sputtering at acceleration and on uphill loads

2002 lincoln ls 3.9v8- been sputtering for a couple of months but no codes til last night. Finally after last night on interstate passed car and it started sputtering til i got back to normal speed drive speed. got off exit and it acted like it wanted to cut off but didnt. its also got kinda of a smell one guy at Autozone said it was catalytic converter before he put computer to it. anytime under accel or uphill the car wants to sputter and misss. went to 2 diffrent Autozones one gave me code of P1336 and P1121. went today the other one gave me code of P1121 and that they couldnt tell me what it was said i need to take it to dealership to diagnois. P1336=cam sensor, P1121=TP sensor or dealership.

forgot question does this sound like TPS p1121, cam sensor p1336 or coils failing no code?

Welcome to the forum!

Per the factory service manual:
P1121 - Throttle Position (TP) Sensor Inconsistent with MAF Sensor.
Possible causes:
- Air leak between MAF sensor and throttle body
- TP sensor not seated properly
- Damaged TP sensor
- Damaged MAF sensor

P1336 - CKP and or CMP Input Signal to PCM Concerns
Possible causes:
- Damaged PCM
- Damaged CKP sensor
- Damaged CMP sensor
- Base engine
- Harness concerns.

Sadly these are not real common diagnostic codes on the 2002 LS with the cable driven throttle body, and there isn't an obvious tie between the two diagnostic codes. I would probably start by replacing the spark plugs and carefully checking the coils for signs of water or oil in the process. A bad coil might be introducing noise on the signals for the PCM. I'd also interrogate the battery and make sure it handles the load of the starter well and check the internal resistance of the battery. If all that checks out, then you can check the function of the TP sensor using a voltmeter and backprobing the wires.

-Rod

Interesting, I have the same car and am having the same problem as described on the original post. The car will misfire under a load, only way to make it stop is to make it kickdown one gear. To date mine still will not throw a CEL so I can't see whats going on. All the coils and plugs are about 1 year old and I have already replaced the manifold gaskets to stop the oil from leaking into the plug wells. All I can do is wait for the CEL to come on.

If you have access to a scan tool that can access the component parameters (such as the OTC Genisys, I'm sure there are others) you can check the misfire counts on individual cylinders, even if the counts are not high enough to trigger a diagnostic code (pending or current) and check engine light. If you can get this to occur "on command" you could probably even get by with a much less expensive scan tool with the datastream mode. Some may display misfire counts real time.

-Rod

I spoke too soon, the CEL finally came on. misfire on 1. Im guessing it s the coil since it took so long to finally fail. And fail it did, badly. the car is sputtering in idle now, and i smell my $3.18 per gallon fuel in the exhaust.

I spoke too soon, the CEL finally came on. misfire on 1. Im guessing it s the coil since it took so long to finally fail. And fail it did, badly. the car is sputtering in idle now, and i smell my $3.18 per gallon fuel in the exhaust.

You need to fix this before it kills the catalytic converter on that side.
Also, I assume that you changed the valve cover gaskets, not the manifold gaskets.

yes, my bad...it was the valve cover gaskets (an easy job but you need time and lots of patience). anyway, i took the coil off of c1 and put it on c2 and cleared the codes. ill drive around the hood this weekend to the sports bars and wait for a cel. if i get a code on c2 ill replace the coil. if not ill sober up and lean on you experts. yea yea yea..rod and joe will tell me about that data-stream-tool that i don't have but we always seem to find a workaround. ...much love to u guys and happy new years...um no im not and...um...enough suckin up! lets fix my car... :)

CEL came back on and reports misfire on c2. so its definitely the coil. My valve cover gasket job held because there is no oil in the wells. ...and! its a lifetime warranty coil so it wont cost my bar stool fund allowance.