Stuttering like a bitch under ANY boost.

gSx-LeX · Feb 24, 2003

ok i'm having the same problem. i've doent eh whoel spark plug and fuel filter thing but to no prevail!!! could it be that soemthing (wastegate) is sticking open....

stackhouse · Feb 26, 2003

i put some water solvent in my gas tank cuz i drove trough a blizzard and then a rainstorm and come to find out i had a whole the size of a softball in my air filter and it helped a little with the stuttering i am lettin midas try to fix my car, i hope they know what they are doin!!!!

colonelfox · Feb 26, 2003

I've been having the same problem for months, and I've replaced everything that could possibly cause it. It still does it. I tried a few times to get it over 100 on the turnpike, and it's a no go for me too.

I'm tired of searching for the cause, so I've let it go for a while, and just avoid WOT situations. It's too damn cold to stand outside dicking around under the hood.
I can get a good 1/2 to 3/4 throttle just fine, but if I go uphill over 1/2 throttle, or anything more than 3/4 throttle under 5K rpms, it stutters. Basically, the engine can't be under any heavy load in the lower RPM range or it'll stutter. When I park it, if it's stuttered along the ride at all, my CE light will come on as the turbo timer counts down and stay on until I reset the ECU.
New plugs, wires, coil packs check out, no boost leaks. The timing belt could stand to be changed though ( feels a little looser than it should, and is slightly harder than I feel comfortable with.)
Anyone have a reason why the timing belt could cause the stutter? I've never heard of that before, but I guess it's possible.

DSM Vice · Feb 26, 2003

colonelfox said:
I can get a good 1/2 to 3/4 throttle just fine, but if I go uphill over 1/2 throttle, or anything more than 3/4 throttle under 5K rpms, it stutters. Basically, the engine can't be under any heavy load in the lower RPM range or it'll stutter. When I park it, if it's stuttered along the ride at all, my CE light will come on as the turbo timer counts down and stay on until I reset the ECU.

Wow....that sounds EXACTLY like what my car's doing. I still have about 10 days till spring break, so I haven't gotten a chance to change my plugs, wires, or check for boost leaks yet....but after reading your post I'm getting worried that might not fix it.

DSM Vice · Feb 27, 2003

Well guys, thanks for all the help. Last night I went to my secret "garage" (a.k.a. 24 hr. DIY car wash bay that's enclosed, heated, and very well lit) at about 1:00am, pulled my spark plugs out (was a pain in the ass with the ONE POS wrench I had up here at school...things made out of soft aluminum or something) and soaked them with WD-40. Going from left to right they were all perfect, except for the last one. When I pulled it out I noticed the bottom of the boot was melted a bit. Soaked it with some WD-40, popped it back in and hoped for the best.

Started the car up, drove it out of the "garage"

, and floored it.

BOOM! I'm in the back of my seat....no studdering. Seems to be working! Take it out on the highway, slam through all the gears...pulles right till redline, no studdering what so ever!

Who woulda' thought?!?! WD-40 does it again!

Oh yeah, and that problem with the car not pulling past 110mph? That's taken care of as well...

gSx-LeX · Feb 27, 2003

i changed my spark plugs and it didnt help

congrats man, it must be nice to have a working DSM...........

DSM Vice · Feb 28, 2003

gSx-LeX said:
i changed my spark plugs and it didnt help congrats man, it must be nice to have a working DSM...........

Should be nice while it lasts...that damn CEL is still on so I still have to figure out what's up with that.

colonelfox · Feb 28, 2003

You know what really blows. A month or two ago, I changed my plugs, no difference, changed my wires, and the stutter stopped. CE light didn't come back on after I reset the ECU. Drove a day or two, and the damn thing came back and the CE light kicked in. Hopefully it did the trick completely for you. Good luck.
You'd be better off resetting the ECU to get rid of the CE light sooner. It'll stay on for I think around 100 miles or so otherwise. Just unplug the positive battery terminal for 30 seconds, and it'll reset.

gSx-LeX · Feb 28, 2003

i'm gonna check for boost leak monday, if i find something i'll be so happy, if not, i'll be driving my car into a lake, and buying a honda with the insurance money :takethat:

gSx-LeX · Mar 4, 2003

well i got together with dsmman today and he took a look at my car. it turned out to be the spark plug cable (arching). Thanks keith, its good to know that there are good people out there.

