97' Cav with near stall during medium to high acceleration

I just bought a used 97 Cav (auto, 2.2L) that is hesitating and almost stalling when I accelrate from a stop or from low rpm while driving. The hesitation is not present when idle or accelerate in neutral. Is this something related to the TCC? The car needs a tune up (or at least plugs and wires). Have 103K on engine. Thanks for your help.

my old car did the same thing..the coil pack was shot. so i replaced that and the wires and plugs. Then it all went away. Hope it helps ya out

Clean your IAC valve. They can cause this and get pretty sticky inside. If your TCC was bad it would die when you put it in gear.

IAC stands for what? (not a complete idiot, but pretty close)

IAC stands for idle air control. It's mounted on the throttle body and reglates air at idle and part throttle. they get gummed up and stick, causing a hesitation under load

I'll try replacing the plugs and wires and cleaning the IAC. I see the IAC in my chilton guide. What is the best cleaner? Just a like chemtool or something stronger like a disc brake cleaner? I'll prolly get to it this weekend and let you know how it goes; thanks for the help.

use a standaard carb/choke cleaner, spray in where the IAC mounts too, just let the stuff evaporate before starting the car.

Cleaned the IAC and replaced the plugs and wires. Worked like a charm. Thanks guys. Looking at replacing the upper intake gasket next :)

Glad to have been of some assistance. If the car is running well I would not mess with the intake gasket. I will be here to help but I do live in central Florida so I may not be able to help for some time due to the hurricane. The last one cut our power for a week.

I agree with Public, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. If you really want to know if you have an intake leak, spray carb cleaner around the seam between the upper and lower intake plenums, if the idle speed changes you have a leak. Just don't get any spray into the throttle body, or you won't get an accurate result. Glad our advice helped you, and Hope all is well with you and yours in Florida, Public

House survived with no damage. Thank God for a generator and a window a/c unit. 2 major storms in a month, whoa. Now lets get ready for Ivan.

I don't know if it's leaking, but the edges don't look good. I'll try the carb spray.

While I'm checking for leaks, how do you locate exhaust leaks? I think I may have one, the car seems louder than it should be (exhaust wise).

Hey public, glad to hear you're ok. I know alot of people were not so lucky.