vague problem...looking for advice.
 

i have a 6 bolt, 92 awd turbo laser. the cat is piped, and has been for about two years now..ive never had any problems, shy of an idle issue thats been there since i got it a few years ago.

i drove it around all day, and it ran fine, stop and go, highway, etc.

i got home around 3, the car sat until 8ish, and i went out for a ride..it was fine, and all of a sudden, it started with a very rhythmic miss, or so it seems. the car sounds just like a boxer motor now...as odd as that may sound. it still builds boost, good oil pressure, everything under the hood looks fine and normal. i got it home, pulled the plugs, and they all look normal. i put them back in, and start the car up...after about 20 minutes of sitting there, and its idling just fine. i pull out of the driveway and drive away...still seems fine. getting into it a little, still seems fine. i get out to the main road and accelerate, getting into the boost a bit, and its fine..shift to second, and the miss starts again. i pulled into a parking lot, and as im decelerating, it seems fine...its only when im trying to accelerate, and it does still pick up speed, but its missing and hesitates...its also evident, although fairly subtle at idle, but if i climb back into the RPMs, it starts stumbling again. i got it back to my house, it sat for a while, and i started it back up, and its still missing...the check engine light DID come on when i was on my way back, but it only came on when i got stuck at an intersection for a few seconds, and it was wanting to stall...my first thought was that maybe i got some real dirty gas, and my aging fuel filter has hit its limit..especially with the way that the problem comes and goes...

any insight into the situation would be appreciated.

so....the car sat for a few days, i started it up, and it was fine. drove it around for 15 minutes or so, and it was fine. tonight, i took it out and ran it, and it seemed fine. i stopped at the store for about 15 minutes and when i came out and started it up, it was missing again..it seems to get more and less severe while im driving it. i thought that it might have been some bad gas, but i got more gas tonight, and ran it for a while, and it kept missing. it ONLY misses when im accelerating..when i downshift as i come to a stop, the rpms come up and it doesnt miss at all...but when i start to accelerate again or take it out of gear and rev the engine, it still struggles to get through the rpm, although it will still reach cruising speeds while its missing...

anyone have any ideas?

it sounds like a fuel issue. id start with checking the fuel pump/filter (i believe its one piece on the 1g's)

What plugs are you running and how old are the plugs? If the fuel filter looks old I'd change it.

So me it sounds like it needs a set of plugs and wires.

I'm no serious expert, but I do have to go with the guys on this one. Check everything related to the fuel. Recheck all your plugs, injectors and your wiring too. For all you know it could be the wire that runs from the ECU to the injector that might be messed up to where it'll have connection sometimes and sometimes not. Make sure your fuel rail isn't jacked up or anything. Trace the lines for dents or cracks.

the car smells very rich, so im thinking that its on the spark end of things. i checked the resistance on my plug wires against the designated specs, and one of the wires was WAY off, and all of them were around 0.4 ohms off..so ive ordered new wires. if that doesnt do it, ill replace the cap, and then look to the fuel side of things...but im sure that at least one of the wires was bad.

my first thought was a fuel delivery issue, but i dont know why a fuel filter would screw up only when its been driven, and then sits for only a short while, and then it misses..then is fine when it cools down.

Its the wires, there are no caps on the 2.0 just a coil pack and they dont go bad very often..

well, the wires should be here today...my fingers are crossed.

dsm1990gsx, so all of the 2.0s have the coil pack, or just the turbo models? i didnt think that it had one, but when i was pricing the wires, they gave me a price on a cap too...maybe for the 1.8? i did specify 2..0 turbo to the guy on the phone...

All 2.0 turbo and non turbo's have a coil pack. The 1.8's have a dist.

so.new ngk plugs and wires didnt help any. for the first time, when i start the engine cold, its missing...its never done it before when the engine was cool. i dont have any idea when the fuel filter was changed last...its on the firewall and isnt too hard to get to...but its so perfectly rhythmic, that i cant imagine it being a filter...thoughts?

i looked all over the engine bay, and really nothing seems out of place...no leaking, etc. the mileage hasnt gotten any worse before it started missing, and when i pulled the plugs, they all looked perfect..a lightish-brown burn to all of them. also, i drove the car twice last week with no problem, and now it wont go away...i started it the other morning, it was fine...i started it now with new plugs and wires, and its missing. one other thing...before, the CEL would only come on when it was sitting idling, as the miss was making the rpms get REALLY low...now, the CEL is on when i start the car, and even with the miss, the cel goes out...:rolleyes: