ive tried everything.. now im coming to you guys. My car (a 1991 corsica) has a little quirk, thats getting worse. I refuse to take it "in" anywhere to be worked on, becuase i have to pay for them to find something to fix, and hope it was the right thing, and then pay for it again and again as they refix it. So, if you've ever had this problem, or might know what it is, please give me some info on how to fix it. When driving anything under 35mph, the gas will get a little sputtery, slowing to turn, or stepping on the gas to continure driving (stop light etc) will often take a few tries for the gas to "catch" and i have to pump the gas pedal to get it to move. slowing from a faster speed ( 55 to 15 to turn) will cause it to stall mid turn. im running out of ideas to fix it. anyone got any?
well. Well what kind of work do you need done exactly young lady. Just kidding it sounds like the car is getting old dude and might perhaps is becoming a deathtrap in the making. Try putting in a better grade of gas. Thats all I can tell you. Perhaps also it might need a new fuel filter which is not hard to buy in the auto parts store and have a friend replace (in some cars at least) that knows about cars, if you have one of those. Yes I would probably say a new fuel filter and probably it needs a tune up (check and replace if nec. air filter. fuel filter, spark plugs and cables, liquid levels) and oil change. It may be able to be fixed cheaply by one of the above solutions but if it is more serious your probably going to end up paying alot. You def. might need to find a mechanic friend, it could be alot of things. If you had a friend it would prob cost you about $50-75 dollars (seeing that not absolutely every one of these things needs changing) to do all of the things I mentioned which is cheaper than a mechanic . Face it, it hard getting around a mechanic. When did you last take it for a tune up and oil change? Also be advised that all of this advice is by a person that is not a mechanic or a car expert. Okay I don't even know why I responded to this but I do know if you are having stalling problems its probably because the car is getting old. Sorry if I confused you and I hope the info helps.
yeah... post in a forum were people actually know about this stuff, and there has to be one, because I am not a mechanic, actually I very tired and I don't even know why I am writing anymore. I answererd so many posts tonite I am delirious so don't take me to court if I gave you the wrong advice. I am not a mechanic, thats it, I am laughing my ass off at myself, its a rap, good night, I am sorry.
Clean the spark plugs and sacrifice a virgin. Seriously? Could be a problem with the injectors. Could be that there's some crud getting in the pistons. Could be all sorts of things. I'd try one of those fuel-injecter cleaners that you just add to the gas tank, but other than that go to a mechanic. When's the last time you changed the oil? I doubt that's the issue, but the engine COULD be overheating. And no, I'm not a mechanic.
I hope you are handy with basic tools and logic understanding, if you are, here is my advice. The “quirk” that you describe appears to indicate malfunction of combustion. The things that can affect it are, in order of simplest to complicated: 1.Air Filter extremely blocked (dirty or Old) 2.Gasoline filter (dirty or blocked) 3.Sparkplugs dirty or consumed 4.Distributor contacts dirty or consumed (burned). 5.Miss-timing by synchronizing belt becoming old or loosen. There could also be a combination of 2, 3, & 4. Particularly 3 & 4. Air filter and gasoline filter should be easy for you to check and replace if necessary. For the air filter check, remove the filter cover over the carburetor, remove the air filter located inside, and (engine cold) start the vehicle, see if you notice improvement and about all, a steady combustion. The gasoline filter is located on the small black house coming from under the car towards the carburetor, it is a small almost transparent plastic container. You can replace it, they are very cheap, or for just a quick check you can dismount it and mount it the other way around, of course not for too long, otherwise the dirt collected in that filter will go into the carburetor, and for a couple of minutes, it is only intended to show or indicate if the gasoline filter is really blocking the gasoline flow. Notice that the Air filter case, if very dirty is mostly noticeable at higher speeds when the air suction volume is higher, so in your case (lower speed), it may not be a troubleshooting target. The gasoline filter increases the suction (gasoline flow volume) at higher speeds, thus at increased volume pressure may be OK, however, at lower speeds when the volume pressure decreases, a dirty fuel filter may only allow intermittent flow of gasoline to reach the carburetor suction fuel pump. Sparkplugs are “highly” probable to be the cause, there are easy to check or replace and not very expensive. They are many types depending on motor’s type, just make sure you get the right ones for your car. You need a special (cheap) tool to remove them. Once every six months, they should be checked, and depending on use, changed every year. The Distributor is also a “high” contender as the possible cause. It serves to provide the electric path to the sparkplug for the electric discharge. The distributor internal contacts mounted on the cap can be burned or oxidized, also the electric platinum switch inside could have burned out, However, replacing the switch is sensitive if you haven’t don’t it before since a minimum miss adjustment when replacing it with a new one could alter the timing and the car will miss-fire and difficulty to start. In summary, I suggest that you take the car to a workshop and ask for a price estimate (material & labor) to replace distributor electric contacts, and the sparkplugs. By doing that, the workshop (after replacing those components) will have to adjust the combustion timing anyway. Alternatively you may consider getting the parts your self, and simply ask a workshop to quote you for their (replacement) installation What you have is a simple problem, and I hope you don’t get abuse over it. Good luck. :m:
im sorry, i probably should have told all of you what ive alrady done to the car. lol. ~spark pugs changed a couple months ago. should be good still ~fuel in jector cleaner last week, ~water remover gas treatment 2 days ago ~air filter changed ~feul filter bought, but not yet replaced...(ill let you know if it makes a difference) ~oil change and check up every three months (it i due now, but i know that isn't the problem since its beenhappening for a while now, its just getting worse.) Thre have also been other things done to the car but its all been little things i didn't know much about when the b/f had the car still. oh, and i doubt this is related. but if the car sits still, the thermo goes past the red of overheat, but if you pump the gas, it goes back down. sometimes, if you drive 24-40-ish for a while, it will do the same thing until you stop driving. we've tried alot to fix that too. but it wont work. so maybe they're connected. doubt it though.
