2000 alero engine problems

[danielc24]

the car seems fine until you put it in gear then it runs crappy, and when you take off it stutters really bad until you get going then it's not so bad, the check engine light is flashing what could it be?

[maxwedge]

Welcome to AF. Misfire in one or more cylinders, bad plug/wire/coil/injector. Proper diagnosis is required ASAP

[razial22]

i had same problem for awhile, with me it was that it would start kinda ruff, leave the car running in park and watch ur rpm's for a min. on my 2000 alero 6cyl 3.4 i idle around 1k (normally just under) if u see the needle jumpining lower then about 800 then yes, it sounds like its wires/plugs, coil packs.
i had a bad wire but replaced them all and all the coil packs too b/c 1 pack was shot after the misfires. real easy to do, take about 10 mins. and the part was only about $20

if u have an advance auto part in ur area, ask them to put it on the computer and check the codes (normally they do this free) if u have misfires then find out which 1 is misfireing and check that wire/plug/coil pack.
another option. with the car running open the hood and (plz, plz wear gloves and be careful......this can be kinda painful to you) pull the plug wires off the coilpacks 1 at a time (aka pull plug wire 1, put back on, pull wire 2, put back on ) and put them back on before pulling another, while doing this listen to the engine, if u pull a wire and the engine starts to "bog out" then put it back and try another. if u pull 1 and nothing happens to the engine, VERY good chance THATS the bad 1.
again, be careful while doing it this way. its quite a "shocker"

good luck

[danielc24]

Originally Posted by razial22

i had same problem for awhile, with me it was that it would start kinda ruff, leave the car running in park and watch ur rpm's for a min. on my 2000 alero 6cyl 3.4 i idle around 1k (normally just under) if u see the needle jumpining lower then about 800 then yes, it sounds like its wires/plugs, coil packs.
i had a bad wire but replaced them all and all the coil packs too b/c 1 pack was shot after the misfires. real easy to do, take about 10 mins. and the part was only about $20

if u have an advance auto part in ur area, ask them to put it on the computer and check the codes (normally they do this free) if u have misfires then find out which 1 is misfireing and check that wire/plug/coil pack.
another option. with the car running open the hood and (plz, plz wear gloves and be careful......this can be kinda painful to you) pull the plug wires off the coilpacks 1 at a time (aka pull plug wire 1, put back on, pull wire 2, put back on ) and put them back on before pulling another, while doing this listen to the engine, if u pull a wire and the engine starts to "bog out" then put it back and try another. if u pull 1 and nothing happens to the engine, VERY good chance THATS the bad 1.
again, be careful while doing it this way. its quite a "shocker"

good luck

it idles at the line before 1k and wouldn't it misfire at idle also? because it seems fine until i put it in gear, thanks for the help i may just go to autozone and have them check it

[maxwedge]

It would only do this under some load. AZ can only read the codes which will say random misfire or possibly pinpoint a cylinder, after that you still need a reliable shop.

[danielc24]

Originally Posted by maxwedge

It would only do this under some load. AZ can only read the codes which will say random misfire or possibly pinpoint a cylinder, after that you still need a reliable shop.

ok i went to autozone and the #3 cylinder is misfiring, so i bought new plugs and just put them in and at first it felt like it should then it started doing the same thing again. When i pulled the #3 plug it was soaked with gas and maybe one more had gas on it, the rest were black . now what should i do?

[jr6078]

Probably the #3 coil pack. If the plug has fuel on it, then it's an indication that the cylinder is getting fuel, but no spark, so no ignition is occurring, which is the function of the coil pack and spark plug.

[danielc24]

Originally Posted by jr6078

Probably the #3 coil pack. If the plug has fuel on it, then it's an indication that the cylinder is getting fuel, but no spark, so no ignition is occurring, which is the function of the coil pack and spark plug.

so the coil packs are seperate?

[razial22]

yes, coil packs are seperate and VERY easy to replace.
part should about 20-$30 at advance or autozone. you'll need a rachet, and extender, and 1 socket...(can't remember exact size at this time).
the pack are located (on my 3.4l 6cyl at least) at the top of the engine in the back. follow your plug wires and you'll find them. also, they "should" be marked, mine were when i replaced the factory 1's take the plug off and look at the #3 coil pack "probe" (the tip of the pack for plug #3) see alot of corrosion? browning? if so, then ya, its probably fried. just take it out and remove the little rubber (i believe orange colored) piece, place on the new 1 and put the new 1 in....thats it, real simple takes about 10 mins if all of that.

if that doesn't fix the problem then, at night, in the dark so its easier to see start the car and watch for sparking and listen for a "snaping" sound. then it would the wire.

good luck. let us know how it turns out.

[danielc24]

alright i'm going to get the coil pack, thanks for the replies and i'll let you know what happens , ok before i left i decided to check the coil pack and it looks brand new and it's definately getting good spark because it shocked me lol after getting shocked and messing with the wires the check engine light went off and it's not as bad but when i get on the gas it stutters a little , what gap should the plugs have? and could that be the problem now?

[jr6078]

Still sounds like a coil pack or wires breaking down.

[danielc24]

i'm glad i decided to get wires first , that was the problem so thanks for all the help but my check engine light is still on but it's not flashing anymore so now it's something in the emissions that's messed up?

[razial22]

let me guess.......getting an "evap leak" code on the computer now?
if not, then i would just take it to a shop and have them clear the codes, if the service engine light comes back in about a week then have it checked it might be reading evap leak, which same thing mine did for a long time after i had a bad coil pack but recently it went away and hasn't come back in over 1500 miles.

good luck