georgieAcamaro

Hi, everyone. Sorry in advance for the length of this post!

At the end of last week I was leaving my house to run some errands. My dad had just replaced my belt tensioner a week earlier (the bolt had backed out and snapped off). At the end of that week, I had a new catalytic converter put in (my car has failed emissions four times now, and converter appeared to be the cause). Anyway, I turned off of my street, and as I began to accelerate, my car begin to stutter, and then seemed to have stalled, except the engine and all the electric was still going. However, the car just coasted...and flooring the gas pedal did nothing. Seconds later, it sprung back, and I continued down the road. About one minute later, it did the exact thing. I pulled off to the side of the road, and opened hood. Everything appeared to be in working order, but after a minute or so (I had shut off my engine, then turned it back on), I started to hear a strange rattling sound. I drove the car home very slowly, without issue, and parked it for my dad to take a look later.

He heard the rattling sound later, and decided it was coming from the alternator, so he put in a new one. The engine then ran fine, with no sound. However, I took it around the block, and it still did the stuttering/loss of acceleration thing. My dad assumed, from what I described, that it might be the fuel pump. However, he drove it around today, and when it happened, he realized that the car was still getting gas. He also realized that it only happened if he accelerated over a certain speed. Driving slow (20-25mph), it didn't happen.

So, I'm wondering if anyone could have an idea what this might be? We can't get the car into the usual shop we go to for several days, so I am trying to get an idea of what it might be so that we might take it somewhere else (the other shop we go to only specializes in a couple of areas).

Thanks!

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Welcome to thirdgen.org.

Some engine/induction/transmission details beyond "91 Camaro" would be helpful.

georgieAcamaro

Thanks for the welcome. I belonged once before, a couple of years ago, under the name bluepearlcamaro.

It's a V6 automatic, and I believe a 305.

Toehead

If it is a v6, it would be a 3.1 liter in 1991.

Did it feel like the transmission was just slipping?

georgieAcamaro

Yes, it's a 3.1 liter. I recall my dad saying that on the phone with someone (sorry, don't know as much about cars as I should...I'm a girl that's used to paying for the parts, then having dad put them on).

I'm not really sure what it feels like when the transmission is slipping. The best way I can describe it is like it was the little engine that could...struggling to go. It never stopped moving, but it was kind of leaping forward little by little. It felt like it was putting to a stop, but as soon as it felt like it was going to, it sprung back.

I'm sorry that I can't explain it much better.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

I assume when you floored it, the engine didn't rev up.

If so, it's most likely not a transmission problem but more likely a fuel or ignition problem. When was the last time the engine was tuned up? Spark plugs, distributor cap & rotor, spark plug wires. Could also be the coil or ignition control module. How about the fuel filter? It should be changed no more than every couple of years. The fuel pump could still be the problem, as it needs to do more than just put fuel up to the engine, it has to provide a certain pressure as well.

That being said, the transmission should have the fluid and filter changed from time to time as well. A 16-year-old car that still has the original transmission fluid and filter is on borrowed time.

Blue_Thunder

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like the engine is misfiring. I just finished working on a car at the shop I work at and it had the same symtems.

georgieAcamaro

Alright, guys, a little update.

I took the car to the shop a few minutes ago. Of course, we couldn't get the car to repeat the problem. My dad power braked it for a while, but nothing. However, the shop guy looked under the car and noticed my torque converter was TOMATO RED! I'm talking, glowing. He took it for a spin, and said it definitely felt like exhaust was backing up or something. I had a new converter put on about a week ago, and I hadn't really driven my car too much since until the other day when the problem first happened. Could the other shop have put the converter on...wrong?

Anything else you can think of?

I WAS able to drive it to the shop and home (only five miles), but had to drive under 35mph the whole way.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Do you mean the "catalytic" converter?

georgieAcamaro

Yes, the catalytic converter.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

You couldn't get over 35 mph, but the shop couldn't find anything wrong on a test drive?

Is the SES light coming on?

Sure sounds like you're dumping raw fuel into the exhaust.

georgieAcamaro

The car has now been in the shop (a different one) for three weeks, with no solution in sight.

The day after I took it to the first place, I drove it about 15 miles to my dad's work, after which we were taking it to the other shop. I managed to get up to 50 mph while driving, but had to ease onto the gas (basically, i let the engine do all the work...set my foot lightly on the gas, and let it 'climb' to 50, otherwise it would start slipping).

I got to my dad's work, went inside for a while, then when I went back to the car and went to pull out of the parking lot, the SES popped on and the car died on me. We couldn't get it started again. This was the first time the SES popped on during this whole debacle.

Just thought I'd give an update, and give the thread a bump incase anyone has any more ideas.

Toehead

You could pull the codes using the good old paperclip trick!