Come on guys... don't make me read the manual...
 

Sooo, before I go diggin into the service manual...

Is there a usual issue with 3400's hesitating on hard acceleration (around 4k-5k rpm). Mine's got 120,000 miles. It's been well taken care of. Ummm, I've changed the oil every 3-4 grand, changed the spark plugs and wires at 100k, had every accessory replaced at least once (alternator, power-steering, a/c, etc), and I've been running premium in an attempt to keep the car from lagging too bad. Basically, I just want to know if it's some random part that I'm not thinking of...

yeah, I know this makes me look lazy and stupid...

I'm ok with the former.

Almost 126,000 here and my car's been doing that for a while, until I figured it out.

My problem was the intake piping was hitting the positive termial on the battery. It happened at WOT only. I'm guessing because the engine's movement shifited the pipe into the battery

check your tranny fluid/filter?

How did you end up fixing this? Did you just place like a piece of sticky adhesive onto the pipe so that its not metal touching the terminal?

You have a C.I.A. right? I still have the stock air box. I don't think any part of the tubing even gets near the positve terminal. If the battery were turned 180 degrees it would i guess. Also, how is it that that issue made your hesitate?

Neither of them have been changed to my knowledge. I've had the car since about 30,000 miles too, and it's highly unlikely they were changed before then, soo i'll just assume they were never changed...

but just like with redog, explain to me (pleez) how that woukld make your car hesitate or stutter..

Also, cherrington posted at 4:20...

/giggles/

Mach1 he means when using an aftermarket intake like a CAI or Short Ram. The reason it would cause a hesitation is because the aftermarket intake piping is usually some form of metal that when touching the battery terminal(s) causes a short so the car would lose some power and hesitate until the car would vibrate enough and the pipe gets off of the terminal.

I really don't have any reason so suspect that... just throwing out ideas of stuff that you hadn't mentioned you did.

Hesistation... good chances it's plugs/wires (would be wires, since you already did plugs), or else fuel pressure.

Check out fuel pressure/ volume (should put out 15oz in 15 seconds @ idle when you purge the fuel pressure gauge). Tape the gauge to the window and take it for a drive and see if it drops @ 4-5k, too.

If those aren't the issue, it'd be worth it to check exhaust backpressure to see if the cat's slightly clogged.

3 good things to check first.

Well best way to take care of ur car is probably not accelerating into the 4.5K+ range unless you NEED to, but anyways @ 122K miles when i got the car I immediately changed the catalytic converter because i also noticed some hesitation when getting into the rpm curve, also a can of sea foam, and a new fuel filter topped of the immediate list of NEEDS. But obviously check ur wires and dist. before digging too deep.

Good luck checking the distributor. I'm talking about the one that isn't there.

Are you referring to coil packs? or a car that doesn't use dist. or coils? Because I do believe Oldsmobile put one or the other in their vehicles, yah know, so the car will start.....:haha:

:eek: you serious...

It's your fuel filter.. your starving your engine

I mentioned it :coolio:

Fuel filter or clogged air filter comes to mind first. But any electrical issues? Maybe a failing alternator? Had a similar issue (but with a neon) where the alternator was going bad and created some hesitation-would push the gas, the engine would rev like something was holding it back and hesitation, stuttering, lag ensued.

Start with the simple maintenance and needs first. Filters, flush and fresh fuel.

and you don't need to be running premium gas...not unless you have so many mods that you're boosting your compression ratio. Stick with 87 or 89. any more than that, you're wasting money on gas and messing with the how the gas actually ignites.

K so must check...

- catalytic conv.
- fuel pressure (and filter)

Truthfully it'll be my mechanic buddy who'll be checking that lol.

The problem intially occured this summer around 115000 miles I think. It never stuttered before that. Initially, I purchased some fuel system cleaner (gumout full fuel sys treatment for high mileage cars) for a few fill ups and noticed a slight decrease in the problem. However, the car kept hesitating slightly. So, I took it on the highway with the thought that I would blow some carbon out of the cylinders via stepping on it a few times. The car kept hesitating under hard accel until the service engine light came on and I got worried. I took the car to autozone and had them scan it and the reader came up "cyl #2 misfire". So, I took the car home and removed the #2 plug, cleaned off some minor build up, and the next time I took the car out, the hesitation porblem was practically non-existent. This got me wondering whether the #2 fuel injector was not working right and fouling the plug. Eventually (within a month), the problem returned and I ended up switching from 89 to 93 just to help out a little. It seemed to work slightly. Annnnd basically for the last couple months the car has been in this state. It runs fine, except for when I really wanna get on it. Although, it has one quirk to it...

