1992 Cav

Just picked up a 1992 Cav.

Randomly it starts shuddering like it wants to stall then eventually bogs down and stalls out, doesn't matter if I'm at a stand still or not, but I have noticed it only happens when in gear.

I've had it stall at a standstill in drive and reverse and while driving.

It seems to only do it after the car is heating up and running for about 20 mins.

At first I thought it might be the cat convertor which needed replaced anyway, then I did a tranny flush on it and it's still a no go.

Also noticed that the tranny sounds rough when switching from park to reverse or reverse to N to Drive, plus when it's downshifting on decellerator it feels like it's catching and is having trouble shifting, does not do it when upshifting

Also the times it has stalled out i shift it into N and turn it over, put it back into Drive and it stalls again.

The first time it happened it took about 5 tries to get it to go again.
The second time it wouldnt even stay started, was next to my house so coasted it to a stop.
The 3rd time it stalled while driving, was doing about 30mph

Anyone know what this might be?

Any help or ideas would be appreciated

Thanks

Unplug the TCC solenoid on the tranny. See if that helps.

Ok,

Actually was reading similar problems in this forum and stumbled onto that a few mins ago, will give that a whirl.

What exactly does that solenoid do anyway?

I'm assuming it does something similar to a clutch as the shuddering motion feels like it does in my Saturn if you let out on the clutch too much while in gear.

You are correct. The TCC is the "Torque Converter Clutch". It is supposed to lock up when running a steady speed to improve gas mileage. Disconnecting it will cause no problems except the SLS light and possibly a slight loss in mileage. My 94 has been unplugged for a couple of years without problems and I don't notice the mileage difference.

I just had the same problem with a 91 2.2... check your coolant level.

i replaced plugs, wires, coild, pump fuel filter did nothing... filled her up with coolant and water and she runs like a top...

I'm thinkin' that there's small craks inbetween the valve seats in the Head...

Try it, see if it works....

I unplugged it and it doesn't stall at all anymore, yay.

Thanks guys.

It still downshifts and goes into gear a little rough.

Any ideas on that, the tranny fluid is at normal level so I'm unsure.. I'm not very good with transmissions and don't want to start guessing.

You may need a fluid and filter change. If the filter becomes partially clogged it takes longer to build enough pressure to shift.

I already did the fluid and filter change hehe

Well so I thought my stalling was gone after unplugging the TCC..

Random intervals it stalls and or chokes up.

I've unplugged the TCC, done a tranny flush with filter replacement, plugs/wires change

I had a mechanic friend hook his diagnostics up to it and took it for a spin, it returned NO errors while driving even when the shuddering was happening.

I'm assuming my next steps would be replacing the fuel filter amongst other things.

Any more ideas or tips? :D

Yeah, the fuel filter can seem very similar to the TCC Solenoid.

Thanks public, I appreciate all your help so far :D

Try cleaning the IAC Solenoid and the Throttle Positon Sensor. They can get pretty dirty and can cause sputtering