OK first the data:
2000 Isuzu Rodeo, 4WD, V6, 3.2 liter engine. I just bought it two weeks ago, took it to a mechanic beforehand to get a clean bill of health (a mechanic that I trust, of course) and plopped down the money. I have a warranty so I will be getting it fixed as soon as I have the time (next week some time), just looking for ideas.
Every once in a while, it will stall when I’m driving slowly, first or second gear. Because it has happened a few times, I have noticed something of a pattern:
It is almost always a while after I’ve been driving, and I am very particular about letting the car warm up well before driving so I don’t that’s an issue.
After a few traffic lights, stop signs, etc., as I downshift into second or first, I can feel the shifter starting to “wobble”, and I can hear the engine sounding very spluttery - almost like a low-octane type rattle, but not quite so tinny a sound. If I watch the tachometer, the needle will dive to 0, and struggle at the bottom of the dial before finally conking out. Sometimes, it will restart right away, but more often, it takes a try or two before firing up again, but it always does just fire up again, and usually, that’s the end of the problem. Today, it’s been a little bit worse. Drove around on various errands for two hours, not a problem. Then, as I was stopping at a light, I felt the shifter wobble, and it was the same situation. I got the car restarted, but it still wasn’t running smoothly, and continued making the very spluttery sound. I drove to the bank, which was around the corner, and let it run for a minute to see what it would do. It continued to splutter, (it just now occurs to me that the word I actually want is “sputter” but I have decided that I quite like “splutter” in its stead) so I shut the car off for a few minutes. Restarted the car, and she was running just as smoothly as I could ever hope for.
The problem came back later in the day.
If it weren’t for the fact that the car is usually actually in motion when it dies, I would assume that I was having a hard time adjusting to the clutch, but it is almost always as I’m slowing down, or after I’ve taken off.
My initial uninformed guess is something like a clogged fuel injector line or a faulty spark plug wire, or something along those lines. I’m hoping someone more educated in such matters will be able to give me some idea as to what I’m looking at. I did buy some fuel injector cleaner, and am waiting until I fill up to put it in (as directed on the bottle). Any thoughts in the meantime are welcome.