DSM Vice · Mar 4, 2003

gSx-LeX said:
well i got together with dsmman today and he took a look at my car. it turned out to be the spark plug cable (arching). Thanks keith, its good to know that there are good people out there.

Awesome! Glad you got that taken care of!

gSx-LeX · Mar 4, 2003

i'm soo happy, finally i have a working car!!!!!!!!

eclipse1gen · Mar 6, 2003

My stock laser daily driver had the same problem last semster. I think it was due to a plug wire not having a tight connection with the coil pak. now i just have to go home over break and get my talon healthy again. Glad you found a fix!

gSx-LeX · Mar 6, 2003

working dsm = Happy dsm

stackhouse · Mar 6, 2003

I took my car to a local garage on monday and i need a major tune up which i am gonna do myself and i have a crack in my valve cover gasket and there is oil drippin onto my spark plugs it is gettin worked on this monday and i will let you all know what happens but 4 those of you who have tried everything that you think you can do i would check this stuff out cuz it is something that i would never think of lookin for. Good luck to all

DSM Vice · Mar 22, 2003

stackhouse said:
I took my car to a local garage on monday and i need a major tune up which i am gonna do myself and i have a crack in my valve cover gasket and there is oil drippin onto my spark plugs it is gettin worked on this monday and i will let you all know what happens but 4 those of you who have tried everything that you think you can do i would check this stuff out cuz it is something that i would never think of lookin for. Good luck to all

Yeah oil and water around the plug boots can cause some problems...which is why I'm trying to wait on putting the plugs on until I do my gasket...but I really can't wait till the summer. I think the new plugs should be fine with the oil and water for a couple months as long as I keep an eye on it.

IwishIwasCool · Mar 22, 2003

fox: Everything points to the coil pack in your situation.... That or the power transistor.

colonelfox · Mar 22, 2003

The week before last, I had the stutter gone. I fixed a boost leak around the BOV, regapped the plugs (they were way off, I used a cheap gapper before). It ran awesome until Tuesday last week. Damn that was a bad day. There's no leaks anymore, the plugs are still fine, but it stutters again.

DSM Vice · Mar 22, 2003

colonelfox said:
The week before last, I had the stutter gone. I fixed a boost leak around the BOV, regapped the plugs (they were way off, I used a cheap gapper before). It ran awesome until Tuesday last week. Damn that was a bad day. There's no leaks anymore, the plugs are still fine, but it stutters again.

That's the worst feeling...thinking you fixed it and then jumping on it a couple days later and being like, "$^@#$*(&^".

BTW, my stutter came back a couple days later.:realmad:

Hopefully my Magnecore wires will fix it. Just gotta wait till I get my car back from the collision shop where it's been for three weeks, but that's a whole nother story.

RuBiCaNT99GSX · Mar 25, 2003

colonelfox said:
The week before last, I had the stutter gone. I fixed a boost leak around the BOV, regapped the plugs (they were way off, I used a cheap gapper before). It ran awesome until Tuesday last week. Damn that was a bad day. There's no leaks anymore, the plugs are still fine, but it stutters again.

What CEL code comes up? I am having a similar problem problem, but not as badly or frequent. WOT is fine, but going uphill in 3rd or 4th (I've got an auto) at half throttle is crappy and seems to want to hesitate but doesn't do it at full blown. Coil pack maybe?? I have no idea. I get TPS Sensor error.. P0120, about every 2 - 3 weeks or so. I've got fresh plugs and wires.

Stuttering like a bitch under ANY boost.

gSx-LeX

stackhouse

colonelfox

DSM Vice

DSM Vice

gSx-LeX

DSM Vice

colonelfox

gSx-LeX

gSx-LeX

DSM Vice

gSx-LeX

eclipse1gen

gSx-LeX

stackhouse

DSM Vice

IwishIwasCool

colonelfox

DSM Vice

RuBiCaNT99GSX

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