If i don't lightly (and I mean very lightly) tap the gas pedal right as the motor fires up, it starts out all wonky like. If I don't tap it right as the motor fires, the car usually starts up at around 700 rpm and then "revs" itself to 1500 and slowly goes back down. And I f#cking hate when this happens, especially when the motor is dead cold and its winter in michigan. I know the block aint gonna crack from 1500 rpm, but it just effin bothers me lol.

I know... it's weird...

Why you asking us if you're going to have a mechanic do it? Confused...

It has three coil packs, my previous statement was referring to the stupid comment about checking the distributor.

He'll be doing a brake job soon and while the car is with him, I'll ask him to look into the hesitation problem. But for now I might as well ask you guys for some help. I might be able to fix it before he gets the car. Also, I haven't posted on this site in like 6 months. I can't let you guys forget about me lol.

For this, check your Throttle Position Sensor and Idle Air Control Valve.

As Phil said you could check your TPS and IACV, but my friends car does the same thing and all the mechs. he went to said that its just the car warming itself up slightly before take off. As you should NOT let the car warm before driving and to just drive it gently when you cold start. Now I'm not sure as to exactly where this info came from but I have tried this quite a few times and I have noticed the car warms quicker, and it doesn't take nearly the gas to get it warm compared to letting it sit and idle warm. Hopefully you can get the problem solved and save some money before the mech takes it in. But I think you should re-read the whole post and give the easier things a shot as it may just solve the problem before she becomes a money pit.

EDIT: My Friend i was referring to drives a 2000 2.4L ( Just for reference )

If you start a car and drive away without letting it warm up in winter, your oil will be too thick, so your engine won't be happy, and your tranny fluid will be even thicker, so your tranny really won't be happy. If it's above about -20 5 minutes is plenty to get them warmed up enough, but don't expect heat till you've driven a minute or two after that.

edit: not sure about a manual, maybe you'd be safe on the tranny end, but I doubt it.

Yeah Luca that's why I said take it easy while driving to warm it up, If you don't then you can easily sever a seal/ring in many areas that you really don't want to have to replace, yeah here in Battle Creek we don't often see -20 so its not a huge factor to let the car warm unless your a sissy or have the money to waste gas. And I think with a manual transmission it would be just slightly less worry of failure because the only thing REALLY different is you control the clutch, But all the other parts are always susceptible to failure in any transmission. All tho I have never repaired/serviced a transmission besides speed sensors, this is my knowledge of cold starting a vehicle.

Check for vacuum leaks and clean the Mass Air Flow Sensor (MAF).

You rarely see -20...lucky, up here in ND from mid Jan through the beginning of March it is pretty consistently below -20 degrees.

I literally just cleaned the entire air box, and I took some q-tips and cleaned what i would describe as a "tar-ish" build up on most of the inside of the MAF. I also saw this build up on the bottom half of the air box. I am assuming that I oiled my k&n filter too heavily, and that some of the oil awas sucked through and coated the MAF. Cleaning these parts seemed to help the throttle response of the car. Now I just need to pinpoint the problem causing the hesitation. I'm going to take a good guess that it is something involving fuel delivery.

So I took out the #2 spark plug and cleaned it (with a light-duty metal brush), and then I thought that I might as well check the boot. I check the inside and it seemed a bit dirty (?), so i cleaned it with a q-tip and some alcohol. I applied new dielectric grease, hooked it back it, started the car, and...

Nothing!

I don't know if it was the boot or whatever, but there is no hesitation anymore under heavy throttle.

I don't know if I should feel stupid or happy lol.

wait you...filled the boot with dielectric grease??? you realize dielectric prevents electricity right?

im almost positive its supposed to keep water and corrosion out

your right alero_bmxer, its something that should always be done and even comes in kits when you buy spark plugs to do on your wires.... ( or boots )

hahaha, you guys need to read up

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definit...211945,00.html

You put dielectric grease in plug boots no matter what. Anyone who works on cars knows that, any reputable shop does that, period. It's not meant to make it conduct better, it's meant to keep junk out.

Ya, even the service manual reminds you to apply it to the insides of the boot. I swear dood.:p