Stumble/ misfire/ stuttering acceleration feeling?

wago_danwago_dan Wagonist
in Engine & Drivetrain
My car has started doing this strange intermittent stuttering feeling thing. It does it at idle, and as I'm driving. there are no check engine lights and it only does it after the car reaches normal operating temp.
Car is an 88 wagon with a 95 d16z6, obd1 and auto tranny (car does the stumbles while in gear AND with the car in park or neutral)

I tested and cleaned the IACV, TPS and installed a throttle body that has no FITV and the problem is still present.

Thanks in advance.
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Comments

  • wes wagonwes wagon Band Wagon
    Distributor, ignition? If it's happening once the engine comes up to temp it could mean that some part is expanding slightly due to the heat, the intake manifold for example, and it's causing just enough of a gasket leak to cause rough running.
  • bigluelokbigluelok Wagonist
    ground wires got good connection?
  • asoaso Band Wagon
    sounds like possible blown head gasket. mine also does this sometimes when it warms up. i have a misfire on cyl 1 theres not water in the oil and vise versa and when your running on 3 cylinders your cars not going to want to go without a fight.
  • wago_danwago_dan Wagonist
    Headgasket has replaced when we installed the new motor, and compression is 160ish across the board.grounds are good as tested with a voltimeter. Could a bad distributor cause this?
  • wagodizzlewagodizzle Council Member and EDM expert
    distributors are infamous for going bad on Honda. i would test that as it is almost always the problem, ha
  • jb2wheelsjb2wheels Wagonist
    My stock DPFI 90 wagon did this or something similar. Something in the distributor taking a dump. I put another distributor in and problem solved.
    I'm tempted to keep one in the spare tire well as a spare with the estra main relay. 10 minutes to change.
  • wago_danwago_dan Wagonist
    So car is still acting up and now its throwing a CEL for O2 sensor. replaced sensor and checked all wiring for it. still throws code. stumble is worse than ever. Any body local to Escondido with a spare good distributor? I would hate to buy a new one just to have that not be the problem. Again, random and intermittent at all rpm and throttle position, but ONLY after the car is at operating temp...
  • mistahjoemistahjoe New Wagonist
    My wago does that sometimes also, replaced the O2 sensor and it still throws codes - sometimes... I've read it a possible bad cat?

    I'm in san marcos - but don't have a spare distributor. You can try mine?
  • vtecn8ivevtecn8ive Senior Wagonist
    How are your spark plugs looking? It'll tell you what's going on with your combustion.

    Possibly a bad ecu. Also if you have a dvom you can run checks on your dizzy fairly easy. Whenever I put in new motors or get a new car one of the first things I do is a tuneup (plugs, wires, caps, rotors). Not sure if you did. Something to check out.
  • wago_danwago_dan Wagonist
    Going to get a dizzy today. Plugs, wires, and current cap and rotor were all replaced when we put the new motor in. Plugs are properly gapped and appear equal, wire show same resistance while ohming. Distributor is about all that's left... oh, and I checked tps voltage through it range of motion... all good.
  • wago_danwago_dan Wagonist
    New Distributor, same old stumble/misfire/stutter feeling.
    Faulty injector/injectors or fuel pump?
  • dukevonDANKdukevonDANK Wagonist
    Instead of dropping more loot...

    Replace cap, rotor, plugs, maybe even wires if you have the extra cash.

    Had the same problem with my Mom's Oddessy, and my neighbor's EG.

    Cheaper than a distributor. Coils and control modules are the reason distributors are so expensive, so if you can determine that it's either, then a new distributor is in your future; and they come with new cap ($15) rotor ($12) module ($76ish) and coil ($60) > $125 for whole new distributor versus rebuilding
  • wago_danwago_dan Wagonist
    Thanks, but please refer to post #11
  • LayspeedLayspeed Wagonist
    So when you start your car up cold first thing, it runs perfect? Check for vacuum leaks around the intake manifold gasket. And just because parts are new doesn't mean they still can't be faulty. Spark plug wires for instance can have good resistance but cracks or pin holes in the rubber boots which would allow arcing to occur causing misfires. Can you isolate a cylinder by pulling plug wires one at a time while the engine is running and see if anything changes. If there is no change when you "kill" a cylinder, that's where you investigate further.
  • subli67subli67 Band Wagon
    distributer
  • dukevonDANKdukevonDANK Wagonist
    wago_dan wrote:
    Thanks, but please refer to post #11

