold to undo the bolts

im really getting down about this i cant seem to fix it and i really dont trust any of the shops around here to work on it esp since i have no clue what it could be

any help is great. i need to goto work on monday and its looking un likely at this point

also if theres any other little things i can check please let me know..this is the first car trouble i have ever had so i dont really know where to start

Well, some things to help check for a clogged cat, or maybe a muffler clogged with cat material is to 1 simply *bang* on the muffler to see if you hear anything rattling around in it - two put your hand over the tailpipe while running to see if it changes the tone/pitch because if your exhaust is plugged not much will be flowing out of the tailpipe.

Other than that, take it to an exhaust shop and ask them to check.



Other people might know other tricks.

As for the cap and rotor was there any corrosion on the contacts? 

i havent looked at the cap and rotor yet because i dont have the new rotor but i will take it apart tommorow and see

also when it was cold i put a wet rag to the back of the tail pipe with it running and covered it totaly. it didnt realy notice at all. what does that mean?

ok so i took off the exh from the manifold back. seems to not stumble at all now. tid loud though  . it did hesitate a little(well alot) but i think thats due to the 02 sensor being 1" from open air

im not driving it like that just started it to see if the problem was there. so now i gota decide if i want to go with the calmini exh or replace my cat/muffler

also since its been a while anyone else have any input on my problem? im only 90% certain the exh was it since sometimes you had to drive it a bit for it to crap out

if you can get a temp gun drive the car for 15 min and check the temp at the front of cat and the back ifv the front is much hotter your cat is  cloged ckeck egr valve if it jerks alot when acting up

what im gunna do is "fix" the cat so it isnt "clogged" if it is clogged 

so if the new cat with its "air space" still has the same problem then ill get the temp gun like you suggested (ill be buying a new cat since i know its been bad for some time)

how do i check the EGR valve? do i just watch it while i pull the throttle a little?

how do i check the EGR valve? do i just watch it while i pull the throttle a little?

You will not be able to see it or hear it when the engine is running, I just removed mine and cleaned it with Carb Cleaner (Brake Fluid works to), mine threw an EGR Code.  The emission test facility here gave me the code.  You need to be able to suck on it and hear/feel the Diaphragm open and close.   I'm not resposible for the bad taste in your mouth. 

You might want to pick up a OBD-II Scanner on Ebay (Cheaper).

so i changed the cap/rotor/plug/wires/battery and it still has no exh (finished the cat "improvements gunna put it on today"

man i tell ya with the new stuff it starts almost the instant you turn the key all the way and runs/revs like a champ. if only it wassent so damn loud id leave it as is rofl

the cat looged very plugged and from the ammount of air that is coming right out of the manifold i was feeling about half the air pressure at the back of the exh before so im hoping that i can fix the problem with the exh

oooo also i bought a timing light since it hassent been timed in a while can someone explain to me how to time it? the books i have are pretty complicated "run the car at 2k rpm for 5mins" "place a jumper here" do i really need to do all of that?


also when i goto check the valve setting do i need to then replace the valve cover gasket also?

thank you for all the help guys =-)

also to kozaz i had a friend look at the EGR and he said that the movement was perfect so im hoping its still good =-)

thank you all very much! you gave me the confidence to get in there and take some things apart lol