please help me diagnose a problem

[schuey]

hi everyone...i am very poor and taking my car in is kind of a last resort for me so i wanted to post here and see if someone could help me at least diagnose a problem i'm having.

i have a 97 saturn sc-2..i'm not sure if that helps or not but there it is.

earlier this week, i noticed that when i was driving home from work and i just wanted my car to coast for a few seconds so i would take my foot off the gas pedal, my RPM needle would kinda jump up a little bit and my car wouldn't slow down...it would either stay the same speed (like i had cruise control on) or accelerate one or two mph.

then i noticed that when i hit my brake, the sound of my heat coming out became more quiet.

and also, when i'm braking (and also right after i have put my car in park), my RPM needle lurches forward and you can hear my engine make a sound like it wants to go faster.

i am NOT having any trouble braking, just experiencing weird things when i do brake.

and yesterday while i was stopped at a stoplight, my car just completely quit running, it just stopped. i turned it on again, and it stopped after 3 seconds. i gave it 10-15 seconds, turned it on again and it stayed on but everytime i had to come to a complete stop, it would run VERY quietly like it was going to die.

so i went to the gas station and put a bottle of the fuel injector and carborator cleaning fluid into my gas tank and then drove the highway for 20 miles. now, the only problem i'm experiencing is the braking and stopping issue. whenever my car is braking or in park, the RPM needle jumps up and the engine makes a sound like it would make if i had just hit the gas pedal.

what is causing this and what can i do to fix it? please PLEASE help. thanks.

[72DEMOLITION]

cHECK FOR A VACCUMM LEAK

[romabimmer]

Yep, sounds like a vacuum issue to me.

Check all the vacuum connections on the manifold. Check the vacuum line on the brake booster and check the NRV (non-return valve, aka check valve) on the brake booster. You can check the NRV simply by reomoving it and blowing through it, blowing through the end on the hose should allow air out the other end, blowing the the part inside the booster should not allow air out the other end. Also smell it for gas.

[72DEMOLITION]

just take a propane tank like in the camping section of wal mart and spray along all possible leaks like hoses, intake manifold, brake booster and so on with the engine running when you hear the idle raise up quite a bit you found the leak. Carb and choke cleaner also works but I wouldnt really reccomend it it is not as safe. Glad I could help.

[72DEMOLITION]

I was just gonna tell ya thet I had a car in the shop one time with loose throttle body bolts so it was suckin air through and doing the same thing yours is I forgot to mention that earlier SORRY.

[Chris1337]

Yep. sounds like a vacuum leak.. while your at it, you might want to do a tune-up also.. the lack of a tune-up (rotor, plugs, wires, and cap) could be causing it to shut off when your at a stop.