juddering and sluggish

[scoobykarl]

ok im going to be as descriptive as i can so that your able to help as much as possible.

this has been going on for about a month now and both my wife and i have put it down to our driving!! however, in any gear and including pulling away, the car has no power, judders and seems incredibly sluggish then out of no where it picks up. Whilst driving along in any gear if the revs are below 2000rpm again it judders and feels 'weak' of power.

My initial thoughts are that it could be the spark plugs as the car is likely due for a service but am i being thick in thinking it could just be this or is there a deeper seated problem that im missing???


i look forward to your responses and wait in anticipation of your answers.


p.s. the cars a 1.8 zetec 2000 reg car.

[Sponsor]

[scoobykarl]

does anyone have any idea about this? or perhaps can confirm what i was thinking??

[whynotthinkwhynot]

Well yes, I'd first do a "tune-up" which is plugs, wires, air filter, fuel filter, clean the MAF, and check the PCV. That should get things running as good as possible.

If the problem still persists, it sounds to me as if you're having TPS problems, so I'd look into a new throttle position sensor.

[SE2002]

I'm assuming the car is automatic transm.
if the car takes off very sluggish or comes to a stop bucking, take the car for a drive, turn radio off make sure you are alone at the street you will be using.
pay extra attention to the transmission shifting to all gears.
so if you have a 4sp auto you should feel the tranny shift 3 times from a dead stop.

test your OD button if equipped, you should feel the change in rpms as you press and depress the OD button(shifter small button) once you've reached cruising speeds.

now that the car is cruising let the car come to a slow speed and try to feel the tranny downshift from the last gear to 1st. if the car downshifts 3 times with at 4sp+od something is wrong.

worse case scenario you can't sense the car downshift, in that case invest $70 and about 2 hrs and bring the car to a transmission shop. they will test the transmission in about 1 to 2 hrs.

if the car is manual tranny have the catalytic converter inspected. it will not hurt to do it even it it is automatic transm. as well.

gl

[scoobykarl]

Originally Posted by SE2002

I'm assuming the car is automatic transm.
if the car takes off very sluggish or comes to a stop bucking, take the car for a drive, turn radio off make sure you are alone at the street you will be using.
pay extra attention to the transmission shifting to all gears.
so if you have a 4sp auto you should feel the tranny shift 3 times from a dead stop.

test your OD button if equipped, you should feel the change in rpms as you press and depress the OD button(shifter small button) once you've reached cruising speeds.

now that the car is cruising let the car come to a slow speed and try to feel the tranny downshift from the last gear to 1st. if the car downshifts 3 times with at 4sp+od something is wrong.

worse case scenario you can't sense the car downshift, in that case invest $70 and about 2 hrs and bring the car to a transmission shop. they will test the transmission in about 1 to 2 hrs.

if the car is manual tranny have the catalytic converter inspected. it will not hurt to do it even it it is automatic transm. as well.

gl

im british so no its not auto its a manual. sorry first forum i came to lol. its unlikely the cat as the car is not 'choking' if you will its almost like a bad driver is 'kangarooing'. (hope that makes sense) im lookin to change the spark plugs this weekend and possibly replace the panel filter but im also going to clean the throttle body to try and eliminate the TPS

[SE2002]

could be a flat spot on the tps, so you're heading the right way there.

if possible have the fuel pressure tested. it also sounds like a bad fuel pressure problem, idk if your car has that fuel dampener thing in line but I've heard it goes bad and gives symptoms like that you are having.

a friend of mine had a GM cavalier and it hesitated but only at very slow cruising speeds somewhere around 30 to 38 mphs He had the fuel injectors cleaned professionally after spending a lot of $ on new parts that did not fixed the problem. so have the fuel system checked.


gl

[scoobykarl]

iroically i did think to myself today is there a chance that the fuel injectors need a clean!!! it would make sense