Hello all,

I have started having the issue mentioned in the subject for a couple days now and am wondering where to start in repairing the issue.

To start I purchased the car in Feb. of this year with some known issues (and some unknown issues ) During this time I have replaced the following.

Fuel Filter, Distributor cap/Rotor, Ignition Control Module, Ignition Coil, Spark plug wires, Spark plugs, Air Filter and Battery. This was all replaced within a month of purchasing the vehicle because the ICM and IC both failed within a month of purchasing the car. (unknown issue...)

The rear caliper's, pads, and rotors have been replaced as the rotors were damaged beyond repair from the previous owner. Both front driveshafts also have been replaced as the CV joints were knocking when the car was purchased. (known issues...)

I also had to replace the clutch, have the flywheel shaved, and the clutch cable replaced when the car decided to stop going into gears after owning it only 3-4 months. (unknown EXPENSIVE issue...)

So that is the history of what I have done so far. Otherwise the car as run wonderfully for me. I drive the car easy for the most part, shifting between 3500 - 4500 RPM's.

Recentlly however I have had an issue where when I start accelerating the car will hesitate and "stutter" until it reaches 2500RPM's at which point it surges forward with what feels like it's normal acceleration. As I shift through the gears, anytime that it drop below or around 2500RPM's it starts to loose power and the engine seems to "hiccup" for lack of a better term from time to time.

I car does seem to smoke a little bit when initially started but stops once it warms up. That I think could be attributted to the fact that the average tempature in my region right now is a little over 35* right now. I have also noticed that the engine does seem to have what looks like fresh oil on the lower portion in the front and left side beneath the distributor.

My thought is that I have possiblly blown the head gasket (down shifted one day into 2nd abit early and tached the engine to around 6000 RPM's :doh: ) and was wondering if all the symptoms seem to fit that diagnosis from some experts on this vehicle.

Thanks for any assistance you all can provide me.

 

my car stuterred at 2000 rpm, did a full tune up and still nothing, when i adjusted my timing belt the stuttering went away

 

I would check your timing since all the ignition parts have been replaced.

 

Thanks for the replies both of you!!

I'm going to check that today along with the air intake, fuel injectors, and the air intake manifold. After consulting my haines manual lastnight it pointed me in that direction as well.

I'll post any findings later tonight.

Cheers
LS