Hope you guys can help with this.

I'm driving a 1991 Cavalier 2.2 base model. Great little cherry with 57,800 original miles on it. I purchased this vehicle almost 2 years ago with 25,000 miles on the clock. At that time, I tossed new brakes on it and replaced the plugs and had my dealership complete a full transmission service and replace the rear engine mounts. The plug wires were in perfect condition. Since then I've replaced the alternator and changed the oil/rotated tires at normal 3000 mile intervals.

For the past week the car is giving me trouble. The idle is extremely rough when I'm in Drive and sitting in traffic. When I attempt to accelerate from a stop, the car won't respond. I can sit there pounding on the gas for sometimes 5 or 6 seconds and it won't accelerate. Finally, it will suddenly get gas and take off. When moving the car runs like a top, no problem. If I slow down to an idle and sit for any signficiant amount of time, it will reoccur. I'm worried I'm going to get killed if this happens at the wrong time.

I'd hate to bring this to a local shop for a diagnosis (local guys have screwed me in the past) and my dealership isn't open on Saturdays. I'm going to try some Fuel Injector cleaning stuff from the Auto store today and see if that helps. Anyone have any suggestings or experience with this?

Thanks

check your fuel filter is might be clogged.... or even your throttle cable might need to be re adjusted..

check your fuel filter is might be clogged.... or even your throttle cable might need to be re adjusted..

Okay, I'll add that onto the list of things to try after the fuel injector cleaner later today. Thanks for the input.

I'll be sure to post what the resolution is, if I find one.

Changed the air filter lately?

Changed the air filter lately?

The air filter was changed during that initial maintenance but I don't recall changing the air filter since then. I recall checking it around April and it looked squeaky clean.

I'll add that to my list, thanks.

Sounds like the Throtle Position Sensor.

Sounds like the Throtle Position Sensor.

I've read of that in other forums. I'll keep that one in mind.

I've filled the tank and dropped in some STP Fuel System Cleaner and tossed in a new FRAM air filter. It seemed to run better for the 3 blocks I drove but I'm going to check all the fluids when the car cools then head out for a spin and see how it is.

I'll let you guys know, thanks for all the help so far.

you might as well pop your aic valve off and clean er up.. clean clean clean! dirty fuel ERG! im going to start payin for premium!!

you might as well pop your aic valve off and clean er up.. clean clean clean! dirty fuel ERG! im going to start payin for premium!!
Actually I read on here that a higher grade gas will burn cooler and increase carbon.Where a lower grade will burn hotter and decrease carbon.

could be the head gasket.. I know how to change them if you need help...

no..seriously... I had a 95 Altima that did the same thing.... I put in new spark plugs and it worked great... Start with the cheap stuff and go from there...

hah, it could be your spark plug gap.. a dime should go thru with a little bit of friction

Hey guys, thanks for all the responses....

Well I replaced the Air Filter (it was dark but I've seen worse) and ran some STP Fuel System Treatment through the car. It ran without a problem for that entire tank of gas.

Now, with the new tank of gas the problems have arisen and are worse. Now the car will most definitely stall out if I don't keep my foot slightly on the gas. (it will start up instantly after a stall without a hitch, though. It also doesn't stall in Park and runs smooth when it's cold.)

If the car begins to stall out and I lay on the gas, it doesn't respond. However, it seems pumping the gas pedal heavily will almost always bring the car out of it.

I brought it to the local service station on this past Saturday, had him replace the serpentine belt (it squealed pretty bad in the rain) and the fuel filter as well as change the oil (500 miles early). The mechanic said the filter looked like it had only normal wear.

I don't see any difference since that maintenance. I'm constantly forced to keep my foot on the gas when crawling in traffic or standing still. I've been going into work early and leaving late to avoid rush hour traffic. (Rush hour in NY + stalled vehicle = certain death and/or assault by other drivers)

Could this be resolved by just adjusting my idle up a notch? Maybe this is a problem with my fuel pump, can it be a fuel pump if it only dies at low revs?

I'm going to run the Fuel Treatment through again and make sure that still works. If so, then should I check out the Fuel Injectors and/or Fuel Pump? Should I look deeper than just the fuel system?

sounds like IAC valve,they get stuck and cant move from all the carbon build-up.take it off (2-screws) spray carb/choke cleaner on it and wipe off with a rag (being careful not to push pindle in) repeat a few times,then spray some into hole where it goes,probly have to do it afew times.i would not try adjusting idle,that would just lead to more problems.

Well, I took tomorrow morning off and made an appointment with my local dealership for service. I'm a former employee there and I know them well. I'm confident they'll find the problem.

Hopefully it doesn't cost me a fortune, otherwise I'll walk out with a newer Cavalier. :-O

So I spent an entire day at the dealership and the car didn't stall on them once. They couldn't reproduce the problem and the car didn't show any codes.

Hoping this would help, they unplugged a cable that was linked to a solenoid in my transmission. They said I should drive the car for a week with that disconnected and that if the problem stops, the solenoid needs to be replaced.

The very next day it continued to stall out on me when it's sitting still or running without my foot on the gas, just as before.

My oil pressure gauge has always been finnicky on the car, even before I started having trouble. It would float up and down when my foot was on the gas. If the car is sitting still and has warmed up, the gauge runs to the bottom and the "Check Gauges" light comes on. When I brought this gauge up to the dealer months ago, they said it was nothing more than a bad guage. The car now sputters when that gauge hits the bottom, I'm thinking the dealer was wrong.

