A little back story to help you get a better idea and provide your prognosis:

My 97 (auto) was stationary at stop light when it was rear ended strong enough to warp the bumper and torque the trunk opening. At some point the radiator return hose popped loose and the car gradually lost fluid over the next few days. Eventually, my wife drove home with the car overheating (for about 5-8 mins). We had it towed and repaired, with thankfully no major damage to the engine components. Ever since then (can't conclude if it's either rear-end collision and/or overheating) the car behaves like so:

1. When warmed up (mid-point on temp gauge) RPM in Park (set at 1k RPM) just drops out and stalls. The car does the same thing at lights or making turns under braking. A precondition to the stall is that in Drive, power in the 2k-2500 RPM range feels very sluggish.
2. Another thing to point out is that RPM in Park/idle in Drive when at optimum temp is that the car rev fluctuates and sometimes it seems instead of stalling, it catches itself and revs up to compensate. Most of the time it stalls, though.

Other things to consider: Water pump shaft bearing if howling so needs replacement. Serpentine belts are cracking which also need replacement (would lousy belts, i.e tension, affect the runnability of the car?)

Things I've done: Ramped up the idle revs, cleaned IACV and TB (car starts on a dime now), replaced ECTS, the car shows no CEL(s), checked grounds and connections (all good)

 

I wd say clean MAF. See if that helps. If symptoms come back...then its a MAF issue

EGR is in the back of the car. If clogged up, like the EVAP canister, it could cause issues, but it would also throw a code for any EGR components.

Yea so, clean MAF, throw some chevron technron in the fuel tank. Get back to us

 

Yeah -- One of the first things I did was clean the MAF and its connectors and still no dice. Looks like it's off to EBay for some parts hunting.

 

sounds like maf

 

why do you guys think its maf related? if its a bad maf, it won't stall when its idle. When you drive it, it just won't really go anywhere. but you've already checked the maf so it doesn't matter. as to what the culprit is, unless the rear end got completely smashed, i'm thinking that the coolant got somewhere and started to eat up a component. Replace parts that already needs replacing first. If it doesn't fix the issue, clean the iacv and tb. Check your spark plugs. Any codes?

 

Check for a bent exhaust pipe.
Could be a restriction back there, the muffler or B pipe could be at fault.

 

Nah -- it wasn't THAT bad of collision. Just bent up the bumper and trunk lid.

 

Now you've gotten me worried...just ordered a cheap MAF for $45 shipped and hope that's not a waste of money.

 

yea...i'm pretty sure its not the maf. Why didn't you check if it WAS bad before ordering one? search "how to check for a bad maf" and something should come up

 

I had checked the MAF too, but if it's working intermittently, then the multimeter may or may not catch it malfunctioning, right?

 

ususally MAFs issues dont throw codes unless the MAF has totally kicked the bucket. With no codes, it seems like an air issue to me.

IACV has a number of functions, not jus Idle control. U might also have an issue there. Or IATS

 

Check your voltage to your fuel pump too, I've had a similar problem arise on a 280ZXt that I used to own.

 

mine stalled for a year at stop lights or when i stepped on the clutch till i replaced the maf connector i acutualy hard wire it soldered the wires straight to the maf and that fixed my problem been a year now hence why i said maf it could be anything was just telling my deal

 

point taken.

 

Well -- replaced the MAF and the stalling issue has disappeared. (Crossing-fingers) hopefully it stays that way.

 

thats great hope it stays that way for ya

 

Thanks for all y'all's input, advice and interest! One reason why I love this forum.

 

Well glad you got it fixed!! I was just about to post and tell you to check the maf, even though an earlier poster thought it would not be the maf. I have had a bad maf that caused hard starting, rough idle, Yet if I babied the car I could attain speeds of 55mph.

I drove it like that for a week, thinking the problem was the exhaust leak I had. Well... exhaust work was done by a shop, and they told me before hand it wouldn't fix the rough idle (but I was desperate). Long story short, no one can predict what a maf will do to the vehicle. For some reason I went through 2 of them using the short ram intake. Which is why I went back to a mostly stock setup.

One more thing. I did change the drive belts recently and discovered that I had a bad tensioner. Drove the car with a bad tensioner for a while and the belts would squeal a little on start-up. At times the engine would even stall (after initial start-up only). Since I installed a brand new tensioner and belts nice and tight, no stalling. So I suggest that you have the belts done as well. They will leave you stranded if the longer one running to the alternator and a.c. breaks.