Hello everyone. I'm new to this forum. I have a base 1996 Camaro. It has the stock 3.8L V6. I purchased the car in 2001, with 76,000 miles on it. It currently has 160,000 miles on it. In the time that I have owned it, the spark plugs have been changed once, and the wires have never been changed. All other routine maintanence has been kept up with. I live in New England, so this car is typically a spring/summer/fall car only, and it is parked outside during the winter. Like many other owners of this particular car, I have trouble during acceleration. Right now, I must be gentle with the gas, otherwise the car stumbles and doesn't go. I am aware of the many possibilities that could cause this problem. However, considering I've owned the car for 9 years and the spark plug wires have never been changed, is it safe to say that this is the most likely cause. I have it planned out to changed the plugs and wires this weekend. My only fear is that changing these will not solve the hesitation problem. When I get deep into the gas, whether in gear or neutral, the engine stumbles, as if it's being flooded with gas or air. If I understand correctly, this could be the O2 sensor. However, there is a plethora of other possibilities. Some of you might say, "With 160,000 miles on it, it's not worth the money." Other than this hesitation, the car runs near perfect, so the value of fixing it is there. On top of that, it's the only option for a vehicle that I have right now. However, I would like to have a good idea what is most likely causing this, before I go buying parts that I "think" is the solution. What are the most likely causes of this problem? Any insight is greatly appreciated before I go spending money. Haha

 

sounds like the MAF or a vacuum leak

 

Just an update. I went ahead and changed the plugs and wires. The wires I pulled off were awful (installed by previous owner), but most of the plugs looked in decent shape. With the new plugs and wires the problem went away!

 

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