stutter w check engine light flashing

[igbe]

Hey everyone glad I found this fourm. This is my first post and I dont no zip about cars.

I have a 2000 Malibu with 67k in milage and I just got my car back from an over heat issue, here is what was done to it.

1 Diagnosis Cooling system
1 R&R Gasket, Intake manifold
1 valve cover gskt set fel p
1 intake set
1 radiator cap
1 preston dex-cool antifreez
1 distributor gasket felpro
1 r&r oil pump seal
1 standrad oil change
5 qt-5w30 proline
1 proline oil filter
1 new water pump
1 195f trermostat supe
1 R&R thermostat & oe outlet
1 R&R water pump

Ok so now I dont over heat but I am having an issue I have never had and I hope its not the transmission.

I get a bad sputter from time to time especially on the freeway it almost feels like its changing gears but the RPMS reaming the same so I dont think so. Tonight coming home from work it was really bad and i noticed the check engine light was flashing but it did go away but my stutter did not, Its really bad when going up a hill where the engine kicks up so once again i hope this is not a tranny. I did not have this issue before taking in my car for the warmer temps. The over heat light in fact never came on but i did notice an increase in temp so I took it in.

Your thoughts before I take it back? How bad is this going to be?

Thanks!

Igbe

[burly]

This could be a lot of things. Since you say the RPMS remain the same but the car studders, it could be the transmission, but it could also be a misfire. I'm guessing you have an automatic transmission. Even checking the fluid level on this is a rather involved process, requiring the car to be running and jacked up. I would have the transmission inspected. It may just be low fluid, or it could be a problem with the torque converter or torque converter clutch or not the tranmission at all.

If its the engine, there are few things that it could be.

It could be dirty fuel injectors, which can sometimes be fixed by running a tank of good 87 octane gas with some fuel injector cleaner added. Fuel injector cleaner can be bought at most gas stations, TrakAuto, Autozone, Wal-mart, Target, etc.

It could be a clogged fuel filter, but I doubt it based on the age of the vehicle and the fact that the car doesnt stall sometimes. If you typically run "suspect" gas in the car though, its worth looking into.

The spark plugs could be faulty or incorrectly gapped or if its a V6 the spark plug wires could be faulty or not fully connected.

There could be a vacuum leak around the intake manifold, plenum or vacuum hoses.

Finally, you could have poor cylinder compression on one or more of the cylinders. I would venture to syay that with only 67k miles, it is not this.

The fuel filter, vaccum leak, fuel injectors, and spark plugs/wires are all pretty inexpensive if they are the culprit. The compression issue would be expensive.

If its only the fluid level in the transaxle, it would be an inexpensive repair, but since the transaxle is sealed, it could indicate a leak somewhere, which may be expensive depending on its location and severity.

Your best bet is to have a mechanic check your car's computer for codes, inspect the vacuum hoses, pressure and emissions system, spark plugs and wires, transaxle, and fuel pressure.

[igbe]

I really feel like I was bent over and taken for a ride. Turns out the spark plug wires were really really bad.

So I get charged for $23.00 wires, $62.00 labor......... worse yet $90.00 engine diag fee. $183 for spark plug wires.

I guess if they were really that bad off why did they not notice when they had my car apart for the above repairs???

Igbe

[burly]

Wow. They really did take it to you. I do know that changing the plugs and wires on the V6 is a pain and that wires aren't cheap but that is pretty expensive. On the bright side, at least it was one of the cheaper fixes to the problem.

[Milamber_74]

This is a copy of my reply in another thread on here.

I recently had this problem with my 97 LS (97k on it) and when I took it to the dealer, they said the computer was recording it as a fuel injector misfire. The car would run fine while you were driving, but if you came to a stop, or low speeds, it would start to sputter badly. The check engine light also flashed for awhile, then went solid, and then off.

I did a search on a site and they said the fuel injectors on Malibus are a common problem.

The dealer did a fuel service (over $400 to replace the injector which I wasn't willing to do) and that seems to have cleared up the problem for now.

Originally Posted by igbe

Hey everyone glad I found this fourm. This is my first post and I dont no zip about cars.

I have a 2000 Malibu with 67k in milage and I just got my car back from an over heat issue, here is what was done to it.

1 Diagnosis Cooling system
1 R&R Gasket, Intake manifold
1 valve cover gskt set fel p
1 intake set
1 radiator cap
1 preston dex-cool antifreez
1 distributor gasket felpro
1 r&r oil pump seal
1 standrad oil change
5 qt-5w30 proline
1 proline oil filter
1 new water pump
1 195f trermostat supe
1 R&R thermostat & oe outlet
1 R&R water pump

Ok so now I dont over heat but I am having an issue I have never had and I hope its not the transmission.

I get a bad sputter from time to time especially on the freeway it almost feels like its changing gears but the RPMS reaming the same so I dont think so. Tonight coming home from work it was really bad and i noticed the check engine light was flashing but it did go away but my stutter did not, Its really bad when going up a hill where the engine kicks up so once again i hope this is not a tranny. I did not have this issue before taking in my car for the warmer temps. The over heat light in fact never came on but i did notice an increase in temp so I took it in.

Your thoughts before I take it back? How bad is this going to be?

Thanks!

Igbe

[OLD RACER]

Originally Posted by igbe

Hey everyone glad I found this fourm. This is my first post and I dont no zip about cars.

I have a 2000 Malibu with 67k in milage and I just got my car back from an over heat issue, here is what was done to it.

1 Diagnosis Cooling system
1 R&R Gasket, Intake manifold
1 valve cover gskt set fel p
1 intake set
1 radiator cap
1 preston dex-cool antifreez
1 distributor gasket felpro
1 r&r oil pump seal
1 standrad oil change
5 qt-5w30 proline
1 proline oil filter
1 new water pump
1 195f trermostat supe
1 R&R thermostat & oe outlet
1 R&R water pump

Ok so now I dont over heat but I am having an issue I have never had and I hope its not the transmission.

I get a bad sputter from time to time especially on the freeway it almost feels like its changing gears but the RPMS reaming the same so I dont think so. Tonight coming home from work it was really bad and i noticed the check engine light was flashing but it did go away but my stutter did not, Its really bad when going up a hill where the engine kicks up so once again i hope this is not a tranny. I did not have this issue before taking in my car for the warmer temps. The over heat light in fact never came on but i did notice an increase in temp so I took it in.

Your thoughts before I take it back? How bad is this going to be?

Thanks!

Igbe

CERTAINLY IT IS HARD TO DIAG WITHOUT A CAR. HOWEVER, IF YOUR CAR HAS THE 3.1 MOTOR, I WOULD LOOK AT THE INJECTORS. THE 3.1 IN THE LUMINA AND THE MALIBU HAVE BEEN EATING INJECTORS AT THE 60-80K RANGE. IF YOU FIND OUT THAT IT IS AN INJECTOR, REPLACE THEM ALL. THIS IS EXPENSIVE, BUT YOU WILL SAVE A LOT OF REDUNDANT LABOR TAKING THE PLENUM ON AND OFF EVERY TIME ONE GOES. AND THEY HAVE BEEN GOING IN DROVES. NO NEED TO PAY FOR THE AC UNITS, USE A DELFI AND SAVE A FEW BUCKS.