i have a new problem, at first i was having a problem with it hesitating/sputtering. i was going thru a lot of oil anf=d narrowed it down tonvalve seals witch i have yet to replace do to the time and money to tair it apart. i have found that letting it warm up for a good 10 minutes seems to help with the problem.

with in the last 2 days it has developed a new sputtering problem. it sounds like a machine gun coming out of the exhaust when u accelerate at low rpms. if you drive it like u stole it, it seems to be fine. it kinda sounds like its missing. but it sounds a=exactlly like a machine gun, really rapid sound.

any solid advice would be great, ive already put to much money in to this car and now this, i just want to make it last the summer so i can buy one i have my eyes on. its a 02 sunfire gt low km and she only wants $2000 for it.

oops ...... sorry, its a 96 2.4ltr, no cel, plugs r recently replace ( champion ), fuel pump was tested a few weeks ago and pressure is good. i was thinking the cat, since ive also been getting a funny smell. thought it was kinda weird itwas al of a sudden. and has got worse with in a day.

so i have noticed that while driving if i increase the rpm gradually with the gas pedal, the problem is no where to be found. but if i put give it lots of pedal and let the rpms i guess u would say catch up to u. it misses like crazy. this theroy i have is gone after 3k rpm. after 3k rpm it is normall, wel as normal as it can be i guess...... anyone...................
thanks in advance

okay so now i was outside tinkering and checking for any of the odvious and now it sputters at idle and the car shakes. still if u increase rpms gradually its fine, if u hit the throttle it sounds like a subaru, as someone else pointed out in another post i was looking thru. it has gone from bad to really f****** bad with in a couple of days. the weather has gone from hot and dry to humid and really rainny today aswell, would that make it worse?????? it is definetly a miss, kinda sounds like when i had a burnt valve. i fixed that problem not even a month a go. i would asume tghat is not my proble now..........i hope.

changed plugs now it idles, lets out a burp every couple of revolusion. still have to feather the gas to go any were. pulled the new plugs out after running around the block, two look clean cyl # 3 and # 1 r black around the metal part, not the insulator. kinda sooty. injectors??????? going to try and get my hands on some used parts to test with befor i buy any new ones.

were cylinders 3 and 1 wet at all? if you had the motor apart yourself, maybe you didn't torque the head gasket properly and it could be leaking there. also, your vehicle is definately misfiring which would cause the shaking. a funny smell could either be cat, but i'm more inclined to be lead back to the leaking head gasket. if it is a head gasket problem, it could be leaking coolant through the motor causing the funny smell, possible burnt plugs too. i'd get a mechanic to look at it, as if you're looking for the "basic" problems you might not be able to figure this one out on your own.

PROBLEM SOLVED.................... replaced the hole coil assembly. so it was either the coils or the icm. i used my origanl boots so it wasnt them. just thought i would post my findings.