HELP!

I got in my car this morning on my way home from work and the whole way home it would really struggle to go in the lower rpm range, it would just get to a smooth running rpm and it would be time to shift again i have a 98 saturn sl2 with the twin cam 1.9L and 5 sp tranny. it has about 75,000 miles on it. the temp was in the upper 40s and it was kind of rainy but that hasn't affected it before, don't know if maybe it was a fluke thing or is going to start doing that constantly or not, i haven't had a chance to get out and drive it again since i parked it at 6:00 this morning (now 5:00 at night)...any ideas are GREATLY appreciated.. i will take it for a drive in a few and see if it still does it and repost. kind of sounds like something is maybe clogged? or..? any way like i said any help is appreciated. Thanks...

Josh

98 Saturn SL2 Gold/Tan w/55,500 miles

RE: HELP!

sounds like it's time for a tune up. Are the plugs and wires original? A miss on a 4 banger is going to be more devastating than a miss on an 8 cylinder.

RE: HELP!

Just took it out for a drive and the problem still occurs occasionally, the plugs and wires were replaced shortly after i got the car last year. i have about 20,000 miles on it since new plugs and wires. it idles fine (for a 4 cyl) and starts normally. my parents think maybe its bad gas? i do need to run some injector cleaner through as i haven't done that for a while. maybe this weekend if funds allow and its not too hard i will try and put on a new fuel filter and see if that helps anything.

Josh

98 Saturn SL2 Gold/Tan w/55,500 miles

RE: HELP!

It could be a number of things. Bad gas is possible. You mention rainy weather. That makes me think that the wires have a very small split in them, and with the wet on the engine it is arcing out.

RE: HELP!

fortunately it seems to have stopped doing what it was doing, i put some injector cleaner in and it seems to have helped. i called a saturn dealer (closest one about an hour away ) and they said that the fuel filter on my car is $89 plus tax and the dealer is the only ones i've found that carries it because its some kind of special kit or something. anyway i asked the guy what else could cause my car to act this way and he said that the temp sensor is a common problem on these cars and it could cause them to act the way it was. Does this sound possible? it was acting up even in normal driving temp. and never seemed to be predictable as to when it was going to act up.

Josh

98 Saturn SL2 Gold/Tan w/55,500 miles

RE: HELP!

A long, long, time ago...

The wife was once a waitress and went to work at 5 am or some ungodly time. One early morning she called and the van had literally died while pulling into the parking space at work and wouldn't start.

I stopped by on my way to work and checked it out. Didn't take too long 'till I figured it was getting no spark. No problem I figured, I'd work on it after work.

Well, long story short, I worked on it late after work, early before work, for days! Finally I threw in the towel and called a garage that happened to be next door to where it sat. He called me later that afternoon and said I could come and pick it up.

When I arrived, I was of course very curious what the problem was that had baffled me for days. Especially when the mechanic said he DROVE IT over and put it on the scope!

Spark plug wires... as it turned out, every time I worked on it, the dew was heavy or it was raining. It was mid afternoon when he strolled across the parking lot that sunny day...