Automatic festy hesitates .....

[Dragonhealer]

Power braking works best (please use reverse, in an open area, in the dark)

[muleskinner]

Did you play with the throttle while spritzing? You'll rarely catch spark leak at idle, there needs to be a load on the engine (like blipping the throttle, or having someone power brake it).

I'm going to try that again, but I'm going to jack the front end up and try it. This is driving me insane, I have replaced everything I can possibly think of and it's still hesitating up the hill where I live, & it stalls out too.
This is what I have done so far.....
-replaced cap and rotor
-wires & spark plugs
-air meter
-fuel filter
-checked fuel tank = clean.
-checked for power loss = ok. I will check again.

[rap]

Have you checked vacuum lines for leaks or cracks? I always try checking cheapest things first & sometimes I get lucky.

[WmWatt]

Here's what the Haynes troubleshooting section has for "engine stumbles on acceleration"...
1. spark plugs fouled
2. problem with fuel injuection system
3. fuel filtre clogged
4. fault in the engine control system
5. intake manifold air leak
6. EGR system malfunction

[muleskinner]

Have you checked vacuum lines for leaks or cracks? I always try checking cheapest things first & sometimes I get lucky.

Here's what the Haynes troubleshooting section has for "engine stumbles on acceleration"...
1. spark plugs fouled
2. problem with fuel injuection system
3. fuel filtre clogged
4. fault in the engine control system
5. intake manifold air leak
6. EGR system malfunction

I will also check into some of those too, thanks!!

[1990new]

Just come questions to try to trigger something:
Does it do OK backing up the hill?

Is the transmission kicking down?

How does it do when you shift manually to 1st.


Does it have a cat? Clogged going up hill?

Does it act the same way when the tank is completely full?

Any difference when the engine is cold vs hot?

[Dragonhealer]

As a last resort, try swaping in a borrowed ECU, at this age, sometimes a board will have cracked solder joints. Not common only found two bad in last 3 years.

[muleskinner]

Just come questions to try to trigger something:
Does it do OK backing up the hill?

Is the transmission kicking down?

How does it do when you shift manually to 1st.


Does it have a cat? Clogged going up hill?

Does it act the same way when the tank is completely full?

Any difference when the engine is cold vs hot?

-It does the same thing backing up a hill.

-No tranny is not kicking down.

-its an auto. I've tried 1st and 2nd gears also. Same thing.

-No cat. It has a fairly new exhaust system.

-Acts the same way when tank is full. When tank is quarter tank left it also hesitates from a stop.

-No difference hot or cold running.