So I’m driving to work this rainy morning in hilly Western PA. Everything’s going normally then I come to one of the (several) steep hills on my drive. As I’m accelerating up the hill, it feels like the engine is “missing” or skipping. It does this for a while and then is fine. I come to the next hill and it does the same thing. It’s all at the beginning of the hill. It’s not missing at any other time.
My first thought was “uh oh, transmission” but it isn’t like it’s lurching into gear or skipping second and slamming into third. So before I call the shop, I figure I’d shop for some opinions here.
Sounds like its starved for fuel. Maybe the fuel injectors are clogged. Before you make the garage rich it my not hurt to try a can of fuel injector cleaner. It can’t hurt.
When you’re finished with this tank try a different place to get your gas. It seems strange, but it does matter. If you have a lot left to burn, go to the store and get some Drygas or something that clears up water related problems. It’s cheap and harmless, and if that’s your problem it will help.
If that’s not it you need to see a mechanic, but I will say with almost 100% certainty that it’s not your transmission.
Does the same thing happen when you accelerate hard on a level surface? If the problem is a result of the load on the engine (duiring hard accel), that eliminates the angle as a variable.
Fuel pumps, filters and injectors need to flow alot more under load.
To clarify on what Philster said and your response:
Climbing a hill takes a lot of power. Typically at the bottom of the hill you’ve got the accelerator floored or close to it. Typically you would not be accelerating as vigorously on the level. So the question is, does the symptom correspond with going up the hill – even with milder accereration – or does it correspond with foot-to-the-floor acceleration, hill or not?
Missing under heavy load – such as climbing a hill, but also accelerating full bore on the level – could have a number of causes, usually related to fuel delivery (as mentioned by others) or ignition system weakness (spark plugs, plug wires, etc).
Missing only when the car is angled uphill could almost only be caused by a problem with the fuel pickup in the tank. Often it will only occur when the fuel level is below a certain point, and won’t happen with a full tank.
The fuel filter on a 98 Saturn SL2 is hard to find and a bit pricey if I remember. I also had a 98 SL2 and I usually do that sort of maintenance myself, but no parts place could ever give me the right one. I ended up paying some place to do it. It’ll help with your mpg if it is really clogged up.
It only happens when going uphill, which means pedal near the floor, which means heavy load. I’ll try the fuel additives, but I’m not real hopeful. At least I have an idea of what I’m getting into now.
While not as likely as the fuel filter, air filter restictions can cause problems. Before messing with a fuel filter on an injected vehicle, make sure you have the proper tools and know how to safely release stored pressure in a fuel line.
In a bit of typical luck for me, the local mechanic I’ve found who does good work for a good price is on vacation this week. D’oh!!!
So, I figure my only other real option is to take it to the dealer. Which of course means good work but at a pretty high cost (at least that’s been my experience). So I drop it off early this morning and luckily, I get it back today as well. Rather than try to explain, I’ll just go off my receipt:
“Valve cover gasket leaking into spark plugs. Replace gasket, spark plugs and spark plug wires. Engine coolant temperature sensor is cracked and leaking into electrical connector - replaced sensor and connector. Throttle plates sticking due to excessive carbon build up - necessary to clean out throttle system to help fuel economy and engine response”
Additionally, I knew that the engine drive belt was getting waaaay up there in age, so I told them to change it and what the hell, change the oil too.
Ran great coming home and tested it out on several steep hills. Everything was superb. All fixed for the low, low price of $624.21. Where’s the mixed emotions smiley when you need it??
Agreed about a gasket leak in the combustion chamber causing major problems. But, see, the valve cover gasket doesn’t seal the combustion chamber. The head gasket does.
I’m inclined to think they replaced the head gasket, if they noted a leak into the engine. I’ve seen alot of people refer to it as a valve cover gasket (a minor repair). Also, note the charge, consistent with incurring the labor associated with a head gasket job.
I hear ya on the valve cover gasket, but I gotta think it is just called the wrong thing.
No, no, no. A head gasket alone on that car would cost more than the total charge. Look at the whole list: plugs, wires, valve cover gasket, coolant temp sensor & connector, and throttle body cleaning. Taken together, those easily would be in the area of the price mentioned. There’s no way that was a head gasket rather than a valve cover gasket.
I would agree with Rocketeer that the symptom mentioned was almost certainly caused by the plugs or wires, and I would say a 99% chance it was the wires. The other repairs certainly sound justifiable, but not directly related to the specific symptom (oil leaking onto the outside of spark plugs does not generally cause performance problems).