01 Satrun sc idle speed problem and bucking

[kennydee]

My 2001 manual 5-speed Saturn SC2 just started an intermittant problem with bucking after coming to a stop.

Some history: The car was towed on a dolly (from PA to Florida), front wheels up. The car experienced a quick ambient temperature change from minus freezing to 80 degrees. When the car was delivered the gas tank was less than a 1/4 full. (No fuel light was on). We started the car in that position and backed it off without a problem. The next day while driving and after it reached operating temp., we noticed a drop in idle speed and it sputtered and bucked. We had to shut it down. We filled the tank with gas and it ran fine. After about an hour of driving around, the symptoms appeared again. We decided to tow it home on the dolly to avoid a possible traffic problem. We changed out the front Oxy Sensor and also purged the Shraeder valve to let air out. It ran fine for 2 days and then after work one day, it was hard starting, sputtering like hell. It cleared up after a few minutes and was fine. I filled the tank with Shell Ultra premium and added a botttle of Chevron Techron. The engine was running much better, idle smoothed out and it was consistant at 1100 rpms. Last night it did the same thing after a short trip. This morning it was fine, although it sputtered a little on a cold start.

I get no "Engine Service" light. I am replacing the fuel filter this week as soon as I can find one. There are no local parts stores that carry the Fram 63802A so I have to either get it at a dealer or buy it on line.

I would say the car runs fine 90% of the time, good power and great acceleration. The intermittant problem renders it unreliable so I want to get this fixed asap.

I would appreciate any help you could give me as to this problem.

Thanks,

Kenny Dee in Florida

[saturnspeed_12]

so then you have an automatic. sounds like it could be a transaxle problem. if it isnt something with the transaxle, then it could be the plug wires, plugs, coils. check to make sure you dont have oil down in the plug well. might want to pull the plugs and check to see what they look like.

oh and you shouldnt put high octane into a lower compression car. the high octane has a higher flash point, so it doesnt ignite as well on a lower compression car.