sorry for the cross post from another forum, but i need my car for work and school so i need some help to resolve my current predictament.

"the first real snow of the year and my car decideds to start acting up. So i started driving my g/f home tonight with my bro in the car. I get up to the top of my street and stop at the stop sign. All of a sudden, a really rough idle over takes the car. Note, this car has been running like a top since i got it...and has always idled smooth as butter. So i am going and around 1500rpm i get a constant shake/misfire, but doesnt seem to get anyworse/more noticable as the rpms increase. So i get to my g'fs house and pop the hood, and the car is surging at idle about 200-400 rpm surges...no ticking/no vacume leaks, nothing notciable. We head to the tail pipe and it is definetly notice in the exhuast note/pulses that something is not right. Mind you its 12:50am and its snowing out. so i get in, seeing as i can't do anything there, and head home. About 5 blocks from my house, still discourgaed by my cars recent behavior, open the throttle up to about 3500rpm...if i do it with wot(reving it) it emmits a extremely loud pop/bang from the passenger side of the engine bay. So i pull over into a parking lot about 3 blocks from my house and have my bro lightly rev it to about 2000rpms or so for a quick second and its popping/bangin(enough to scare the **** out of me). In the car it sounded like a bang and i thought it was my bad axle acting up, but standing outside and listening as it is reved lightly in neutral, its a bang/backfire of some sort...but as it revs...not as it revs down.

Not only that, but i got in a reved it alittle in the parking lot and when i completely let off the gas the car remainded reving @ 2000rpm until i reved it to 2500 and let of abruptly.

WHat the hell could it be. No CELS!!!!!!!! No fluids leaking. I just put a new air filter in, changed the oil about a week ago. Ihave new plugs and a new fuel filter about to go in sometime in the next few days.

i seem to think its electrical, plugs, plug wires, coil pack, 02 sensor, maf. One of those.

My bro seems to think i have an exhaust leak, burned out cat, cloge of some sort in my exhuast system. I havent gotten under the car yet but am goign to investigate tomorow morning in the sunlight.

I am just sad cause it was the first snow and i wanted to frolic in it with my car, but ofcourse it starts to buck and misfire like a bitch for the first time ever.

Btw, its a 2.2L n/a in my 1995 L with an 4eat.


And my post after i went out and checked somethings out better right after the original post.

"update: went out right after i posted and checked my plugs. They looked pretty clean but looked like they had the 6k miles on them that they do. The front passenger plug had a bit of liquidy brown around the outside of the plug(on top where you place the sparkplug socket). Possibly a valve cover leak or maybe a head gasket?) I dunno. Tomorow i am gonna pick up a set of plug wires and gap/put in my new plugs and start her up. If she still acts up and or the brown liquid/fluid comes back, i am gonna have to go to the next step.

Someone please lead me ina possible direction. Are my assuptions somewhat correct or am i just jergin it"

any thoughts. :(

...is the airbox closed properly...???

yes um. but even so, what difference would that make? It still has air to pass over the maf...and my air box is before the maf, so any air would be counted, no?

bump :(

Leaking valve covers shouldn't cause your car to surge, pop, and bang. Also, a clogged catalytic converter will badly bog the engine down, slam your gas mileage, and more than likely glow red after the engine has warmed up.

it emmits a extremely loud pop/bang from the passenger side of the engine bay This is what stumps me. It sounds like a misfire, but you would obviously get a CEL from that.

Spark plug wires?
Cracked Exhaust Manifold or loose header bolt?

-Charles-

could be water in the fuel. Get a $2 bottle of HEAT and follow its instructions.

My car freaks out similar to what you describe sometimes after I go up to the mountian for snowboarding. its just condesation in the tank. Not quite as bad though


also check the crank position sensor...if you have one.

Sparkplug lose???

Could it have been when you changed the air filter that a pipe got disconected to the intake pipping? This happen to me when I changed my air filter though my car just shut off, but maybe the other pipe is lose of off. I know it's not the same car however my buddy when he owned a Tempo wanted to make a CIA so we did though his box was connected to all the pipping with out using the filter so we left them hang lose and once he reved his car up with the home made CIA it would make the loud banging noises.

Anyway what rpm should the EJ22 idle at? Mine seems to idle kinda low but doesn't jump or anything and seems to run just fine, it idles at the mark below the 1K rpm mark.