I ran STP fuel injector/carburator cleaner through the new tank of gas this morning, I also use 89 octane instead of the cheaper stuff. No immediate improvement but I'll see how it is on the way home from work.

dude, im telling you its probly the IAC valve,did you try that? its causing your engine to idle too low & thats why your oil press is dropping its probly only carrying abou 2-3 psi @ around 4-500 rpm which is throwing the check gauges light.try cleaning it (hell its only like a buck for a can of carb cleaner)

PROBABLY! Mine would idle but was unresponsive on accel., cleaned the IAC and no more probs.

After driving for over a week without my Tranny Solenoid connected, I've pretty much ruled that out. I spoke with my local service station again (once again, he drove it around the parking lot and it didn't stall out on him) and he said,

"I know what it is, it's da switch for the transmission solenoid."

I then informed him that the Solenoid has been disconnected for a week. He told me to go home, reconnect it when the car was hot then disconnect it in the morning when the car is cold. He said sometimes the switch can stay open if it's disconnected when the car is hot?

As I expected, it didn't make a difference.

dude, im telling you its probly the IAC valve,did you try that? its causing your engine to idle too low & thats why your oil press is dropping its probly only carrying abou 2-3 psi @ around 4-500 rpm which is throwing the check gauges light.try cleaning it (hell its only like a buck for a can of carb cleaner)

Okay, I'll try to clean the IAC valve. I see your earlier post (below) but it doesn't really describe where the IAC valve is. Can you give me an idea of where I can find that valve and how I remove it/clean it including the tools needed?

My hands-on experience doesn't go much farther than doing my own oil change although I have a basic understanding of the visible parts of an engine and can point them out. (6 years Chevy sales management)

sounds like IAC valve,they get stuck and cant move from all the carbon build-up.take it off (2-screws) spray carb/choke cleaner on it and wipe off with a rag (being careful not to push pindle in) repeat a few times,then spray some into hole where it goes,probly have to do it afew times.i would not try adjusting idle,that would just lead to more problems.

It's right in the middle of the upper intake madifold/throttle body, on the back. It's black and round and has two screws (star heads) and a wire harness. It comes straight out from the back. Make sure not to push in the pindle on the IAC and don't forget to clean out the hole on the manifold.

It's right in the middle of the upper intake madifold/throttle body, on the back. It's black and round and has two screws (star heads) and a wire harness. It comes straight out from the back. Make sure not to push in the pindle on the IAC and don't forget to clean out the hole on the manifold.
yeah,on the 2.2,the throttlebody is right on top,back towards the firewall;just follow the black tube from the airbox to the throttlebody;now on the opposite side of the throttlebody there is a silver/black round piece w/a 3-wire plug -plugged into it(thats yur IAC sensor),take the plug off,unscrew the 2-star screws out,& pull out the sensor (becarefull not to drop rubber o-ring from sensor).when reinstalling the sensor put a light film of oil on o-ring to make it slide in easier. ...this really is an easy job,& dont worry you cant screw anything up,even if you do accidently push the pindle in a little,the computer will reset it after a few minutes:good luck,this should cure yur problem,im sure

I opened the hood and found the IAC Valve last night. Unfortunately I lack the tools and daylight to work on this car. My plan was to go out and buy the tool needed to unscrew that Valve and work on it Saturday.

It was 20 degrees here in NY this morning the car was running the worst it every has. I could barely get up the block with it. I brought it straight to the dealership and rented a car.

After looking at it all day, the car hasn't given them any codes. They do admit the car "is running like shit" but they aren't sure why. (They don't have any books that go back as far as 1991) The mechanic working on the car has seen Fuel Pumps cause this problem before and said it might be worth a shot.

The job will cost $300 and the part must be ordered.

I insisted they take out the IAC Valve and clean it/check it to make sure it's functioning properly then if that doesn't work, to order the fuel pump. We'll see how it turns out.

I have access to their back shop after hours, I should buy the F'ing tool and go in there to check it myself!

Well they checked the IAC Valve and it was clean. The wiring to the valve was aok as well.

They replaced the fuel pump and that didn't solve the problem either. I'm going to pick it up later, hopefully I can make it home.

you need tps

The solenoid is just the lock-out on the Torque converter which saves gas on the highway but it should have even come on in traffic! You definitely have low fuel pressure or an ignition proble. Try cleaning all of the connections at the starte motor with sandpaper. Also how old is the O2 sensor if it's shot it may be sending a bad signal to the ECU causing it to lean out and you will lose power!

i have a 97 2.2 cav and mine is doing the same thing. i have replaced the plugs, plug wires, air filter, fuel filter, and the throttle position sensor. Later i took it to a shop and they cleaned out my throttle body and it was pretty gummy with sticky soot looking stuff. the car ran better but still the stalling and the sputtering after warmed up and now it just stalls. i wish i had found this forum sooner. now i am going to try to clean the iac. if that doesnt work im going to replace the coil packs as my cav has like 150,000 miles

In case anyone wondered, a few weeks ago my car was sucking coolant and started to overheat on the way to work.

I brought it to the shop and they said that my radiator was rotted out at one side and leaking badly. I had them put a brand new radiator in the car and now it runs beautifully, hasn't stalled once on me.

The car still vibrates a bit at idle, but that could just be bad engine mounts.