I just recently had my spark plugs and oil changed. I don't know alot about cars, but in the past couple weeks i've learned a few things....

I had my spark plugs/wires changed to motorcraft's cheapies. I also had my oil switched to a 5w-30 instead of the usual 10-40. I doubt that has much to do with my car problem, but i'm guessing that it would be the plugs/wires.

Here are the problems.

- Car starts cold, idles rough (when gas is applied, the engine feels as if it wants to jump out of the car)

- Car warms up and the rough idle stops.

- Driving, accelerating seems to be ok with occasional chugging. (As I drive more, it seems to get better)

- When going uphill, I can accelerate and hit above 2krpms and the car powers just fine. But it kicks into overdrive, rpms go under 2k and the car starts jumping.. loss of acceleration and service engine soon light comes on. (Had that checked at autozone, they told me it was an emissions sensor)

- Car accelerates fine with occasional jumps on normal roads. When I feel the chugging, I can let go of the gas and hit the gas again to push the rpms back over 2.5k for a few seconds to get the needed power... no chugging during that.


So as a solution I had the spark plugs and wires changed again thinking it was a faulty wire. A cylinder wasn't firing properly or maybe something electronic.... Changed the wires AND plugs (motorcraft again). The car ran ok for 2-3 days and started doing it again.

I went and had the coil and fuel injector replaced, checked all vaccum hoses... seemed to be getting suction. Same problem still. I even went as far as trying upgrading the gasoline... added a mixture to my transmission fluid... nothing, same problem.

I've looked at a few different solutions and problems, some being relatively close on here. The next thing i'm going to do is get the "Prestolite premium wire-kit" for the plugs. Someone mentioned a resistance issue with the wiring. I'll buy them tonight and have them put on, but does anyone else have any advice before I start pouring more cash into the vehicle?

It has 125k miles on it... and the tire pressure is a bit low on one of the fronts. Maybe thats all it is?

Any advice would be appreciated thanks.

No "service engine light"?

I suggest you start with a compression test. Bad results will tell you of a problem inside.
If a compression test checks out, or if you don't have the means to do one, investigate the fuel pump.

Well I did the new wires (prestolite premiums), same thing is happening with the car. Bad chugging when it's idle and still feels like it's missing at low rpms.

I've got it in the shop now to do a diagnostics. I'll get back with the results once I figure out what the problem is. Any more advice, throw it at me.. i'm desperate.

Well I took it in, apparently any lights that had been on were deleted by when I took it into autozone. (Who had no idea what the codes ment for some reason). I'm still having the same issues, but it might not matter too much... I was driving it around and hit a deer.

Now the whole front end is smashed up to the engine itself. It was new years eve night. Everything still runs but the hood looks like an acordian. Surprisingly, the deer got away.

Anyhow, I think this car is about to be scrapped.

I have a similar problem with my 98 escort SE with 120k miles.

When I start the car cold it will run fine until it heats up a bit, then runs like crap, almost like it has a missing cylinder. If I press the gas pedal all the way down it makes no power, if I let it idle it will chug and sometimes die. Then, all of a sudden, it straitens out and I can drive it fine. It does this every single time I start the car cold, if it is hot it will spudder for about 30 seconds then be fine.

The weird thing is if I start it and let it idle it will take long for the chugging to occur than if I were to start it and drive it right away. To me it seems like it has something to do with how hot the engine is to cause this. I’m leaning toward a resistor based sensor somewhere.

I replaced the plugs, wires, fuel filter, air filter, PCV valve, and ran injection cleaner through it. Fuel pressure was good and no vacuum leaks. No check engine light.

If it was a compression issue wouldn't it do it right at start up?

Any help or ideas would be appreciated.

have you checked the cat on it.had a similar problem changed the cat and that seemed to do the trick

Yeah. A plugged cat will do it. A vacuum reading of 16 or less would indicate that.