Hello, I have 96 Cavalier 2.2L that I bought August of 08. It has 79,300 miles on it now. Since I bought it I changed the coolant, trans fluid, plugs,fuel filter and oil. I change the oil every 3000 miles. The only aftemarket I have under the hood is a short ram. Now Since about December of 08 it has been randomly stalling on me. It's random and some days it doesn't even stall. Also when I push the gas pedal down to accelerate (like when I put it half way or so to the floor ) it does this thing where it seems like its running out of gas but its still accerlerating. (You know where it seems like its sucking for the last bit of gas) Also, before it stalls it bucks or jolts. Sometimes it will buck and not shut off. Also, sometimes after being stopped at a light it will take a few seconds while I have my foot on the gas to get it to speed. It seems like it's in neutral for those split seconds. It stalls when I'm stopped. I can get it to stall pretty much right away when I'm stopped going up a hill. Also some days I can hear a noise that sounds like power seats moving, and it can only be heard inside the car after the car has just been shut off. Any help would be appreciated. I've taken it to 3 different shops and they go I don't know nothing came up. Maybe I should have used Ac Delco plugs? Could it be the gas line clogged or something? Could it be the fuel pump? EGR? Trans?Please help! Thank you!! sorry about the length.
Sounds like the fuel pump on its way out... but without checking the fuel pressure it's hard to know for sure.
Could also be a spark issue. How much did you tighten the plugs? If you tighten them to much you can crack them and get similar issues.
Tinkles
2003 Cavalier 1SV
Bagged and Blown
When I took it in they said it was running normal fuel pressure...any place to get a decent pump just in case it is that?
-Tinkles
This is kinda off topic but some of the same symptoms as the guy who posted. You mentioned overtightening the plugs... how tight we talking here? i have an 03 cav and was experiencing some of the same things as the guy who posted the question (Adam V). Just changed the plugs 3 weeks ago and have random RPM drops while sitting at a red light or anywhere else where im in gear and have the brake applied. Feels like the car wants to die but it doesn't. Rpm goes from about 650 down to 300 then jumps up and down. Using delco plugs, cant figure out what is wrong. No dummy lights on or anything and my obd came up clear so..... Any help from anyone would be appreciated.
Thanks.
GREEKROCKSTAR
you wanna make them tight just don't hork down on them i would say tighten them till they are snug then just give it a little more be sure not to cross thread
john karouzos wrote:-Tinkles
This is kinda off topic but some of the same symptoms as the guy who posted. You mentioned overtightening the plugs... how tight we talking here? i have an 03 cav and was experiencing some of the same things as the guy who posted the question (Adam V). Just changed the plugs 3 weeks ago and have random RPM drops while sitting at a red light or anywhere else where im in gear and have the brake applied. Feels like the car wants to die but it doesn't. Rpm goes from about 650 down to 300 then jumps up and down. Using delco plugs, cant figure out what is wrong. No dummy lights on or anything and my obd came up clear so..... Any help from anyone would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Did you tighten them down until you couldn't any more? I always snug them and then go just a touch further. I am not 100% sure how tight my buddy tightened them(i wasnt there), but took a good bit of effort to loosen them.
Tinkles
2003 Cavalier 1SV
Bagged and Blown
i applied the same principal as tightening an oil filter... hand tight then a solid half turn or so. ill check them again today and see if i cracked the porcelin... if not i guess its time to start taking everything apart.
Thanks.
GREEKROCKSTAR
My 97 did the exact same thing!
Turned out being the spark plug wires. They were almost new and worked for 4 months, then I had the problems you are having. They were the cheap ones.
I went back and got the best ones I could buy and installed. Fixed it on the spot.
On my old 2.2 L I had the same problem then too. For that car it turned out to be the coil packs on the back of the motor.
99 cav 2.2L 212,000 miles
97 cav 2.2L 110,000 miles
91 cav 2.2L 236,000 miles RIP
04 Silverado Z71 Ext.Cab 55,000 miles
01 Suzuki SV650 22,000 miles
97 Arctic Cat ZRT 600 6,000 miles
Plugs are good.... while looking at parts online i just remembered that i bought the iridium tipped plugs. After reading through some postings it looks like the oem plugs are the platinum ones... id like to think this wouldn't have anything to do with it but who knows. Also this seems to happen more after driving at higher speeds prior to sitting idle at a light. Vacuum issue? sure hope not...
Matt-
this is a 2003, there arent conventional wires. The coil is one piece connected to the module with four boots which fit over the plugs.
Before i replace the coil any other suggestions?
Thank you everyone for all your help.
GREEKROCKSTAR
Adam-
sorry to steal your thunder by changing topics here...
GREEKROCKSTAR
It's ok john
matt had a good point maybe I have bad coils on mine
Matt was right! changed the coil pack on my 03 and problem went away... so far so good, we will see what happens as i continue to drive but as of right now its running smooth.
GREEKROCKSTAR
