Cannot fix the (b)ucking Buick

[Ultranpthing]

We've got an '89 Buick Skyhawk here. Bought it a few months ago. This thing was DEFINATELY bogged down. You had to floor it to get moving. Also, the car would be very 'jerky' as far as what I think is fuel intake efficiency. In reverse gear, the car would idle so low that it died. We still drove it here and there, even a few long trips (in state). We'd taken it to the local mechanic who said we needed a tune-up. $200 later the car was still acting the same. The other day we were on the road and the car was bucking preeeettty bad, and then it just turned off. We tried to restart it, and it WOULD turn over, but then it would just die again.

We replaced the fuel filter, and that did nothing.

We then noticed that the fuel injector (It's carbeurated) was clogged, so we replaced that. Now, the car turns over and starts, and seems to idle fine.

But it still sputters, backfires, and stalls when you drive it.

If anyone can point me in the right direction...

I vow to learn as much as I can from these forums and pass the knowledge on.

Thanks again!

[public]

Get a Haynes or Chiltons Manual. It will have a ton of information for you. BTW it is fuel injected OR Carburated, not both. I believe what you have is a Throttle Body Injection system. It has one injector that sits on top of what looks like a carb. You could have several problems.

1. bad Throttle Position Sensor
2. bad or sticking Idle Air Control valve.
3. Vacuum leak
4. bad plug wires, plugs
5. Combination of the above issues.