'94 dying when clutching

Hello all,

Please excuse me if this question has been asked/answered before.

This is a new problem that I have only experienced 2 or 3 times before, however it is QUITE annoying. Here the situation:

I start the car, cold, and it idles at 1600RPM, which seems odd, since it usually idles at 1200RPM. Starting to drive after the car has been idling for a minute or two, put the car in first, clutch into it, and start moving, everything is good. Then I go to shift from first to second, and things are NOT good. When I clutch in to go from first to second, the RPM drops immediately into the 200-400RPM range and stays there for several seconds before coming back up to the 800-1200RPM range. Last time this happened it didn't even make it back up, it just DIED on me. It was really hard to restart, I had to attempt several times to get it to roll over, and then I had to apply gas to keep the engine running.

No check engine light, and paper-clipping the OBD returned nothing other than the normal code.

It doesn't happen very often, but it's really annoying when it does happen, and I just don't know what to do. A friend who has more automotive experience than I (since I have next to none) said that it was probably the oxygen sensor. Acceleration becomes slower after you put the pedal down more than half-way, and my gas milage sucks.

This is *after* what I believe is an unrelated acceleration problem that caused me to have virtually no acceleration when applying any gas to the car. That repair saw the serp belt, sparks, and spark plug wires replaced, which seemed to have fixed the problem.

Car has 153K miles, oil was replaced 1000 miles ago.

I'd like your input on what you think the problem may be, and if I can fix it myself with the proper instructions, tools, and parts. I would just take it to my mechanic, but I'm a student and after my last repair bill I'd prefer to diagnose this myself and then decide on the fix.

Thanks for your help!

Get a new ECTS from autozone with some teflon tape. Follow the video ive posted in other threads. Your car has two sensors, replace the one with the 2-wire connector. (8 bucks + 1.5 for the tape)

Normal operating temp reading on the gauge? Should be near 1/2. No? WHile your out get a new Thermostat from the dealer (22bucks) and follow the thermostat video i have also posted.

Once the above is replaced, clean your throttle body thoroughly. I have also posted videos for this but i think that was a while ago. I can post them again if you cant find them.

Finally, a bad O2 sensor would show an SES code. However lack of power can be associated to a clogged Catalytic converter. Diagnosis: remove the front o2 sensor and drive around. If you feel power has returned then this is your acceleration issue. NOTE: the ses light will turn on while the O2 is removed.

Ah one more thing. Its important the plugs are copper...no platinum or fancy plugs like that. NGK copper is best. Also the wire sequence is VITAL. Cylinders go:
passenger side 1-2-3-4 drivers side;
With the wires on the coil towers:
Passenger side 4-1-2-3 drivers side.
Since you had someone else do this work before, check to make sure they didnt mess that up. Good luck!

Normal operating temp reading on the gauge? Should be near 1/2. No? WHile your out get a new Thermostat from the dealer (22bucks) and follow the thermostat video i have also posted.
No, it's closer to the 1/4 mark. The only time I've seen it near the 1/2 mark was stuck in traffic in the city. I do mostly country/highway driving, so even in the summer it's around 1/4.

No, it's closer to the 1/4 mark. The only time I've seen it near the 1/2 mark was stuck in traffic in the city. I do mostly country/highway driving, so even in the summer it's around 1/4.

def Bad thermostat. That along with your bad ECTS is the cause of your bad gas mileage.

Also post your vitals...aka Year, model, engine type, miles, auto/man :)

Also post your vitals...aka Year, model, engine type, miles, auto/man :smile:

1994, SW2, DOHC 1.9 L I4 LL0, 153 000, manual.

def Bad thermostat. That along with your bad ECTS is the cause of your bad gas mileage.

I'd just like to point out that the car has *always* run at 1/4 temp reading, even when it didn't have any of these problems and was getting high 30s gas milage. That being said, I'm up replacing the ECTS and the thermostat, as they probably need replacing anyway.

1994 is OBD I. Normal operating temps for OBDI s-series is 195F which is ~1/2 on the gauge :)

check your temp gauge sensor too. the connectors on temp gauge sensor and coolant temp sensor can also go bad if the sensor cracks and cause similar issues.

now with the idle issues, you could have a problem with the tps or iac.

Also the wire sequence is VITAL. Cylinders go:
passenger side 1-2-3-4 drivers side;
With the wires on the coil towers:
Passenger side 4-1-2-3 drivers side.
Since you had someone else do this work before, check to make sure they didnt mess that up. Good luck!

Checked the wiring, all that's good. I have no idea if the plugs are copper or not, I honestly don't know how to check.

A friend suggested to me that it may be the EGR valve, but from what I'm read, that's rather hard (for me) to just check on speculation.

I've been searching the forums and I can't find instructions on how to unplug the 2-wire O2 sensor, could someone please provide a link to a guide or video on how to do that? Thank you!

I've been searching the forums and I can't find instructions on how to unplug the 2-wire O2 sensor, could someone please provide a link to a guide or video on how to do that? Thank you!

Ill do one better for ya. Heres how to remove it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDaKRRmASWA

Also the ECTS with the one wire sensor rarely fails :)

Also the ECTS with the one wire sensor rarely fails :)
Thanks for the link on how to remove the O2 sensor. As for directions on how to replace the ECTS, do you think these are good enough for someone inexperienced in automotive maintenance to follow? Or should I just buy the parts and have my mechanic install them?

http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37884

Here:
ECTS replacement:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC0U53w_Htk

Videos are much better than written instructions.

And yes...my 16 yr old sister can change it out :)