Hey, all!

First time here but have been lurking for a bit. I appreciate any help in advance, and I will forewarn you that my mechanic skills are minimal but I try to take care of all of my issues myself or enlist a friend for assistance.

I got the car about 6 months ago and overall have been very pleased with it. Recently, however, I've had difficulty starting the car but once its going it sounds great (for the most part) but will randomly sputter and occasionally stall.

When the issue first arose it was starting and running fine but while i was cruising down the road in 5th i noticed a hesitation/sputter. The car gently jerked and then carried on as normal. I noticed this happening more and more frequently over a period of less than a week. After talking to a few people the issue seemed it could be my fuel filter so I was gonna change that over the upcoming weekend around this time. the day before the weekend i noticed this seems to completely stop. I still went ahead and replaced the filter and for a little less than a week it continued to run great. Then all of a sudden it started happening again. Over the last week it has progressively gotten worse. At this point sometimes when i try to start the car it just turns over and over with no start yet other times starts right away. But almost every single time i go for a drive it sputters while driving, sometime while accelerating sometimes while cruising. Now on occasional it will even stall, both while driving or after idling for a sec.

As far as parts i've already replaced a lot, some in an attempt to fix other issues ive had some as routine maintenance:
Distributor cap & rotor
Ignition coil
Spark plugs and wires
Main relay
Timing belt and accessory belts (all)
Fuel Filter

After speaking with a friends uncle (he's a mechanic but primarily works on older american cars) i checked my fuel pressure, thinking it was the fuel pump. The pressure reads at 34psi.

I've tried to single out any consistancies, as far as when the could be happening, but my car is always parked outside and it happens are random times. I will say that generally in the mornings (my mornings start around 11am/12pm) I have no problems starting it but after driving for a few i notice sputtering. I only live 10-15 min from work depending on traffic so im not driving far before i notice these issues.

Ive checked a lot of things and am coming up short so an guidance for where to look would be great.

Some things that have been suggested are the Ignition Control Module and the Fuel Pressure Regulator. Are there any tests for these?

Also, my CEL is not on so no codes or anything.

 

Update: A buddy had a known working Fuel Pressure Regulator so I threw that in and it seemed to be working fine until the engine got up the Operating Temperature then stalled. Took it for a drive and the problem persists :-/ still sputtering and almost stalled while traveling down the road.

I'm going to let it cool and start it back up this evening to see of it's just when the car gets warm.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

<p>Are these symptoms only after warming up, or consistently? &nbsp;Have you done a compression test?</p>

 

Prior to today it happened even when cool, however it was parked in the sun all day so maybe under the hood got pretty warm? Im in FL so it gets pretty hot. Also, this time around it took maybe 5 seconds or so to start where normally its nearly instant

Its cooling now then im gonna give it another go and I'll post the results.

 

<p>Buy/borrow/rent a compression tester, and a DEI/HEI spark tester, use them both, tell us what your compression numbers are in all four cylinders, and what color your spark is on all four plugs.</p>

 

Ok, thanks. Ill try to find some equipment today to do that.

On a side note; ive noticed it only stalls once warmed up but even if I hop in a drive before it has a chance to warm up I still get the sputtering. If I take it easy I don't notice it as often until it gets warmed up then its pretty frequent.

I appreciate the input btw im gonna get started on those tests soon.

 

I have the same car.
Are you sure the check engine light hasn't been disabled?
Does the light flash on when you start the car for a brief second?

I was thinking maybe you would get a code for a bad oxygen sensor. I once got the code and it turned out to be a hairline crack in the exhaust manifold near the O2 sensor. This is a common problem. After the car warms up you go into closed loop ECU control of the engine and a cracked exhaust manifold will alter (show a lean condition) to the ECU and generally confuse the ECU. Replace manifold with a ebay header works.

Also do you have a stock air filter system or a cold air intake system.
Sometimes the cold air filters are slid down too deep on to the intake pipe and cause a restricted air flow which will effect warm engine performance.

 

Yeah CEL definitely works, I threw a code a couple months ago for my main relay and yes it lights up then shuts off when I turn the car on.

There is actually a ram-air intake that the previous owner put in.

Im gonna do the compression test tonight to see if anything is out of sorts there.

Its crazy I drove about 20 min before ot started acting up this morning and when I parked at work it idled beautiful for about 30 mim before I cut it off to go in. This is really frustrating!

I appreciate all the help, everyone!

 

Check fpr, with a gauge this time.

 

I had the similar problem with my two Nissans I had before (random shutdown after warned up and no cel). The culprit for both Nissan was the pickup coil in the distributor.

 

I checked this with a guage already. I was at 34 psi. Or am I misunderstanding you? I hooked the guage up to the banjo-bolt like the manual said and ran the car. It actually stalled before warming up but the guagr read a solid 34 psi.

 

Everyone seems to think spark or fuel. The only thing I haven't replaced in the distributer yet is the Ignition Control Module. I can pick one up for about $35 so if the compression test goes smoothly I may just try and replace this.

Any thoughts? Does that seem legit or just pointless?

 

Ok, so compression test results are in..

Im not sure the actual cylinder numbers so im just reading from left to right (distributer to timing belt):
C1: 150 psi
C2: 140 psi
C3: 145 psi
C4: 145 psi

When I did it I just pulled the main relay out to kill spark & fuel delivery and tested each cylinder twice for good measure.

From what I understand, these numbers seem good and are well within the 10% variance per cylinder allowed..??

I did not check for spark color yet. My local HarborFreight did not have the equipment so I'm going to stop by AdvanceAuto before work tomorrow to check this out, I think its pretty cheap.

 

this very much sounds like a bad oxygen sensor. voltage test it, just because there is no CEL doesn't mean its working correctly. if and when you do replace it, do NOT use a shitty universal replacement. those are made for shitty mechanics to sell and mark up to gullible idiots who don't mind replacing the same crap once a year.

 

additionally, pull and have your ICM tested at a parts store. with good fuel and compression, you're looking at some kind of faulty info being sent to the ecu or a distributor issue.

 

Ok, cool. Ive suspected the ICM but wasn't sure. Im gonna check that first then move on to the O2 sensor.

I'll be back with an update soon. Thank you!

 

Update:

I picked up a new ICM the other day before work then ripped apart the distributor to replace it. There was a stubborn screw so I leaned the distributor on its side and sprayed the **** out of the screw a few rounds. But still struggled and ways beginning to strip the screw so I quit. I cleaned up the distributor and seals well and set it aside then reinstalled it this morning. I was planning on buying a new distributor to see if anything in there was even the problem.

However...

On my way to work this morning the car ran beautiful. I even took it for a spin on lunch to check it out. Then I drove it a bit after work before I got home and its ran perfect.

Im going to hold off on doing anything for now since if I replace anything I won't really know if that was it. If the problem persists I'll return both for answers and to post the end issue and result.

I greatly appreciate everyone's input and assistance!!

 

<p>Just sayin', that's what you were supposed to test with the DEI/HEI tester. &nbsp;Being that the only thing you haven't replaced in the distributor is your ICM, and the ICM is a common point of failure for these older cars, you may have accidentally cleaned a ground that is helping, but be ready to replace that thing when it finally gives up the ghost.</p>

 

One other thing I thought of. I know you said you replaced the distributor cap and rotor but if you used a non OEM set I would recommend you reinspect the contact points on the cap and rotor. I've found that the Autozone caps and rotors will collect a white oxide on the contact points after a few months. I used a emery board to reclean the contact points and the car starts and accelerates a lot easier. The chinese products are getting a lot worse.