Engine Stumble

[Bartron8000]

So I have been noticing that when my engine is cold it has this stumble/hick-up/misfire feeling at about 1500-2800rpm. After a few miles running at temp it will go away. I was wondering if anyone has had this issue before. I'm was thinking the cam sensor could be bad, but I don't really want to throw money at it and not solve anything. Oh and the engine is a 1.8l with 5-spd.

Thanks,
Bart

[Bartron8000]

Bump, someone has to have some kind of idea.

[ottawaprotege]

does it stumble on light or hard acceleration?

[KZL_99ES]

i haven't yet noticed this... how many miles you have on her?

also same question as above? ^^^

[Bartron8000]

Well it seems to be worse on hard acceleration, but it still does it on normal acceleration. It has about 140,000 miles on it. I did notice the other day that it only does it when its cold out, and it seems to be getting a little bit worse each time it starts in the cold.

[KZL_99ES]

dunno man, i would check all your fluids and your belt tension, so far thats the only thing that i can think of...

[ottawaprotege]

My protege kind of hiccups if i shift really fast when the car is cold, but it only happens when its cold, im not too worried about it though.

[8ender]

Could be the coolant temp sensor. Sometimes the sensor goes bad causing the ECU to think the cold engine is warm and its runs it too lean. Often the temp sensor is separate from the sender that controls the temp gauge.

[BobOki]

You might want to check your EGR, make sure its not all gummed up. Clean your MAF while you are at it, all the auto stores sell MAF cleaner. Make sure your air filter is not nasty.
Check your PCV valve. Take it off (the hose and it just pop off) and jiggle it up and down, the part inside the PVC should move freely.
Did you get your timing belt changed at 120k?
Do you let your car warm up before you drive off, or just start-n-go?

[Bartron8000]

Well it seems to be getting worse. And I do let it idle for a min or two before I leave.

[Chawk]

i would say dirty egr or fouled spark plugs and or coils. I would not waste a bunch of money with replacing sesor's until the car gets a lot worse.

[BobOki]

i would say dirty egr or fouled spark plugs and or coils. I would not waste a bunch of money with replacing sesor's until the car gets a lot worse.

After some quick thought, when was the last time you replaced the timing belt?

[Chawk]

I dont think the timing belt has anything to do with it, because it would seem that the problem would occur all the time with timing.

[BobOki]

I dont think the timing belt has anything to do with it, because it would seem that the problem would occur all the time with timing.

Well, mine just had the same issues..... worse at lower speeds, but after I was over 30 it was no problem. Mine ended up being a nearly 100% shot timing belt and a ding oil pump.

Here is a VERY valuable tip. If you get any work done at a shop, tell them you want the old parts. My mechanic never actually changed the timing belt I paid for... twice... and my car was running on the original timing belt at 140k

[Chawk]

my original belt lasted until 206,000 miles, and still did not need to be changed. I changed it anyway and now I cant get my car to start.

[BobOki]

my original belt lasted until 206,000 miles, and still did not need to be changed. I changed it anyway and now I cant get my car to start.

Then your timing is messed up. It

[BobOki]

my original belt lasted until 206,000 miles, and still did not need to be changed. I changed it anyway and now I cant get my car to start.

Then your timing is messed up. It's not just as easy as just setting the belt on. You have to match up the markings on the belt, make sure there is not skips, and apply the tensioner. Then you have to do a full rotation and make sure the marks line up still.

[Chawk]

yeah you are absolutely right, i am going to try to align the belt again, i thought that everything was aligned perfectly but it still did not start. i think i have a problem with the tensioner side not having the slack possibly.

[BobOki]

You might need a second person to help you.... someone needs to hold the belt on the right side down, while you apply the tensioner on the left. NOT a one man job!

[Chawk]

oh...thank you. I have never thought of this before. I will try it as soon as possible and post the results back to the site. I want to thank everybody for there help.

[Bartron8000]

I found out that the coil pack, plugs and wires were all bad, I find it funny I didn't think of the simplest thing to change. After all that the engine runs perfect again.

[808MP5]

Im changing my spark plug wires and plugs today

Crosses fingers this solves the same problem you were having. Funny mine use to only do it when the engine was cold... Now it does it everytime i turn the car off and start it again. If i didn't drive it like i stole it for the first couple of minutes the car would just keep stalling. Im getting random misfires and the car runs extremely lean.

[Chawk]

it always is that easiest thing, i commonly miss these things myself that is why I have my signature below. :)

[808MP5]

Well... Changing the wires weren't as easy as i thought it was going to be. I currently have nology wires which required me to modify the coil packs to the front of the engine.

So i came across the 2.0L to 1.8L conversion which used four wires instead of two and the coil packs are also located on the front. I figured that the 1.8L wires would do the trick. NOPE> the 1.8L wires don't fit in the 2.0L coil packs. Also the number 1 cylinder wire was too short.

Next i went back to the store and decided to try the do-it-yourself 8.5mm MSD wires. To my dismay on inspection the MSD ends wont fit on the 2.0L coil packs either. The guy at the store said you could take the connectors off the nology wires and attach them to the MSD wires. Yes this is true but i might wanna sell the nology wires or atleast give them another try if in fact it is not the wires causing the problem.

Any suggestions? Idea?