engine stutters a little

atc86r · #1 03-15-2005, 09:14 PM

my 98 escort le stutters when I let off the throttle when driving down highway. I've also noticed it stuttering or missing when idling in parking lot. Will the free test a auto zone be able to detect the cause of this? thanks wil.

Willskyline · #2 03-15-2005, 09:20 PM

How old are your spark plugs and wires? If they are getting older, you might want to get over to your local auto store and put those in there. I just got some Bosch +4 plugs and some Nascar wires for my 94 and it's running like it's brand new.

GTP Dad · #3 03-16-2005, 06:23 AM

I agree. Replace the plugs and wires. But don't buy the wires at Autozone. Purchase either heavy duty wires, 9mm wires or go back to a set of OEM. I have gone through two sets of wires from Autozone. One set lasted three weeks the other 90 miles.

A. Souphound · #4 03-16-2005, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atc86r

my 98 escort le stutters when I let off the throttle when driving down highway. I've also noticed it stuttering or missing when idling in parking lot. Will the free test a auto zone be able to detect the cause of this? thanks wil.

From what I've read on this forum Auto Zone will not perform diagnostic testing on your car unless a CEL (Check Engine Light) is on.

chevyn0va1 · #5 03-16-2005, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTP Dad

I agree. Replace the plugs and wires. But don't buy the wires at Autozone. Purchase either heavy duty wires, 9mm wires or go back to a set of OEM. I have gone through two sets of wires from Autozone. One set lasted three weeks the other 90 miles.

What do you mean you went through them? how did you know they were no good?

atc86r · #6 03-16-2005, 06:51 PM

I'll try the plugs and wires. I hope its that easy. thanks all, wil

GTP Dad · #7 03-16-2005, 07:15 PM

The car ran very well once I changed them for three weeks. One evening on my way home from work started doing the exact same thing as before. Car missed and stumbled very badly almost didn't make it home. I bought another set and put them on, drove it and worked well. 90 miles later the car started stumbling again. My expression of going through them means I burnt them up!
I spoke with a mechanic friend who didn't even know what kind of car I had, told him the problem and the first thing he said was, it's an Escort right. It appears that Escorts have an issue with frying plug wires. Jet-Lee has an escort that has done the same thing with wires. He told me he went through two sets of wires from Autozone too. My judgement about the wires is based on the car's performance. I put 9mm wires on and have no current issues with the car. So I really didn't test them other than to run the vehicle.

chevyn0va1 · #8 03-16-2005, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTP Dad

The car ran very well once I changed them for three weeks. One evening on my way home from work started doing the exact same thing as before. Car missed and stumbled very badly almost didn't make it home. I bought another set and put them on, drove it and worked well. 90 miles later the car started stumbling again. My expression of going through them means I burnt them up!
I spoke with a mechanic friend who didn't even know what kind of car I had, told him the problem and the first thing he said was, it's an Escort right. It appears that Escorts have an issue with frying plug wires. Jet-Lee has an escort that has done the same thing with wires. He told me he went through two sets of wires from Autozone too. My judgement about the wires is based on the car's performance. I put 9mm wires on and have no current issues with the car. So I really didn't test them other than to run the vehicle.

thanks for giving a reason for your views alot of time people just run thier mouths and not give specifics.

atc86r · #9 03-18-2005, 10:28 PM

haven't bought anything yet. service engine soon light is now on.

atc86r · #10 03-19-2005, 12:34 PM

I checked at local partsplus. They don't have 9mm wires. Should I find some or go with oem?

GTP Dad · #11 03-19-2005, 04:22 PM

Have the car scanned before you do anything. It may be something other than the wires like a bad coil, CPS or bad injector. Once they scan the computer then you should have a better picture of what to do. If you need 9mm wires try wires4cars.com that is where I got mine.

atc86r · #12 03-20-2005, 03:30 PM

Will I have to take it to a Ford garage or can the local shop do it?

chevyn0va1 · #13 03-20-2005, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atc86r

Will I have to take it to a Ford garage or can the local shop do it?

you can replace plugs, wires, coil (if needed) yourself the codes can be found at autozone they will check for you.

GTP Dad · #14 03-20-2005, 06:02 PM

Autozone will scan it for fee. If you take it to a local garage or a dealer they will charge you 30-50 dollars to hook it up to the computer. Make sure to get it scanned before you spend any money on it since you may not need the plugs and wires.
It is not hard to change the plugs and wires just take your time and make sure the engine is cold when you remove the plugs. Otherwise you can strip the threads holding the plugs in the head.

mustang302 · #15 03-21-2005, 08:58 AM

If it's not the plugs and wires, I'd try an oxygen sensor, may explain the check engine light too. I ended up replacing plugs, wires, and O2 sensor when I had a similar problem, and the combination fixed everything. Having Autozone scan the codes would be a good idea before you buy too much stuff. Good luck.

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