Ok, I have a 96 SS with 65k miles on it.. bought it when it had 58k miles on it.. so far I haven't had a single problem with it (with the exception of having to buy new tires) but machanical wize.. nothing wrong and runs great! But now I've been noticing an increasing problem.. whenever I try to make a quick left hand turn (not just left hand turns of course though, straight and right start ups too), I'll start to let the clutch out and give it gas.. and all of a sudden the car will just start putting and rocking back and forth, and by this time my foot is completely off the clutch. So if I try to give it more gas nothing.. if anything doing that makes it worse. It keeps doing this more maybe 3 seconds then it finaly catches or something and everything goes back to normal... any idea as to what this is?? And whats the best way to fix this? Thanks

Trevor

 

Sounds to me like your clutch is fried. Is it still the stocker?

 

Clutch?!?!?

I'd say TPS (Throttle Position Sensor). The car will sputter if you give it gas. This is because the PCM can't adjust fuel and advance timing since it doesn't know where the throttle is at. If its doing it intermittently then is may be on its way out.

But thats just my guess

 

If your clutch is fully disengaged and the car justs sits there. There is something seriously wrong with the clutch, or if not it will be soon. With the engine sputtering, a good clutch will stall the car out.

I assume he said nothing meaning the car didnt move.

You could be right about the problem though, if the car is moving.

 

yeah I read it wrong sorry.

 

No.. my car is moving when this happens.. I'll be at a dead stop and then start to move forward, I'm letting off the clutch and giving it gas and then all of a sudden it will choke... the car will be going about 5mph and rocking back and forth (now my foot is completely off the clutch) and I'm just focusing on giving it gas now.. but it's like it can't breathe or it's just not catching.. but not catching with my foot all the way off?? Something sounds seriously wrong if my foot is all the way off and it's not cutting it out!

I really couldn't tell you how old my clutch is... might be stock, I'm not sure... how does everyone elses clutch feel? I know mine goes all the way in.. and then I let it off but it doesn't engage untill the last inch or less of letting it up.. it seems to have a lot of wasted space.. but maybe thats normal? Thanks guys

Trevor

 

Is it kinda like your runnig out of gas?
Fuel pump. Get a guage and check the pressure when primed, then duct tape it or prop it up with a rag so you can see it from inside the car and go fro a drive.
Should be around 43psi when primed.

 

Yeah.. it's almost exactly like I'm running out of gas... I'll give that a shot.. thanks

Trevor

 

I'll second fuel pump. Mines fine in the firebird, but the one in my fiero went at a stop light, i had to give it mega-gas just to get it through the intersection, and rev it way up. It happened really quickly too.

 

Just happend again but this time it was different.... it happens more often.. a lot more often acutaly, at a dead stop, however this time was the second time that I was going along in 4th gear and decided to see how my trottle response was... so I let off a bit and then quickly push it to about half throttle and guess what.. started choking and sputtering.. so does that mean it's the throttle positioning sensor (TPS) as suggested to be the probalem earlier in this thread? Or do you guys still think it's the fuel pump? Let me know if you need more details.. thanks for all the info guys

Trevor

 

Before you do anything you definately need to replace your fuel filter and run your car for a few days to see if the problem goes away. I bought my car with 65250 and this happened to me a week later. I almost freaked out. Replaced the fuel filter and haven't had such a problem since.

 

I'd say yes to changing the fuel filter...But I still think its you TPS. Your car has too low of miles to be fuel pump. My car has 163,000 miles on it with original fuel pump. Good Luck

 

Mileage has nothing to do with when your fuel pump goes out. Start with the cheaper choices first. If your fuel filter looks old, chances are, it could use changing anyway. Try that first, and if that doesn't fix it, check your TPS voltage while gradually engaging the throttle to WOT. If the voltage doesn't steadily climb with the throttle, it's probably bad.

 

Ok, thanks guys.. I'll try to get around to changing the fuel filter asap lol.. then if thats not it I'll check the pump.

Trevor

 

Technically, it does not.... But high mileage obviously means that its more likely to go. Low mileage, the opposite.

Yes you are right... But what does an old fuel filter look like on the outside

My comment was geared more towards the idea of not looking at the piston when the sparkplugs are faulty. Change the filter, then check the TPS and THEN worry about the pump. Or take it to a mechanic.