last night i was driving and my car started acting funny, first i noticed it was REALLY hard to accelerate, i mean i would be at like 3000 rpm and it would feel like i was pushing 7000. I would have to floor it to pick up speed at all, power was way down. Accelerations were also really jerky like the car was choking or something, it felt EXACTLY like i was almost outta gas but my tank was 1/4 full. So i headed over to the gas station and filled it up completely, and on the way my car died... it started again instantly, but still seemed gas starved. what are possible problems?

 

It could be fuel pump, then again it could be a lot of things. But that is my guess.

 

could also be your MAF is dieing or a bad fuel injector. does your car have a "MIS" or vibrate at idle

 

I have a 90 max and my car sometimes does the samething that you are describing. One question I have, was it wet out when it happened, or slightly dewey? My car has not done this since I repaired some stuff that I found to be a moisture problem. Here is what I was told to check when I posted this problem.

O2 Sensor -- Make sure that the wires coming off of the sensor are not exposed in any way. (Mine were, I put shrink tubing over them.)

Exhaust Sensor -- Same as above.... I actually found one of my wires from the sensor completely cut through. (I am guessing a squirrel) After I replaced a section of wire, I have not had this problem since.

Before I tried these things I replaced my fuel injectors, fuel filter, and distributor cap and rotor..... These did nothting to solve the actual problem, but did improve the performance a bit.

Hope this helps a bit. It took me over two years to find my problem.... but it only happened every six months....

 

thx for replies...

i tested the idle this morning and it keeps going from 1000 to 1500 which it didnt do until i had this problem. it shakes while its fluctuating, and it almost stalled a few times

 

That is how my car was acting too. It sounds like a very similiar situatuation.

 

Start here: FUEL FILTER, cap and rotor, check fuel pressure. Then see if it runs different cold or hot.
Then we can continue the diagnostic.
Rich

 

thats interesting. i'm having a similar problem, except mine stumbles down from ~1000 at neutral idle to about 750 rpm, almost low enough to stall, but not quite.
the car shakes lightly and lurches very lightly as well when accelerating out of that. Thought it might be a timing belt issue... but reading this, now I'm not so sure.
-Minty

 

if you think your problem is anything like mine: I just solved it by replacing the spark plug wires. i put in new yazaki wires and things are explosive and smooth again
it does seem reasonable to say that higher rpm are a totally different story than lower, but i'm not sure myself
-minty

 

Hey buddy, speaking of Exhaust sensor.....where is it located? cuz between my cat converter and y pipe, there is an exhaust mounting backet there that has a broken wires. Does that wire has anything to do with the exhaust sensor you've mentioned? Or know which page of the Hayes or Chilton or FSM that you saw it or have a picture somewhere, could you please give me more info?

 

hi, i had a 92 max. it once had a rough idle and stalled when started. finally i found it had leaking vacuum tube. change it and everthing is ok.