I won't say it's not the fuel filter, but usually a clogged fuel filter gives you trouble at high speeds, not low speeds or idle. A faulty fuel pump could be the problem, but not too likely. The most likely culprit is mileage. If you know anyone who can test the cylinder compression on your motor, it may shed some light on things. Or you could just buy a can of "Engine Restore" (that's the brand name) and dump it in. If you're not too worried about fuel economy, you can just turn up the low-idle screw by 1 or 1 1/2 turns and ignore the problem for a while (i.e. while you're looking for a good deal on another car). What you said about the temperature raises a couple of warning flags. If the engine overheats frequently, you risk destroying it in a number of ways (engine could seize, blow a head gasket, etc.) An overheated engine will also idle rough and tend to stall out the way you describe both because of detonation and because the solid state ignition components start to get too hot to function properly. Is the fan working? Do you have enough coolant? Is there a coolant leak? Is there a lot of rust/ other crud in the coolant? Is the pump making funny noises? If you grab the pulley on the water pump can you move it? If you need more detailed info on any of these, I have shop manuals that cover your car's make/model/year, and can look things up for you as needed. Good luck.
Hi I just took care of a problem like that. It is called the electric gas pump which is located in the gas tank itself. It will cost you about $100 for the part and labor. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
In that case, sorry, but don't follow my advice, it isn't applicable!Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I am going to make the guess that someone went and bought injector cleaner from a store like an autoparts store and put it in the gas tank for you. That only works when used on a regular basis. Once you start having these problems it is to late for the on the shelf stuff. It is watered down, for your safety. It sounds like you have serious lack of power, lack of fuel economy, and some start and stop pickup that under the right circumstances could lead you to having a wreck. There are two options that will likely cure this. One is to replace all the fuel injectors in the car. This is not cheap, a number of years ago fuel injectors were going for around $90 new. (rebuilts are cheaper and then there is the cost of labor) Now, let me give you the good news. There are many places like those that offer to change your oil in 10 minutes that carry another service. Fuel injection cleaning. They have a stronger, commercial, professional version of this injector cleaner. It should be done every 60,000 miles. It is not put in the gas tank, it is put in the vaccum system, under the hood. Cost varies but expect in the neighborhood of around $30. When they finish adding this stuff, if your injectors are choked with carbon, it will look like a fog machine. It will run ragged and like you are describing, it will sputter and spit for a bit. With in the next day, it will be running far better. Within two days, power performance will increase. You will suddenly realise that your poor car was doing far worse than you thought as the loss of power was very gradual. You will also notice that your gastank takes you farther. Do call around and see who does this and how much it costs. Don't take your car to someone who can't tell you this or says they have to look at it first. This is a cut and dried operation with a fixed cost. Any excuses means they are looking for something else to hit your pocket book with. There is one other possibilty that is less likely. There is a critter called a dashpot. The dashpot's job is to let your engine speed drop a bit slower when you take your foot off the gas. (like coming up to a stop sign) This way the engine doesn't have to nearly die before the idle circut picks up the gas. Some are electronic, olders ones are vacummn. Yours should be electronic. It will be located around where the throttle cable or linkage ties in to the engine. (for sake of simplicity)
Your overheating problem could be: Thermostat is worn out. Thermostats are cheap, also require 1 gasket. Loose fan belt. Thermostatic clutch, or switch worn out. (next to last option, you may not have this on your car.) Timing. Plugged raditator cores (inside) or bugs and dirty fins on the outside. Water pump. (for this case this one should be last on the list to check)
wow thank you for all the information... i dont know where to start.. or rather.. where to tell my b/f to start.. (doesn't like getting dirty).. -ha. that sounded odd-. it doesn't REALLY overheat.. it just thinks it is. we've tried chagning the thermo.. but that didn't work. but if it were overheating for rel.. sitting on the white line PAST the red for a half hour would have created flames if not atleast smoke.. lol. i was kinda thinking the feul injector..... but hey.. ill try whatever it takes. i have a half hour drive to where i get my supplies for work, where i hve to go atlest every two weeks. and since im you have to be liescenced to buy from the store, i can't send anyone. sooo... id rather pay the money to get it fixed now and make it back later.. then to ry to skimp out on it, and then not have a job. lol.
If a thermostat change didn't help, I have to ask two questions. One what degree setting was the thermostat replaced with? They are stamped somewhere on the thermostat what temperature they open at. It is desirable that the thermostat open at a lower temperature in around town driving. Thermostats can be checked by putting them in a pan of water on the stove. Look for when the thermostat opens and read the temperature with a thermometer. You may need to go to a lower set thermostat. Was the water temperature probe, that sees the temperature replaced? They can go bad too. It could be there is nothing wrong with your water temperature. It could be seeing the wrong temperature. You can check this with a thermometer. See what the actual temperature is compared to what the car's water temp gauge sees. You may do this by removing the raditator cap while the engine is cold. Check that sufficient water is there before starting. Put thermometer in the water and crank the engine. When it warms up take reading and compare to temp gauge in car.
you could try forum at www.caranddriver.com they have quite a few mechs there.Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
