2001 sputtering in drive

I have a 2001 Cavailer with a 2.2 and 87,000 miles, i've owned it for over 3 years. The other day I was driving about 50 and all the sudden it starts to sputter like its going to die, so I slow down and turn around and head home. The fasted I could get it up to was 35mph. I figured it was the fuel filter so I changed that and it still did it, I took it to the shop and had them check the fuel pump but they said that was working fine and it was not putting out any code. I changed the spark plugs and wire and drove it to my parents house and it ran fine but then on the way back it started sputtering again. It does it at any speed or if its hot or cold start and if you punch down on the gas it will take off and not sputter. Me and my dad changed the coils and it still did it. Then we took it out and put it in reverse and drove down the rode and it ran fine and didn't sputter but you put it in drive and when you run a constant speed it sputters. Would it be the tranny already with only 87k miles???

"Then we took it out and put it in reverse and drove down the rode and it ran fine and didn't sputter but you put it in drive and when you run a constant speed it sputters"

Sounds like the clutch/transmission. You vehicle has problem moving forward, but not in reverse. Before this happened it probably felt a little sluggish accelerating from a stopped position, or even took a moment to slip into gear. The reverse gear uses a different clutch than your forward drive gears, which is why everything was fine in reverse. Another big indicator would be the smell... you can smell burning transmission fluid when you try to go forward. The smell tends to linger a bit.

Below is what my manual suggests for trouble shooting the problem you've described. I would suggest that it's one of the problems in blue text (I could be wrong tho):

1. Worn Camshaft lobes (your car worked fine in reverse)
2. Burned valves or incorrect valve timing (worked fine in reverse)
3. Faulty Spark plug wires/coil (Replaced already)
4. Incorrect spark plug gap (worked fine in reverse)
5. Problem with injector system (worked fine in reverse)
6. Plugged air filter (worked fine in reverse)
7. Brakes binding (I think you would've noticed this... but worth a look)
8. Automatic transaxle fluid level incorrect
9. Clutch slipping
10. Fuel filter clogged/impurities in fuel system (worked fine in reverse)
11. Emission control system not working properly (worked fine in reverse)
12. Low/uneven cylinder compression pressures (worked fine in reverse)
13. Restricted exhaust system (the ol' banana in the tailpipe routine - again, worked fine in reverse)

We are thinking its something with the tranny. Fluid level is fine and I've never noticed any burnt smell from it. Its a 3 speed automatic I forgot to mention. My dad is going to take it to some transmission guy and see what he has to say about it.

We have still yet to figure out the exact problem. We had a guy look at it and said its not the transmission and we have changed O2, TPS, and MAP sensors and still not working. The guy who looked at it said something that he thought it was some sensor on the transmission and that it would be telling it that it is not in the right gear and throwing off the throttle. What sensor would this be, the speed sensor??

It sounds like to me your fuel pump is acting up. You're saying it sputters and won't excellerate like it's running out of gas, right? I'm not saying run out and replace the fuel pump, but I would take a good look at the fuel pump relay, the wiring to the pump, and check the fuel pressure whenever it starts sputtering. With an interminent problem like that you might have to route a fuel guage out the hood and tape it to the windshield.

I had already spent $68 to have a mechanic check the fuel pump and it was working fine. I ordered a speed sensor today so we'll see if its that.

Sorry for the late reply. Man this issue must be frustrating you :banghead:

The guy who looked at it said something that he thought it was some sensor on the transmission and that it would be telling it that it is not in the right gear and throwing off the throttle. What sensor would this be, the speed sensor??

I'm sure you've figured this out already, but it sounds like you're talking about the Automatic Transaxle Input Shaft Speed Sensor (ISS).

What's really sticking with me in this problem is that you stated earlier that your car seemed to work fine in reverse gear... So, if none of these problems happen when you're driving in reverse, that would rule out things like a fuel pump or filter problem, because you're obviously getting enough fuel for your demand in reverse (as you know, fuel pumps/filters work the same no matter which direction you go, and that's probably for the best :lol:). Emission problems are generally ruled out by this too.

The transmission people say your transmission is fine - which is great news, saves you a couple thou. So if you ask me, what's left to concentrate on is sensors and computers... everything that communicates between the transmission and the engine. These can go anytime, anywhere for any reason they please. I'll follow up with another post about that while I get more info together.

Meanwhile, here's some other questions I've got for you:

1. Is your car post any engine/trouble codes on the dash now? Or is nothing registering still? (probably not... but worth a try)

2. How's the idle on your car? Does the engine lope while in idle with tranny in park?

Stick with it... your car will be a collectible sooner than you think :wink:

Hope this is helping

I had already spent $68 to have a mechanic check the fuel pump and it was working fine. I ordered a speed sensor today so we'll see if its that.

What I'm saying is the fuel pump can intermittently cut out before it finally fails. I don't think a speed sensor is going to help. Your automatic is not electronic, except for the lock up and the speedometer. Your shift point are controlled by the TV cable. It didn't sound like your symptoms were the transmision related but I'm not there. Maybe what you call a sputter is different from what I consider it. I would suggest unhooking the torque converter lock up connector at the transmission and see if your sputter goes away.

Here's the basic wiring diagram showing all the connections between your engine systems.

http://s457.photobucket.com/albums/qq294/Fyvle/Automotive/

This tells you what is connected to the transmission, but it doesn't really tell you what each item does or more importantly how it does it. The 'how' is the most important part of troubleshooting... in this case, there are many sensors which could make your engine lope while in drive (and yet it doesn't lope in revers). Knowing how these sensors work will pinpoint the exact sensor to look at and test - not replace - TEST!... like with a multimeter to figure out if the sensor is working properly. Any decent mechanic should have access to all this information, how the sensors work and how to test them...

Otherwise, you're just replacing sensors blindly (like the ISS, TPS, O2 and MAP) and spending a small fortune in hopes of fixing your problem.

Hope this helps.

Just put the speed sensor in and still the same thing. I can sit with it in park and hold what seems like a constant rev(theres no tach) and the idle is smooth. I can floor it and take off and let off the gas and coast and it does not sputter at all but once you try keeping it a constant speed or let up off stomping on the gas it acts like it wants to die. The mechanic tested the fuel pump under a load too and said it was working fine. When my dad had put the TPS sensor in he said it idled really rough, so we put the old one back in. I had seen someone on a forum saying that certain brands of TPS's aren't compatiable and that you need a AC delco one. I haven't had it checked if it is still throwing any codes, I'll do that this weekend.

Why don't you try disconnecting the torque converter lock up connecter at the transmission? It's easy to do and might clear up the sputtering.

Where would that be at exactly? I just went to advanced auto and they said it wasn't throwing any codes.

It's the connecteron the front side of the transmission sort of close the where the transmission mounts to the engine. I think it's a white connecter, you can't miss it.

4 pin connector on the front drivers side? If that's the one your talking about I just tried it and still doing it.

It should be a 2-wire connector I think. It's on the front side of the transmission.

I'm not really seeing anything else like that. Can you find a picture or something of where at it would be because I looked around and that was pretty much the only plug I saw around there.

It might have a 4-way connecter. It's been a long time since I seen dealt with a 3 speed. It's on the side of the transmission so you probably have disconnected it.

If so, I don't know what to tell you. You say there's no codes and you've replaced a lot of parts. and I can't really tell what the car is doing. It sounded like the fuel pump or the torque converter to me. and you say the fuel pump was checked out. I'm a little sceptical of the mechanic's diagnosis because if he knew what he was doing he should've found the problem. Have you tried manually shifting the transmission in 2nd and see if it it sputters?