Question about a 97 eclipse

[97eclipse-rs]

i recently bought a 1997 rs-non turbo used eclipse, and every thing about it ran fine, until recently (after driving from Virginia to California) my car started to "struggle", For example if im any where between 2 and 3k rpms the car lurches forward and sometime in really bad cases makes a cracking sound. but after 3k rpms it doesnt do that any more unless im in 5th gear and i floor it. when it is "lurching forward" it seems to stall for a moment even though the rpms stay the same its almost like the fuel is being sprayed in burst into the engine and not a soild stream like i would imagine it does.
im extreamly new to cars and how they work so any input on this problem would be greatly appreciated.

[david-b]

Originally Posted by 97eclipse-rs

i recently bought a 1997 rs-non turbo used eclipse, and every thing about it ran fine, until recently (after driving from Virginia to California) my car started to "struggle", For example if im any where between 2 and 3k rpms the car lurches forward and sometime in really bad cases makes a cracking sound. but after 3k rpms it doesnt do that any more unless im in 5th gear and i floor it. when it is "lurching forward" it seems to stall for a moment even though the rpms stay the same its almost like the fuel is being sprayed in burst into the engine and not a soild stream like i would imagine it does.
im extreamly new to cars and how they work so any input on this problem would be greatly appreciated.

Welcome to AF.
There could be a lot of things that are causing this problem. Firstly, I could start with regular maintenance. Change the spark plugs, wires, oil, fuel filter and see if that helps at all. Then run some premium gas with fuel injector cleaner through a tank and see what happens with that.

Is the car smoking at all? The the oil level drop over time? Coolant level? Check engine light on? After the maintenance and if nothing changes, disconnect the negative battery terminal for about 5 minutes and reconnect. Then drive and see if if still does the same thing.

And just for reference, the fuel injectors spray in pulses not a solid stream

[97eclipse-rs]

There could be a lot of things that are causing this problem. Firstly, I could start with regular maintenance. Change the spark plugs, wires, oil, fuel filter and see if that helps at all. Then run some premium gas with fuel injector cleaner through a tank and see what happens with that. Is the car smoking at all? The the oil level drop over time? Coolant level? Check engine light on? After the maintenance and if nothing changes, disconnect the negative battery terminal for about 5 minutes and reconnect. Then drive and see if if still does the same thing. And just for reference, the fuel injectors spray in pulses not a solid stream

i'm going to change the spark plugs and wires today, the oil was changed out last week, there is no check engine light, and from what i can tell the oil level remains the same, as far as the battery ill try that out as well, but on my drive across the country i did change the battery out because one moment it was working and the next mine it had the check battery light and then died, i had the alternator checked and everything checks out fine, also a very newbish question but where is the MAF sensor?
and im also going to check for a vacuum leak, thanks for the reply =]

[97eclipse-rs]

sorry for the double post, but i forgot to answer your question about the car smoking, no its not smoking the only thing it does that is of extreme concern to me is it like makes a loud popping sound or a Crack sound when i floor the pedal , so i refrain from doing that. also i did do about 2 or 3 fuel injector cleaners and that didn't really do anything noticeable to my problem so i think the injector is OK for the time being.


p.s mine = Min. is previous post

[david-b]

Originally Posted by 97eclipse-rs

i'm going to change the spark plugs and wires today, the oil was changed out last week, there is no check engine light, and from what i can tell the oil level remains the same, as far as the battery ill try that out as well, but on my drive across the country i did change the battery out because one moment it was working and the next mine it had the check battery light and then died, i had the alternator checked and everything checks out fine, also a very newbish question but where is the MAF sensor?
and im also going to check for a vacuum leak, thanks for the reply =]

The 95-99 n/t 420a motors do NOT use a MAF sensor... only a MAP sensor. Not quite the same thing.

This pop/crack sound, is it like a backfire? Vacuum leaks on a n/t car won't cause huge problems, just maybe a bad idle or low falling rpm (unless you were entirely missing a whole system or something).

[97eclipse-rs]

Originally Posted by david-b

The 95-99 n/t 420a motors do NOT use a MAF sensor... only a MAP sensor. Not quite the same thing.

This pop/crack sound, is it like a backfire? Vacuum leaks on a n/t car won't cause huge problems, just maybe a bad idle or low falling rpm (unless you were entirely missing a whole system or something).

yeah its kinda like a back fire, but it happens some times at low rpms with me putting (or what it seems to me putting) hardly any stress on the car IE shifting in the low 2k's.

sorry i cant describe it better I'm still trying to learn all the terms and what every part is.

in reference to the MAF i just wanted to know what it looked like, it sounds fancy =]

[SilvrEclipse]

Dave meant to say the 420a motors does NOT have a MAF.

[david-b]

Damn. I messed up that post. Good catch... fixed.

Change those plugs and wires and let us know how that goes. Then we'll go from there.

[97eclipse-rs]

well i replaced the spark plugs and the cables and everything is back to normal, thank you for your help =]

im also going to change the fuel filter... once i find it.