1997 Dodge Neon
2.0 liter (I’m almost sure it’s a SOHC)
Automatic Transmission
74,000 miles on it
Fuel Injection
Regular brakes
PS/AC
no Cruise control


The car sputters very badly when put in gear and you press the gas. In idle, it’s pretty steady, although it sometimes stumbles but for the most part, it seems pretty steady. You can punch it in idle and the engine will rev up, with a slight hesitation but then climbs up normally. Even when you shift into gear, until you step on the gas, the car feels pretty steady. Once you step on the gas, the car sputters very badly, so much so that it is unusable. At one time while I let the car idle while I looked around, the gas smelled very weird, I’m not sure if that means it running lean or rich or whatever. I changed the plugs, checked the wires, the spark, the injectors seem to be working fine, no air obstructions, no engine codes are coming up from the computer, no vacuum leaks that I can find, no faulty wires found, no cracked hoses, etc….

What I’m thinking is the EGR system. But I checked the EGR valve and it moves with vacuum applied, but it just seems to be it, but I may be wrong. Would it be possible the EGR would still move up and down but the Electrical Transducer is not working right? I’m just afraid to spend all that money and that’s not the problem. The book does say to change both the EGR and the Transducer at the same time so unless you know where a good source for this is, I’m looking at a couple hundred bucks. A few times, the car cleared up and ran just fine. A few times when I messed around the the transducer, i got the car to smooth out, so I'm really thinking the cause is here somewhere-somehow.

I was wondering if it was the fuel pump or filter, but I just don’t think so. Should I change that to rule it out. Would that be a faulty converter or the oxygen sensors? I’m thinking the O2 sensors would trip a code. Or is it the fuel system and the injectors. Please help me. I’m very stuck.

thanks folks

 

have you checked the fuel pressure at the fuel rail? im thinking this is a fuel problem more than an EGR issue.

yeah, o2 sensor(s) would trip a code.
injector problems .. depends on the problem. if its just a clogged injector, it wouldnt throw a code. but since you say that it cleared up a couple times, im gonna doubt its a bad injector.... but clogged, possibly.

a clogged catalytic converter very well could cause sputtering, since the exhaust is having a hard time escaping. how did the exhaust smell? if it smells heavily like rotten eggs, thats a pretty good sign the cat is bad.

but, im still thinking it may be a fuel related issue.. either fuel filter or pump.. or both. id check the fuel pressure to see if theres anything amiss there. pressure should be a steady 49psi at the rail.

 

I'll concentrate on doing a thorough check of the fuel system before I move on. I gotta go buy a tester from eBay first.

 

Well if u r getting no codes for it more then likely it an injection problem....but if u go off the key code it wont necessarily tell you if the spark and wires are bad. Use a computer and it will give you a code for it. AS many miles as you have on your car you will need a tune up anyways but more then likely it is an intake problem.... if you have a ram intake w/ a bad seal around it your gettin contaminants all around your throttle body and dirt or impurities will clog injectors or foil sparkplugs....so buy throttly body cleaner or carb cleaner spray the hell outta ur throttle body put a new filter in it and run some fuel system cleaner. It should smooth out just fine. The other thing it could be is the auto idle malfunctioning...fuel filter clogged or water /moisture in system is possible regap ur plugs as well.

 

Actually, I forgot to mention that in the air intake going to the throttle body, on the underside there's a huge hole. It looks as if there a clamp which supposed to have something there but nothing is there except a huge circle and it's open to the engine compartment. So anything been getting sucked in and passed to the throttle body and injectors. In fact, I should've started there I guess. I'll pull out the injectors and clean them one by one and clean out the throttle body (actually the throttle body didn't look too bad, so I assumed there was no problem there, but I'll clean it to rule it out anyways). That would be nice if the fix is as simple as that.

 

id still try to check that fuel pressure at the fuel rail first and see what kinda readings yer getting

 

I have the same problem but the cruise control light comes on when it starts to sputter and shake...any advice on this? or would it be a fuel issue as well. We've changed plugs, wires, coil pack, and fuel filter, put some seafoam in the tank, it ran fine for about 30 miles, then did it again the next day.

 

yep, proably a fuel pump. check the fuel pressure when it's acting up should be at 49psi