    ehhh woops... :oops:
  • PeterPansWagovanPeterPansWagovan Wagonist
    wheres the timing adjustment on your distributer set? too advanced/retarded could cause this with any minor vacuum leak, test your check valve on going to your master, its pretty easy, just blow the opposite direction of the arrow, dont blow hard. check your fpr (fuel pressure regulator) also, just pull the vacuum line coming from it and smell it for any gas, it mightve gone bad causing your fuel pressure to drop under load.. thats all i got for now, too bad you are not in Az, could help you out on the spot, my wagon did the same thing for awhile, changed the fpr and fuel filter and was good to go
  • wago_danwago_dan Wagonist
    Fuel pressure regulator solved the stumble at acceleration but it has the same random stutter at idle?! seams fuel related.. Pump? TIming is dead on as per the manual. check valve for BMC is good. Fuel filter was installed new with the engine.
  • PeterPansWagovanPeterPansWagovan Wagonist
    Is it a stutter or a fluctuation of a few hundred RPMs? If its a fluctuation, pull your IACV and clean it with ChemTool or carb cleaner, pull it all the way out and disassemble it fully then spray away .. Glad to see that the FPR fixed the acceleration issue. Hopefully the IACV is your idle problem since it is a fairly common and cheap issue on hondas. Other then the IAC i would recommend putting a known good distributor in it if you have one laying about, or if you want to invest $150 smartly and test the issue at the same time, head to autozone and pick one up, comes with a lifetime warranty, cant really go too wrong there. ;D
  • wago_danwago_dan Wagonist
    I replaced the distributor with a known good diz. Had exactly the same issue after bring it into time. At idle it is a random dip dip dip to a point of almost stalling, but then recovers.
  • PeterPansWagovanPeterPansWagovan Wagonist
    Hrm. Did you pull out your IACV and clean it? Any check engine codes popping up?
  • wago_danwago_dan Wagonist
    No cels and I tore the iacv apart, carb cleanered and reinstalled.
  • PeterPansWagovanPeterPansWagovan Wagonist
    And the TPS tested cleanly? Might be worth the effort of double checking with a new one, other then that i would check all vacuum lines running around your intake, im not 100% sure if the MAP sensor would do that, but again, if you have a known good one then have at it. Check the wiring for your o2 sensor, make sure its intact. Good luck bud
  • wago_danwago_dan Wagonist
    Another weird side effect of swapping the fpr. I am getting 75 more miles per tank now?!
  • leWolfleWolf Senior Wagonist
    wago_dan wrote:
    Another weird side effect of swapping the fpr. I am getting 75 more miles per tank now?!
    Your FPR isnt flooding out your engine now, and extra mileage is a good thing though!
  • wago_danwago_dan Wagonist
    Thats whats strange.. the misfire feels like a lean fuel issue, but this points to a flooding misfire? Also another thing I've noticed. I recently went to my home town where the temp isn't higher than 60ish. the car acts just fine up here(higher elevation, lower temp) Than San Diego (higher temp, lower elevation) could the IAT effect the car this severely?
  • PeterPansWagovanPeterPansWagovan Wagonist
    Changed your spark plugs lately? Might be that simple, pick up some new ones if you havnt, grab some plug wires too
  • wago_danwago_dan Wagonist
    Changed them when I put the new motor in. Wires are new also. I got the stumble at idle so I pulled each plug wire individually to see if I could issolate a particular cylinder that was causing it. All cylinder showed the same result with no change in the stummble. =(
  • PeterPansWagovanPeterPansWagovan Wagonist
    How low is your idle set? Check all of your vacuum lines, pull them off and visually inspect each end, if theres any cracks change that line .. running out of things to diagnose with, its kind of a bitch, but let me know what you find.
  • jkwanusjkwanus New Wagonist
    wago_dan wrote:
    New Distributor, same old stumble/misfire/stutter feeling.
    Faulty injector/injectors or fuel pump?

    My wagon has same problem and I also suspect faulty injector. Did you fix it? Is it becasue of faulty injectors?
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