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'98 Escort stutters during acceleration

Hi, I have a 1998 Ford Escort Sport with 100000 miles on it. When accelerating between 2500 and 3000 rpms there are several "stutters". I wouldn't say they were misfires because the service engine light never comes on, but it does feel like a misfire. The worst one is at 3000 rpms and it feels like I just turned the air on and it pulls the engine down for a split second. Strange thing is, it always happens at exactly

3000 rpms. It happens whether hot or cold, hard acceleration or easy. There are no codes stored in the computer. I've replaced the air filter, pcv valve, plugs, wires, ran injector cleaner through it, and checked all the vaccum hoses for leaks. Anybody got a clue as to what might cause this? Other than this, the car runs great, and if I never get over 2500 rpms, it never does it. It also gets anywhere from 35 to 40 mpg. I'd appreciate any comments. Greg
Reply to
gregthomas11
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OK, a couple more things. After doing some research, I found out that the IMRC opens at somewhere around 3000 rpms, could this be it? If so are there any adjustments that can be made to this?

One last thing, On the passenger side of the engine compartment on the firewall side of the engine, under the intake manifold, down where the oil filter is, I found some type of sensor hanging loose. Its plugged into the wiring harness that runs to the crank sensor. This sensor is black, has 2 or 3 wires running to it, it's round, and has a hole in the middle. It looks like the hole is used to mount the thing somehwere, but I can't find where it goes to save my life! The leads running out to it are only 6 to 8 inches long, so it can't be mounted very far from the oil filter are. Anybody have any ideas?

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Reply to
gregthomas11

Sounds like the knock sensor, which simply bolts somewhere onto the back of the engine block with just a simple metric bolt and a split lockwasher to keep the bolt from coming undone again. Like you said, its location has to be somewhere within the range of its wiring harness, so get in there with a flashlight and look for an appropriate tapped hole in the block.

Reply to
Bob Bailin

Not familiar with the late model Escorts but did you consider possibly EGR is kicking in? That is, unless you are familiar then excuse me for being verbose, the introduction of recycled exhaust gasses into the air intake.

Reply to
sleepdog

I thought about that, I had a similar problem on another vehicle one time. I think I simply plugged the hose going to the egr valve. Can I do this on this car, I don't want to damage anything else.

Reply to
gregthomas11

Yeah, I'll try that. Thanks!

Reply to
gregthomas11

Did you ever figure the problem out with this... my mothers car is having the same problem. i am going to put a fuel filter on it sometime to see if thats related.

Let me know what you find about this.

Maybe i'll put an EGR valve on it like someone else said.

Thanks.

Reply to
Picasso

Nope, still same problem. I'm leaning toward a fuel problem because the "stutters" happen around 3000 rpm which is where the IMRC kicks in, which opens the manifold up and, I'm assuming, pushes more air into the cylinders. If the power drops momentarily when this happens, then this tells me there is a lean mixture at that point. I'm still searching. I'll let you know, and you do the same for me! Greg

Reply to
gregthomas11

BTW - I tried unhooking the EGR valve and plugging the hose. No improvement. One thing though, my service engine soon light came on yesterday so I hooked it back up. It didn't go off though so I'm going to run it by my neighborhood Auto Zone and let them tell me what the code is before I try unhooking the battery.

Reply to
gregthomas11

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