FAQ: Hesitation, Stutter(Studder), Shudder, Stumbling, on Acceleration/Load

Some trans codes won't trip a SES light either, I had one recently that i stumbled on by accident. Stored in the PCM, but no light.
Just FYI.
Still don't have a clue on your issue, sorry

Plug/Wire. Just do it.

I used AL104's and they have just over 2k miles on them. i'll pull and check, but i dont think that is it.
could be wires, but would it run perfect 99% of the time? i know they are less than 3yrs/20kmi old and are delco wires.

It's under load that plug/wire faults show the most. Wet weather will compound wire problems even more.

It does not sound like a problem with the transmission..and it is probably not. But since you just serviced the transmission you might consider dropping the pan and verifying that the filter is seated properly in the transmission(bushing).

You could reuse the fluid if you drain into a clean container and then use a strainer to remove any debris.

Did you replace the bushing that the filter "snaps" into?

Bert

yes i put in a new bushing. if the filter wasnt all the way in the bushing, how could that translate into driveability problems? i dont know anything about inner workings of transmissions.

thanks for all the help so far guys.

Mr.Riviera wrote:

yes i put in a new bushing. if the filter wasnt all the way in the bushing, how could that translate into driveability problems?

If that were not sealed well, it could be sucking in air with the trans fluid, causing pressure issues elsewhere in the trans, but I would expect slipping, not bucking.

If there's no transmission slipping issue, then I'd rule out the trans. Misfires and bucking is engine related. Under load like the OP mentions is typical of an ignition component.

I would lightly mist the motor while it's idling. If the wires are bad it will run much worse. It is possible the #4 or #6 wires are touching the O2 sensor wiring. if so, that causes it to run poorly.

check coils for cracks tho...on high rpm they may 'leak'
and the spark in sylinders will not be as big as it should be.
clean them and visuali inspect...
if you find crack/or burning mark

think i may have located the problem. I am embarrassed to say this, but it looks as though my front driver side wire came loose from the loom and was being tapped by the cooling fan. not enough to cut through the rubber, but enough to make some marks on it. The wire is lust long enough to swing out and get in the path of the driver side fan. that is my only guess anyways.
i moves the wire out of the way and secured it and i havent had the problem yet.
again thanks for the help and reassurance that it wasnt my tranny dying.

Excellent news!

Bert

It's always the ignition wires!

AA wrote:

It's always the ignition wires!

hopefully anyways

so my new question is...
rockauto has several options for wires.
they list a DELPHI set for $27 as "Actual OE Part"
and a ACDELCO set for $29 and $34. (part # 9746R and 746R respectively)

the set on my car now say delphi on the boots and acdelco on the wire
not a big price difference, is there a quality difference? i dont know why they would have 2 sets of delco unless one is a newer design?

The OEM wires were actually Packard wires. If you can find them, otherwise my experience is 2-3 years from Delco's or Delphi. So if that's what your gonna buy get the lesser expensive of them and replace every 2-3 years depending on mileage and exposure to water, oil, etc.
My next set will be Magnacor's for sure. Will last forever, almost.

Rickw wrote:

The OEM wires were actually Packard wires. If you can find them, otherwise my experience is 2-3 years from Delco's or Delphi. So if that's what your gonna buy get the lesser expensive of them and replace every 2-3 years depending on mileage and exposure to water, oil, etc.
My next set will be Magnacor's for sure. Will last forever, almost.

Good info!

I had been curious if the OE were AC or Packard. The wires on the wifes 99 Riv are Packard. They still have the split tubing on them so I am guessing they are original but have no way to verify.

Bert

If they are numbered 1 thru 6 it's a very good chance they are original.
The replacement Packard's were not to my knowledge. At least the sets of Packard's that I have found from NOS were not numbered.

You also should find the MFG Date on them. May be hidden under the split loom.

They are numbered 1thru 6. I guess I had better plan on replacing them along with the plugs, soon. I will try and find the date codes also, its almost dark out now...

Bert

Mine were original, as well, until last year and had original plugs.
Everything was 10 years old with 80+ k miles on them.
They had just begun to have a slight miss during wet weather.
Any of the Delco's or Delphi's that Ive tried on other vehicles I've never gotten maybe 30K out of them. They just aren't made the same.
I found some inexpensive NOS Packards ( Dated 2005) on-line for the Riv as replacements last year,
But I still want to put Magnacor's on before the winter.

I'm going to revive this relatively old thread, because I have what seems like almost the same issue that Shintsu had. My issue has been going on for probably 1+ years at least now. I will try to detail the problem as well as I can.

Say that I am at a red light and stopped, then it turns green and I go. The car does fine shifting gears and accelerating with no problems that I can feel as I go from 0 to 60+ mph as long as I keep my foot down on the accelerator the entire time. The problem happens when I am already moving, not from a stop. I put my foot on the accelerator, and the car will want to try to shift or accelerate, but even with a little pressure, the car hardly accelerates at all when it definately should be. If I increase pressure on the accelerator, the tach swings from maybe 1500 to 2000, back and forth, as if the car is trying to accelerate but can't. If I take my foot off the pedal for a second then put it back on, the car accelerates fine. This problem seems to happen more often at high speeds than low speeds.

So, last night, I saw this thread and went out to look at the wires. I realized that they were probably original (I am the second owner, so not sure). One was zip-tied to a metal bracket, but I cut the tie and made sure it didn't touch the metal (don't know if this matters), and that didn't do anything to solve the problem. I checked the wires in the dark for coronas and didn't see any... so I'm not sure what to do. According to this thread, I should probably replace my wires? I would buy Magnecors.

I just want to get this done before doing some performance upgrades (finally). Any help with this issue would be awesome. Thanks for reading!

Zach,
In your Sig you mention you have an FWI, use a 3.4 or 3.5 pulley and have a Hogan DP.
Have you ever had any PCM tuning for these mod's and any in depth scanning with tuning software to try and correct the issue.?

No I haven't. A scanner was next on my list to purchase (months away).I don't know anybody around me that has one/knows what they are doing.

EDIT: I may as well mention that I had these issues before installing those parts as well, back when the engine bay was totally stock.

I would try the acdelco wires and a new set of autolite AL104 plugs.
takes all of an hour to install and costs around $45 for everything. if the problem still persists post back here and we will go from there.

Also, clean your Throttle Body and MAF with the appropriate cleaner if you haven't done it in a while.