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98 2.5 studder


jschneider13

New Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2010
Messages
4
City
Corvallis Oregon
Vehicle Year
1998
Transmission
Manual
I should start off by saying im 24 and a full time mechanic. been working on cars my whole life... and nothing seems to surprise me anymore...

On my way to work the other morning i noticed that under light throttle in 3rd or 2nd gear, i had a studder..so may even say a stumble. I bought the truck not long ago with 130k mi on it. i figure its gotta be plugs a wires (as we all know how fun plugs are on a 2.5) so i pull the trunk into my bay, pop the hood, and start looking for answers.

everything seems ok.. maf sensor, cam and crank are both within tolerances. idle air solenoid working like a charm. O2 sensors pass. good pressure at the rail under throttle load. new fuel filter. ignition coil packs are performing like new. battery and alt are fine producing a steady Voltage. stumped right....wrong!!!!!

I'm the first to admit im kinda embarrassed, but im using this post as a "dont over look the small things" heres what the problem was...


with over $24,000 in tools and scanners at my disposal...my frustration is what solved this...

stumped, i leaned over the front of my truck in a moment and temporary defeat. placed on hand on my battery, the other by the ignition packs...."click" my hand seated a plug wire on the #2 cyl to the coil pack, stumble is gone.


I should have looked there. even writing this out has made me feel even more.....disappointed in myself. i pride myself in being able to find a problem quickly and accurately. It just goes to show, you can be a weekend warrior, or do this everyday....dont over look the small stuff. slow down and with method say to yourself "ok, whats next in this system?" my order of operation should have been as follows....


1.Charging system (2 seconds to perform check, simply turn the head lights and fan on, at idle you should be above 12.6 volts at the battery. apply a load and see that the alternator can keep up with the demand.)

2.maf signal

3.plug wires and signal strength, plugs if evidence leads you in there, on a 2.5 its ridiculously difficult, on all other cars, just replace them.

4.coil pack signal

5.fuel pressure

6. cam crank and o2 sensors

7. my mind and ability:)


long story short, what should have taken me 20 mins to find and fix, took me over 2 hours...simply because i over looked something, and just assumed the wires were tight..
 
Throttle Position Sensor...

I had the exact same problem in my '89 2.9L that i just put a rebuilt engine in less than 12000km ago. I tried plugs, wire, cap, rotor everything.. but finally figured it had to be the TPS, cause there was no problems idling or driving heavier on the throttle... only light throttle had issues.
The TPS was a $50 part and replaced it in about 10min last weekend and no more studder.

Not sure if it would be the same on your truck, but sounds like the same problem I was having.
 

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