99' ZX2 question?

[J UNNNIT]

i have a 99' ford escort zx2 that frequently (about every 2 weeks or so) breaks down... i'll be driving on the highway and it will start to act weird. you give it gas and its almost as if you are hitting the break slightly untill you let off the gas, then it kind of jumps forward a little bit. once i get the car to the side of the road it will die. usually about 15-20 minutes later it will start up like nothing even happened. i took the car to the local ford garage and after 2 hours of labor (aprox $170) they gave up trying to figure out the problem. the check engine light only comes on sometimes, it will flash untill the car dies out. after the 15-20 minute wating period the check engine light is out as if nothing is wrong. if anyone has any advice it would greatly be appreciated... thank you

[Markb873]

The flashing of the check engine light is most likely a misfire. Have the spark plugs been changed? Wires? Coil Pack? It definatly sounds like ignition to me.

-Mark

[J UNNNIT]

yes, i have changed the plugs (bosch platinum), wires, new battery and alternator... i haven't changed the coil pack? but it seems to me that it is something to do with the fuel system... like yesterday, it died out on the interstate like around 8 times... i would get it started back up and it would run for a few miles and then it would start acting funny again untill the gas pedal did nothing, forcing me to pull over... after pulling over the car would either A.) die out completely before i came to a stop, or B.) continue to run, but idle real low as if it were fighting to stay running... this has me so frustrated

[sarah2002zx2]

I'm not too good with the zx2 owning my first one... But I can tell you that I was having the same problem with mine (it is an 02 automatic zx2) The check engine light would flicker on the freeway then it'd sputter and the car would shut off.. I pulled to the side and then gave it about 5 min and it was back up and running. My car was in the shop for 3 days before they told me my transmission was going out because the guy that put the new torque converter on (before I bought it) had put it in incorrectly thusly causing it to catch every so often and cause the transmission to overheat and shut the car off. (I know I'm a little dense when it comes to cars but I do know what he told me since it was last week lol) Anyways he said that the car was set up to sense the heat and automatically turn off. I'm not sure if it'll help any but it seems to be a trend among the autos so if yours is an automatic might have that looked at if its a manual then I'm sorry hun can't help but I can tell you that the transmission rebuild I just paid for was pricey (1900 to be exact.) Good luck

[J UNNNIT]

ughhh... ok, so i have an update... i just got my car back today (it was in the shop for a few days). the mechanic thought that it was the ignition coil/coil pack or whatever. after paying the bill ($140) i was on my way home with my "fixed" car (haha) and it died again about a mile and a half from the mechanic's garage. any other suggestions? haha

oh, by the way... my car is standard (to the person who posted above me)... but thank you very much anyways =]

[Markb873]

Well, sence you have basically eliminated an ignition problem. I am wondering if you have a problem with the fuel pump driver or ccrm or wiring. Unfortunatly it's an intermittent problem. Good luck

-Mark

[AlaskanWrench]

fuel pressure test
fuel valume test
injecter test (flow bench)
test crank senser
check TPS

that should get you in the right ball park... zx2's are easy dont be scared