'91 Cav Stalling Problems

[TheMessiah]

My '91 Cav 4 Cyl. has been having problems running for the past two weeks. It started with a light sputtering noise. I never took serious notice until the car nearly died a few days ago. It's now a constant loud sputtering and has problems reaching even 35 MPH. I replaced the Spark Plugs and Spark Plug Wires and the noise went away for about 5 minutes. Then while driving it started up again, not very loud at first but by the time I was getting close to home it nearly died going up a hill.

Doing a search on Yahoo came up with a Q&A where one guy asked about a problem nearly identical regarding his 2000 Mustang and the mechanic guy said it could be his Fuel Tank or Fuel Pump. Is this the likely culprit? or should I invest tomorrow trying other things?

[amac209]

it's say it's most likely either a fuel problem or plugged catalytic convertor. replace the fuel filter first then do a little diagnostics before replacing any other parts. you could get a shop to check the fuel pressure and exhaust backpressure or buy the equipment and do it yourself. another possibility is you have dirty or clogged injectors.

[Three_Fingers]

Compression/leakdown check..
If you got the 2.2-they eat head gaskets.
If you got the 2.0-the head cracks-usually between the valves on cyls 2,3,and 4.
Coolant doesn't burn very well.
Look for any white, chalky.scaly stuff around the flange on the exhaust manifold-a sure sign that water is the culprit.

If you have the 2.0-substitute another coil pack-they go bad for no apparent reason other than they may get too hot where they're mounted (under the damn intake manifold).