got a problem...

so yesterday, I was on my way to work, stopped for gas, then headed out.. I get about 5 miles down the road, stop at a stoplight, then start to go, the car shifts from 1st to 2nd, and it slams into 2nd, the whole car shakes, then the same thing from 2nd to 3rd.. it did this every gear change for about 10 miles until I stopped for a drink.. the car must have been off for about 5 min. I came out, and it wasn't doing it anymore.. It was fine all the way to and from work. I checked the tranny fluid, was a little low so I added more.. It was fine all the way to work, and halfway home, started doing it again.. So I pulled over, waited 5 minutes, and it was fine the entire rest of the trip.. so any ideas? plug wires? packs? :/

almost sounds like the trans is getting the wrong info computer

How many miles on your ignition wires?

when I bought the car, the guy said the engine had 16k miles on it, I have no idea if those are the oem wires, and I honestly don't know if he was telling me the truth about the engine, he gave me a receipt, but i don't know.. it didn't look all that legit.. so IF it's the stock 3800, it would be around 187k miles on it, if it WAS a 16k mile engine, i'd say about 25-30k miles

At least inspect the wires real good. Mine looked okay at 105k miles, but the engine shuddered, I thought for sure it was the tranny.

Here's a couple ways to test: 1) See if you can repeat the shudder while watching your boost gauge, or better yet, scan. If it happens only when you go into boost, it's probably wires or maybe coils. Try lightly accelerating to speed. If it shudders with no boost, it may not be spark-related. 2) You can take off the SC belt and tie it off to the side and drive the car. Be careful not to let it touch the other belt or pulleys. When I did this, I could not get it to shudder, no matter how hard I tried. Put the SC belt back on, and it started again.

Good luck!

my girlfriends dad is a mechanic and is going to bring home a scanner tomorrow to check it out, it only seems to happen in low rpm's and i'm pretty sure it's not boosting.. it seems to happen after about an hour of driving, i'm pretty sure it's not tranny related because it's not a constant thing, it's only there like I said after prolonged driving

Could be a computer thing. I had hard shifts and it was my PCM.

codes were 134 and 135, something to do with the o2 sensor, so going to test the sensor tomorrow, if it's bad, i'll replace it, not sure if it's related to my shifts though

If you replace, go with OEM A/.C O2 sensor. Costs more, but better product.

im going to pick it up on monday, aaron does that sound like something the o2 sensor would cause? that's probably been killing my gas milage as well right, any other performance issues that would cause?

Doesn't sound like the O2 would cause your problem, but could be. In your case, the sensor is probably original, so should be replaced anyway. I'd get it out of the way, see if you can get rid of those codes.

AA wrote:

At least inspect the wires real good. Mine looked okay at 105k miles, but the engine shuddered, I thought for sure it was the tranny.

Here's a couple ways to test: 1) See if you can repeat the shudder while watching your boost gauge, or better yet, scan. If it happens only when you go into boost, it's probably wires or maybe coils. Try lightly accelerating to speed. If it shudders with no boost, it may not be spark-related. 2) You can take off the SC belt and tie it off to the side and drive the car. Be careful not to let it touch the other belt or pulleys. When I did this, I could not get it to shudder, no matter how hard I tried. Put the SC belt back on, and it started again.

Good luck!

Same thing happend to me. Only at 75k t hough. I was sure it was the tranny till I found out it was just the wires.

so when I replace the o2 sensor, if the problem still occurs, what should I try next

o2 sensor must have been the problem, in about 100 miles of driving, it hasn't done it again, so i've got my fingers crossed.. i'm going to change the plug wires next just for good measure

still haven't replaced my spark plug wires, but the other day, i was going wot with a stang, got home, car sat for maybe an hour, then i drove it again and now when i go wot, and my car shifts, the shifts are soooooo delayed, and it bogs down right before the shift.. also around 60-70, at a steady 2k rpm, ill get a shudder for a couple of seconds, then it's gone? does this sound like plug wires, or anyone else have other ideas?

IF, and I mean if this is the shudder I get occasionally on my Impala 3.4 (and used to get on my riv) then its not the plugs or wires.

But going off your description I can't really tell you much.

But it could be a misfire you feel being problem of the plugs or wires.

If you go WOT at an awkward time for the trans, it will act funny. If I hit the gas during this time, it will kind of bog and then complete the shift and usually pretty hard like with a shift kit. Automatics simply cannot be fully prepared for every move at all times. It shouldn't behave like this consistently though. BTW to prevent that for race situations, just downshift before you go WOT.

Your issue doesn't really seem like something that the wires would be responsible for but you might as well replace them for the sake of good upkeep if nothing else. They aren't very expensive like 35 bucks for decent aftermarket.

turtleman wrote:

If you go WOT at an awkward time for the trans, it will act funny. If I hit the gas during this time, it will kind of bog and then complete the shift and usually pretty hard like with a shift kit. Automatics simply cannot be fully prepared for every move at all times. It shouldn't behave like this consistently though. BTW to prevent that for race situations, just downshift before you go WOT.

Your issue doesn't really seem like something that the wires would be responsible for but you might as well replace them for the sake of good upkeep if nothing else. They aren't very expensive like 35 bucks for decent aftermarket.

the coils and plugs play a huge part in misfires and smooth running. If the plugs r new, check them, and then replace the wires. OEM are the best. if its still there, inspect the coils. any check engine lights?

I still say it's the wires, especially if it's happening while in boost. You say it happens at low RPM, but it's common to be in boost at low RPM if the load is great (TCC locked, going up a ramp, etc). I'd replace them and get it out of the way.

alright.. ill check the plugs, and wires are on the list.. are those 80+ dollar wires worth buying? like the taylor and msd and all that.. is it really worth the price or are u just buying the name/color

anyone?

RhinoFLA wrote:

anyone?

Don't waste your money, go with AC Delco wires from the dealer.

it depends on the price. On my Roadmaster, new MSD 8.5s were cheaper than all the other brands. Taylors were also cheaper than OEM for the RM. You can often pick up some nice wires on ebay or other forums for cheaper than OEM or OEM replacement.

What I like about OEM is mine lasted approx 110k miles, and I must've removed and installed them over a dozen times over the 3 year period. My experience with some aftermarkets (not MSD or Taylor) is they don't like being taken on and off frequently.