96 Riv S/C Stuttering/Misfiring

Running the motor without the SC belt wont hurt it will it? I thought I seen the coolant pump on the same belt on a diagram..

On second thought, maybe it's best to leave the belt where it is. I've done it before, but if you don't understand how the belts are routed, it is possible to do damage.

I ran my 96 without a sc belt for about a week while I was trying to find time to replace it. sc only on that belt.

Im probably gonna go ahead and do it just go around the block with it, I tried finding a diagram on the forums but with no luck ill probably draw up one before I take it off..

bad thing is you have to take the mount out to get the belt off and out of the engine compartment.
or cut the belt. worst part of these cars imo.

well, that and trying to smoke when it's raining.

Don't cut the belt, just slip it off the crank pulley and tie it clear with zip ties (pull it tight against the motor mount bracket).

kk sounds good.

good thing i got a fresh bag of zip ties

K I removed the Supercharger belt took it for a spin around the block, same symtpoms...

Had someone turn infront of me slowed down, when to accelerate rpms dropped to 1k and stuttered pretty bad let off the gas reapplied got back up to 2k and almost started to stutter but let off the gas just in time to prevent it.

how's the weather? different than it has been at all?
what about gas? different gas station? has this symptom persisted through 2 tanks?

About 45 degrees clear and sunny

Yeah been about 3 tanks of gas, also my trunk lets water in is it possible for it to reach the gas tank from there?

It did run better then with the supercharger but still was able to produce the misfire/stutter

The previous owner did the spark plug replacement Im wondering if he Gap'd em right whats the proper gap? and is their an easy way to reach the back spark plugs

Did the previous owner do the ignition wires, too?

Yup, But I actually bought a new set swapped em same thing, thankfully the guys at autozone let me return them got my $25 back

Note : At start up 90% of the time I have to give it gas or itll just chug then die, also usually a pretty strong gas smell but could be from misfires?

trumbo71 wrote:

Yup, But I actually bought a new set swapped em same thing, thankfully the guys at autozone let me return them got my $25 back

Note : At start up 90% of the time I have to give it gas or itll just chug then die, also usually a pretty strong gas smell but could be from misfires?

Is the starting issue more apparent once the car is warm - i.e on short trips?

Well the car had sat for about a month when the guy sold it to me and when he started it it smoked quite a bit.
Now some mornings Ill hop in itll start as soon as I turn the key, but say 4 hours later when I go on lunch from work ill have to hit the gas again.

But most mornings I do have to hit the gas..
But no it is less apparent when its warm..

The smoke when he started it after a month make me wonder if the LIMs leaking..

And I think I just spotted that my oil pan is bent in, I think the previous owner did it when he changed the serpentine, could that cause a misfire, and Im guessing I should probably replace that..

From what I've seen, most oil pans are dented on older cars. No need to change it unless its cracked or leaking. That wouldn't cause a misfire.

trumbo71 wrote:

Well the car had sat for about a month when the guy sold it to me and when he started it it smoked quite a bit.
Now some mornings Ill hop in itll start as soon as I turn the key, but say 4 hours later when I go on lunch from work ill have to hit the gas again.

But most mornings I do have to hit the gas..
But no it is less apparent when its warm..

The smoke when he started it after a month make me wonder if the LIMs leaking..

And I think I just spotted that my oil pan is bent in, I think the previous owner did it when he changed the serpentine, could that cause a misfire, and Im guessing I should probably replace that..

jacking on the oil pan to change the serp belt will usually leave the oil pan gasket leaking, even if you don't dent the pan.

Just for information, best way around that is to get a short piece of 4x4 (some of you know this as mailbox post) and use it as a block under one or another engine boss in the vicinity of the front (near the crank pulley) of the engine. I forget exactly where though.

On the 97 and later actually you only need to hold the engine in place and remove a bolt and ferrule that are in the lower right corner of the motor mount (wipe the dirt off it will be obvious). You can slip the belt out/in that opening without actually removing any mounts but in order to get the holes to line up right you might need to jack up the engine a little to relieve strain.

There are other posts on this, and also Len Rapkins some time ago posted good info on repacing the morot mounts without spending a $*#@&$( fortune. Basically there are inserts to get from rockauto.com, and you can also get the front mount for a park avenue and swap inserts with the Riv's mount.

So guys Im almost 100% certain its the transmission...

Was driving home from a friends house and decided well, lets try driving it manually switching from gear to gear. Put her in first got on her real good no stuttering, misfiring got to 4k rpms let off the gas put her in second got up to about 4k again no misfiring as of yet or stuttering, put her in 3rd gave it real good throttle and it started to misfire and stutter..

Well hell when I got home I just decided to go around the block, went down the hill from my house getting on her real good no stuttering.. but the first turn from my house is uphill so i tried first was able to get to 4k no misfiring stuttering, switched to second got about 3k maybe lesss and it stuttered not awfully but I could feel it pretty well..

Do transmission problems cause misfiring?

Not necessarily, higher gears result in a greater load on the engine and will cause more of a misfiring problem, which will be amplified if going uphill.

I'd check the plugs before assuming the transmission. As far as I know, the transmission won't cause a missfire.

A transmission has never and never will cause a misfire.......

Hrm doesnt explain the fact that during takeoff with it just in drive it will stutter if i go above 2000rpms but leaving it in 2nd I have no stuttering. Possible somesort of shift regulator in the trans is going bad? Idk what it would be called in the riv..

Possibly the stutter and misfire are unrelated?

There is a PWM Solenoid inside the trans that goes bad occasionally. It will cause a launch shudder, delayed shifts from 2-3, and a "hunting" for overdrive at around 55mph. This would be more noticeable going uphill. I've had to replace mine for the same problem......I'd hook up a scan tool if you have access to one and go drive while monitoring the misfire counter. This will lead you in the right direction.....

That sounds similar to my problems at around 45 itll try to jump into overdrive and go to 1.5k rpms I let off the gas and hit it again and it will be at about 2k if i try to accelerate itll go back to 1.5k it feels like its in too high of a gear when it does it..

Maybe the converter is locking up? Or that solenoid is just plugged with goo?

Quote :

I know the car is misfiring its throwing the codes P0300...

How would the converter or solenoid throw a misfire code?