I have a 2001 4 cyl that is having some stalling/hesitation issues. The problem seems to occur mainly when opening up the throttle past idle. IE: hitting the gas again after braking or coasting down or starting from a stop.

When it happens, it flat out falls on its face, then catches and goes. The rpms do drop off and power steering and brake assist drop as well, telling me the engine really is losing power. Occasionally, especially after a high vacuum situation, the car will completely stall, but will fire back up immediately.

I have read that the crank triggers on this engine are known to be problematic and cause these symptoms, but they seem a little too linked to vacuum load to be coincidental. Also, when the crank trigger died on my truck, it flat out died inside a week, and this has been going on for a few months.

So, does this sound like the ckps or something else (like ignition mod)? Is there an easy way to dx the sensor? I can't reproduce it with the car in park, so I would have to be able to drive it.

 

Seems like you should have a pending trouble code if the problem is that bad. A dealer or a mechanic with a Tech II or equivalent can record data while you are driving, maybe giving you a better shot at a real diagnosis.

 

Just a question, when was the last time you replaced your PVC valve and fuel filter? not saying this is the fix but there could be a chance , for under $25.00 it should be done anyways.

 

It's my wife's car; we've been married for 2 years, and I haven't done anything other then change the oil, and I don't think my wife ever changed those before I met her, so if they were changed, its been 4 or 5 years.

Pcv valve should be easy to do, but do I need to drop the tank to reach the fuel filter?

I do have another symptom too. On the highway with the cruise on, the cruise will sometimes kick off at the base of a hill when the system tries to open the throttle.

I'm also going to get have the codes pulled. I have a wheel bearing going out, so I already have the 'service vehicle' and 'check engine' lights on for that. Is there a trick to get it to throw the codes to dash?

 

No, the codes can only be read by an OBDII capable scanner, you can't use a paper clip and count flashing lights anymore, sorry.

The fuel filter is outside the tank, no special tools/talent required. It is in a kind of tight spot, though. Before you loosen the lines, pull the fuel pump fuse and crank the engine for a few seconds, this will relieve the pressure in the lines so you don't get sprayed. It will still drip some, though.

 

I have had the exact same problem with my wife's old alero which has become my DD. It all seems to have started after the fuel pump was replaced, but now I have the SES light on. I don't want to pay for a diagnostic on it so I'll probably have to buy the code reader since you can't buy and return them from Autozone anymore here in CA.

I will probably go do that today and post back what I find out, since it seems like we have the same problem.

 

Autozones around here will read your codes for free. I've heard of other car parts places doing it also.

 

The cruise control may turn off because of the bad wheel bearing.

The fuel filter is pretty easy. Its right in front of the spare tire well under the car, right in the center. There is a evap canister right behind the filter, pull the 10mm bolt that holds the canister and let it hang. That give you a little more hand room. The hardest part is the stupid clip on the line. Its gotta pull in and over.

 

I haven't had a chance to dig yet, but I'm pretty sure its the crank sensor going out.

Yesterday I was starting from a stop with the windows down and tghe radio off when it did it. I could hear the engine missing as it struggled to go and saw the tach jump up to 4000 rpm for a second or two before dropping down to 500 and dieing. Once again I pulled over, put n park, and it started right up.

 

I was bored today so I decided to check the plugs and pcv to see if they needed to be changed.

I couldn't actually find the pcv, or any vaccuume lines coming off the valve covers. When I looked up the part online, I couldn't even find a pcv valve for this engine. Does it actually have one?

When I pulled the plugs, they were obviously in need of replacment.....30k miles ago. So I ran out and bought a set of bosch double platnums and it seemed to fix the problem. It did bog once while starting from a stop, but the learned fuel trims are probably still messed up from the old plugs.

So here's another Q. When I pulled the bolts holding the cover down to get to the plugs, they had a good coating of oil on them. I had the cover on and off a few times, and it seemed they would recoat with oil after driving (but the inside of the cover was completely dry). The exhaust valve cover has an oil film on it towards the drivers side and there is evidence of a leak in the valley (for lack of better word) down by the driver side. The driver side bolt entering the exhaust side (firewall side) of the head had the most oil on it. There is a sensor that screws into the intake side of the head (I'm assuming cam sensor?) that may be the source of the leak.

Any idea what might me leaking?