hey everybody, my 99 GS is ideling very low and chopy (esp when i turn on the air). also whenever im at an idle and i hit the gas to quick or to hard it will studder for a good 2-3 seconds before it finally revs up. also... if im going for ex. 40 in 5th and i hit the gas to accelerate it will do the same studder thing before very very slowly accelerating. i realize that if you take to low of a speed in to high of a gear that it will do this to an extent but not this bad. now my friend who is a mechanic says that im runnin rich so i bought a cold air intake to try to get some more air to my engine but that's not it... could it be my O2 sensor???? help please.

 

You should have gone with the o2 sensor before the CAI. the CAI isn't going to send much more air into the engine. It's meant to send COLDER air into the engine. So you'd still run rich. Not only that but think about it. There's a sensor on the intake telling the computer that you're shoving MORE air into the engine so with the other sensor faulty what's going to happen? The computer will merely run the engine richer than it already is to compensate for the increase in air. I'd say check your o2 sensors (There are probably 2 of them if not 3). Take each one out and look at it. If the tip is black or crusty then it's likely bad just due to carbon buildup. Replace the ones that are like that and see if it fixes the problem. Also is the check engine light on? Usually a bad O2 sensor will throw a code that will tell you a more specific area that needs help. Keep us informed as to what's happeneing and we'll try to get your car runnin right again.

 

there is no CEL on, BUT if i hit the gas real quick off the idle and it skips and spudders, and i do that for a good 3 or 4 seconds it will come on but won't stay on. i just went to advanced auto to check it out but they said the diag. is fine on it. he said to check the sensor also, if not that mabey a bad coil... so i'll check the sensors tomorrow and hopefully replace them.

 

I'd say check the sensors first they'll be the cheaper fix. Though the coil starting to go bad sometimes doesn't give the CEL... I've seent hat one happen as well... Worst case scenario you've replaced all 3 parts... Then the car runs more efficiently and you don't have to worry about them later

 

how much are cells??? and what do you mean all 3 parts? it's just the o2 sensor and the cell right? where is the 3rd part?? thanks

 

No no CEL = Check Engine Light. The 3 parts I was refering to the 2 02 sensors and the coil. That would be my starting point. I would also run a fuel system cleaner though the car (Usually a liquid added to the gas when you fill up next) and possibly clean the intake. Take the intake pipe off the intake and spray carb cleaner on the butterfly valve (There is likely a bunch of black stuff which is carbon buildup in that area) then take an old toothbrush and scrub it. Push the butterfly valve open and scrub under and above it then take a clean rag and wipe it all out really good. When you start it next it MAY take a few tries to start because of the cleaner but don't freak out it's normal. That should help the performance a bit.

 

i've already run the fuel cleaner but im gonnna go ahead and spray the carb cleaner tomorrow seeming how my car is being fixed from my dad's drunken friend backing into it... not even a 1 week old paint job and i already had an accident for over 500... very gay, there goes my exahust system i was plannig on gettin for x-mas. aight but when i get my car back tomorrow i'll run the carb cleaner throug it, and brush it then let yall know. thanks.

 

FIXED!!!!! thanks for the help "Sanguinius" i finally found the problem, when it was in an idle it had a solid skip of a cylinder every time that you could hear so i thought it was something to do with my spark somewhere, so i replaced my distributer coil, well when i took my plug wires off, 2 of the lil plug things on the coil were completely covered with what looked like tha build up crap on an old battery. well i replaced the coil and the plug wires and it runs like a dream now

 

Interesting... No CEL whith a miss in a cylinder... Well at least the problem has been found and fixed. Good to hear she's running like a dream now.