QuestionHello. My problem seems to manifest itself in several ways. First, when starting the car from cold it immediately stalls out without idling. I need to hold my foot on the gas until it warms up a little. Then the idle is inconsistent with the rpms bobbing up and down (below 1000 rpm), and occasionally stalling. Finally, when driving at a constant speed the car seems to intermittently hesitate for a split second. The rpms don't change according to the tac, and the car remains running. Based on an answer I read in the archive, I took the air cleaner box out and sprayed carb cleaner into the air intake in front of the mass air flow meter, with no change. All of these problems started and have evolved at the same time. Hope you can help me out.
AnswerHave you checked for codes? That is the first thing I always do, even if the CEL has not come on. Some memory codes are stored without the CEL. The stalling at idle sounds like it may be a sticking idle control valve.
Spraying carb cleaner on the MAF is not a good idea, there are products now made for that specific cleaning job that don't leave any residue. Depending on where you sprayed the stuff it may have cleaned the MAF wires and may not. If the engine is started before the cleaner dries it will burn on the wire more than likely.
This engine is also prone to caking on the throttle plate, which can be cleaned with carb cleaner or the same as you would use on the MAF. Another problem we had with them is the PCV hose weakening and either collapsing or cracking causing a vacuum leak. Be sure to check the hose that runs under the battery, those are common for failure.
If you can get codes, and get back to me we can see what else we can do. If there are no codes then let me know, then we'll proceed.
