Shuddering, power loss, and burning smell

Chucklz95LSC

Chucklz95LSC

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So I'm leaving work(about 45deg weather) and as I'm heading down the street I start to feel as if the car is shuddering or hesitating. I give it some gas and it gets a little better and then starts again. It was really bad when I was going uphill getting on the freeway. The shuddering got much louder as the car tried to climb the on ramp. So I get it up to around 65mph and I can still feel slight hesitation only when accelerating, and then I notice a burning smell. Couldn't quite figure the smell out, but it definitely wasn't oil. So I drive home about 20 miles and noticed when I came to a stop it was idling lower than normal. When I got home I put the car in neutral and the idle went back up to normal, but if I put it in drive it would drop below and run slightly rough again. I checked the fluids and everything looked normal. Did not see any leaks anywhere. The car has about 120k on it and when I bought it I had to change the IACV and fuel pump and filter. It ran great with no issues for about six months until tonight. I haven't done anything such as plugs, wires, coils, etc. since it ran great. This issue just happened and gave me no gradual warnings, not even a CEL. Any ideas?
 
i have the same exact thing wrong with my 95 its has 185000 miles on it and im told its the torque converter going bad. Both my cats are also clogged and the smell resembles rotten eggs, that could be part of the problem also.
 
GMAN said:
What year is the Mark? How long have you had i? How many miles does it have? What's your fuel economy like?
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Greg, if you're thinking what I'm thinking, you're probably on the right track. Plugs and wires? Very possible and I'm assuming he has a 95. (Chucklz95LSC)

The car has about 120k on it.
 
What I am thinking is ruling out all the easy stuff before you have to start wrenching and replacing parts. My son's 97 had this problem, shuddering, loss of power. My problem turned out to be mushroomed valves caused by many years of the wrong octane fuel being used. This caused the loss of power. So off with the heads and to the machine shop for new valves and guides they went. I would first run some Seafoam through the intake, fuel and oil. Make damn sure you are using 93 octane. Reset your economy and take notes. Report back with your findings.
 
Sounds like you lost a coil. Check for codes. DONT DRIVE IT ANY MORE. Raw fuel to the cats will melt the guts.
 
Thanks for the replies. I forgot to mention that I changed the TPS when I did the IACV. I always run the high octane. I actually have some seafoam that I bought and was going to change the plugs after I used it. I guess I will start off with the cheaper easier things first and see what happens. I bought the car with 116k and it has ran great and I took it to a friend's Ford dealership after I changed the IACV so they could run a full diagnostic on it. It received a clean bill of health. So I shouldn't drive it anymore until I change the plugs? I was hoping to do the seafoam in the fuel treatment and then change the plugs first.
 
Did you change the plugs and wires yet? When you do so, check your coil packs for any missing contacts. Also ensure that the wires fit snuggly and make good contact.
 
I'm going to probably take off work tomorrow and start my diagnosing. What are the best plugs and wires to go with in your opinions? Also, if my cats are clogged what are my options as far as changing my exhaust to have less restriction, but still pass emissions. I'm in AZ so the emissions aren't too strict. One other thing I forgot to tell you was the mpg has been about 26 and even up to 28. I do mostly highway driving.
 
Chucklz95LSC said:
I'm going to probably take off work tomorrow and start my diagnosing. What are the best plugs and wires to go with in your opinions? Also, if my cats are clogged what are my options as far as changing my exhaust to have less restriction, but still pass emissions. I'm in AZ so the emissions aren't too strict. One other thing I forgot to tell you was the mpg has been about 26 and even up to 28. I do mostly highway driving.
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If the drivers-side cat is clogged it's gonna be a PITA because that cat is actually welded to the manifold. You have a few options and all are either hard or unappealing for various reasons.
1-Remove manifold and cut off the cat/then weld a new pipe to the manifold and put a new cat lower in the system.
2-Gutting the cat and then putting a new one lower in the system. Gutting cats is sucky work and the empty chamber will cause flow issues.
3-Find a way to remove the cat without taking the manifold off.(I already asked about this and it seems to be impossible or ridiculously hard at best.)
4-Remove manifolds and get headers.
 
You're putting the cart before the horse. Rule out everything else. Stick with OEM plugs and wires. Contact Max. His ad is to the right of your screen. Or just go to your local Auto Parts store and get the equivalent; then do the Seafoam and run it through your intake, Oil, and fuel. Then change your fuel filter. That's what I would do in that order.
 
I've changed everything that I can think of that would cause a miss and mine still isn't happy..
TPS
Plugs
Wires
Coils
Cam Sensor
Fuel Injectors
Fuel Filter
IAC
MAF Sensor...


Any ideas on next? My $600 scanner with OBD1 attachments will not communicate with the car

the tube coming from the drivers manifold has a crack in the flex portion, and I'm sure both O2s are shot since they got coolant on them.. But as far as I can tell an egr leak and o2s shouldn't cause a miss
 
Sapperfire said:
the tube coming from the drivers manifold has a crack in the flex portion, and I'm sure both O2s are shot since they got coolant on them.. But as far as I can tell an egr leak and o2s shouldn't cause a miss
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Interesting. I think you have just explained to us why it is running the way it is. And an egr leak too? Yeesh. :eek:
 
Shuddering, Power loss and burning smell? That's what happens to me after i eat at Margaritas here in KC....
 
my egr tube was cracked for i dont even know how long. and i never noticed anything. top of the transmission was covered in black soot though.
 
Okay so I went to Checker and rented a scanner. It was for both OBD I,II. Hooked it up and followed all the directions and it said it was searching for codes, then it said codes found wait patiently....10 mins later...so I did it again....same...gave me no codes. I did both tests key on/off and engine on/off. The engine off test couldn't read anything. WTF? So I bought plugs, but not wires cuz nobody in freakin town had them!! All the plugs came out with no problems and all had the light brown normal coloring except for one that was a bit darker, but still didn't look too bad. So as I'm putting the drivers side cover back on I noticed my pcv was broken. Unfortunately it was too late for me to get one from the auto store, but first thing tomorrow I will pick it up and change it. I will also expand my search for plug wires too. I saw something about using a test light on the harness and battery to get codes? I will try that too. I'm not sure what could frustrate me more than having to replace that IACV to want me to set it on fire...knock on wood. I would like to give the engineers at Lincoln that came up with that idea a good forearm shiver. Thanks again for all the info.
 
maybe you should set the idle at 3200 RPM's that should take away any miss that you hear...if not than you have bigger problems than a dead miss.
 
So I tried pulling each plug wire off the coil individually and there was power loss with all of them like there should be. I noticed one of the coils had some plastic missing and was exposing the metal, so I replaced it. I'm starting to wonder if I have a vacuum leak instead.
 
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