I've had a problem with my car for the past month, and nothing we have had done seems to work.

The problem:
- Very low, and rough idle.
- Stalling.
- The engine cuts out no matter if I am stopped at a redlight, or if I am accelerating.

It can be fine one day, but terrible the next. If it cuts off, I can wait a few minutes and it comes back on. If I let it sit for 30+ minutes, it will work for the rest of the day and possibly the next. When it cuts off it's very random, and it forces me to not go to work, or I am late to work. I'm about to lose my job.

Things I have had done:
- I've had the injectors cleaned or something.
- New fuel pump.
- Replaced PVC Valve.
- Replaced IAC Valve.

Things it's not:
- The battery, or connections.
- The alternator, or connections.

Now they're telling me the distributer. Any other ideas? Discuss.

I totally put this in the wrong section, could one of the mods please move it?

This post has been edited by Jen: Apr 28, 2007 - 4:31 PM

Another theory:
Something is in the gas tank.

something could be in the gas tank...sorry im illiterate some days

This post has been edited by mikeismad0408: Apr 28, 2007 - 5:10 PM

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BUMP. Please help.

hrm small things i might replace would be things like
plugs, rotor & cap, too bad you have a GT or i'd send u a distributor

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All of the was changed not too long ago.

sounds like one of the most dreaded problems ever...an intermittent short or overheating component. is there any commonality to when the problem occurs?

does your car idle real bad? Like the steering wheel shakes and the entire car vibrates?


I dont think its something wrong with your engine. I suspect it to be something wrong with your automatic transmission.

when was the last time your transmission fluid was change and the filter was replaced?

>Nope, it's always very random.


>I really have no idea. I'll check on that.

I know you have a new fuel pump but what about the fuel filter ?? I know you get bad idle and stalls out if you have a bad one.....

>
Yup.

check all of your vacuum hoses. ESPECIALLY the hose && electrical connector on your vacuum sensor. if you want, i could get you a pic of it tomorrow. i know when i unplugged mine, my car would do something similar to what yours is doing.

I'm thinking like what he said. Could be your vacuum hose. This happen to me before when I let a shop work on my car a couple of years back. They redo some of my vacuum hose due to needing to remove the air box. Take a pix of your engine bay if possible.

vac leak. start the engine a look for loose or cracked hoses. you should head a hissing from where the problem is.

If it was a vac leak, wouldn't the mechanic know it? I've taken it up there 5 times...

sadly, most mechanics arent too smart when it comes to simple stuff like that. pop your hood and take a look around.

Are you getting any check engine codes? My sources tell me to check the EGR to make sure it isn't stuck open. Also if it is a loose connection you could try to wiggle the wiring harness around the components while the engine is running. The main sensors that I would check would be your crank position and cam position ( cam position is inside the distrubutor requiring the full replacement). A way to free up a stuck egr valve is to lightly tap on it and see if it clears up the rough running condition. If the egr is stuck open it will cause almost all of your symtoms.

This post has been edited by bindertch: Apr 29, 2007 - 7:00 PM

this is a strange problem because: 1) the engine stalls under acceleration, 2) engine stalls when it is warm. 3) engine will not work right after stalling, but giving it time will let the engine work again.

So it can also be: these two problems. Since i don't own a GT. i dont know if the 5sfe has these sensor/ switches:

The Auto Shutdown Relay (ASD) - actually, this rarely breaks, but when it does, the engine stays off. One purpose of the auto shutdown relay is to avoid "dieselling." It kills all fuel delivery and spark. The ASD can be triggered by a broken wire or short in another place -e.g. the fuel pump.


The MAP sensor - another relatively frequent cause of stalling. This measures the air pressure in the manifold. It is usually mounted on a fender, costs around $25, and is very easy to replace. You can test it - if your car won't start, just unplug the electrical connection from the MAP sensor.

The MAP sensor will make it run rough but it would stumble bad anything above idle but it would idle.

yes, engine codes. all of them said the distributor. but they've ran a diagnostic before (three/four times) and it was always very different.

unfortunately i do not have my car at the moment. it's still at the shop getting looked at. they keep saying it's the distributor. because they this is the fifth time i've taken it up there, i'm only going to be paying for the part. but the part is expensive. i'm so frustrated.

it's only at the shop because it broke down saturday, and i called them cussing at them and screaming. so they towed it for free.

if/when i get it back, my friend and i are going to check it out. i'm trying to get a new car but i just spent close to $1000 getting my car fixed with things that weren't even the problem in the first place.

if thats what th codes say, then thats what it is. you can get a use distributor from someone on here for much cheaper.

Maybe take it to a different shop? Which shop in Jacksonville?

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yes. but we've gotten different codes before. none of them said distributor. i got one cheap already.

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i will if it doesn't work after this time. goodyear on san jose in mandarin.

have they checked the timing?

I'm not sure how different it is but at work we had a Mazda Protege come in with a similar problem, his timing had jumped and was a few degrees off. our mechanic reset it and its fine.

I'm not sure how you all handle your mechanics, but my attitude is this:
If you didn't fix the problem, I'm sure as HELL not paying for the 'fix'.

Hey, hopefully i'm not to late, if your vehicle is stalling roughly 30mins-60mins after running, and stalls after it's been warm for a while and then wait till it cools and starts up again, then it's most likely your PRIMARY COIL it's called, and the codes you just got about the distributor is related to that. but the primary coil shouldn't be expensive?, at most it should b like 50-80 dollars. and i will garuntee you that's the problem. and yes, most mechanics are dumb.......

It could be the coil.
Which is in your dist.
I don't know if it's available separately or not.

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NO, NO, NO, NO, NO

I don't know how many times I've posted this on different forums.
For some reason 3SGTE folks have this misconception that since it works this way on their engine it will work this way on all engines.
Engines control systems are NOT THE SAME on all engines.
A pressure based system [MAP sensored] WILL NOT, NEVER, WON'T, CAN'T die if it has a vaccum leak. The idle will RAISE. The ONLY time it will die is if the actual vaccum hose to the MAP sensor is disconnected [that DOESN'T mean a crack in the hose, ONLY completely disconnected].
Only on flow based systems [MAF/AFM] will the engine run worse/die if it has a vaccum leak.


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hm........


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Just for reference, the 95 older don't have a crank sensor, only a cam sensor.
96^ has the crank sensor.

Jen, for reference, or if this isn't fixed, there is a more sensitive diagnostic mode you can put the ECU into.

Jump TE2 [NOT TE1, TE2] and E1 [you have to do this with the key OUT of the ignition, if it's in, it won't work].
Drive the car around until you have the problem.
Jump TE1 and E1 to read the code.
I don't know if it will pick up a bad coil or not, but it will pick up loose connections and such.

What was the code[s] that you got?

funny thing is...even if you pull the hose from the sensor the engine will still run, just very poorly. i knocked mine loose once, but got it fixed before i drove anywhere.

It might run sometimes, but normally the engine will just die.