Saab - 9-7x :: Sputtering 5.3L V8 - Backfiring And Loss Of Power
Feb 20, 2013
I have a 2006 Saab 97x. While the car is not very common, the GM 5.3L V8 in it, is. It runs perfectly fine under normal driving conditions but for the past several months it has been running like a Slaab instead of a Saab. It has been backfiring, sputtering and has had loss of power issues but only during hard acceleration.When my check engine light came on at 50k, the dealership changed all 8 iridium plugs and when it happened again at 75k, only one was replaced. Aren't these supposed to be 100k plugs? One of the exhaust manifolds has been replaced due to a leak and the other one has a leak now. Fortunately, all of the previous repairs have been covered by my warranty. Unfortunately, my warranty has run out and the other manifold is no longer covered and seemingly neither is this problem. Most recently, my new mechanic used some fuel injector cleaner something or other to no avail. I tow a 5000# camper and can't have these issues when summer comes. Is it the plugs, manifold, engine, something else?
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I replaced the crank shaft position sensor and it fixed everything. According to the Hanes Manual, the crank shaft position sensor is responsible for many things including timing etc. But one thing that caught my eye was that the car would run for a while, then stop completely and not run for a few hours or few days.
All seems good now. From the title post above, you can see that I have multiple issues with the car, or just maybe one causing all the symptoms.First, I am an American living in Norway and getting anything done around here costs an arm, a leg, and an extra pinky so I am going at this the maker way and trouble shooting my problems with the car.The initial problem is this.When the car starts, it starts up fine and has normal power. After driving for a few minutes, the car starts exhibiting the following symptoms.
1. If I step on the gas pedal hard and hold it, it sounds as if the car is drowning, the car loses power, then may back fire, then instantly, it regains power and accelerates. This is by keeping the pedal down.
2. If I feather the pedal, it doesn't lose power and accelerates decently but as soon as I begin to go up hill, it bogs down and does the drowning noise again.
3. I created a video showing this issue : [URL] .....
In the video, the car is idling fine but when I throttle it, it begins to drown, then just picks up right away for no apparent reason.4. Just two days ago, the car will not start after it's been running for a while. If I let it sit, it starts up again.
What it could be.
1. Could my catalytic converter be bad and therefore it somehow creates back pressure after the car warms up?
2. Would it be a fuel injection problem? I put fuel injection cleaner in the tank and it seemed to run a little better.
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I recently bought an 87 Toyota corolla fx 16 as I totaled out my other car hitting a deer when I test drove this car I had no issues on this car it had high miles at 197k but it seemed to purr like a kitten it wasn't until I started to drive it back and forth to work that I noticed the issue when the car is cold it runs and idles fine a little bit of shift hesitation but figured that might be a dirty transmission filter as the fluid appeared discolored however when the car warms up it shifts fine and begins to cut out and the Rpms dip under 1k every 20-30 seconds.
It becomes worse when the car is in gear driving down the road it randomly cuts out and seems to lose power while occasionally backfiring and if I come to a stop and leave it in gear it will die if I don't feather the throttle just right on takeoff or press it to the floor when I press it to the floor it's slow on take off and sounds like a mix of backfiring and missing and then suddenly takes off like a bat out of hell once I hit about 20 mph. When it dies the check engine light comes on but as soon as I start it it goes back off. I've already changed a bunch of the routine stuff since the car sat for a year such as fuel filter, air filter, plugs, wires, coil, rotor, valve cover gaskets, and replaced nearly all the vacuum lines trying to figure it out thinking its something simple.
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Im looking to upgrade my radio and speaker system in my car but I do not want to lose my steering wheel controls.
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I have a 92 gmc with a standard transmission that is backfiring and sputtering after it has been running for a while. I have noticed that on longer trips, 30+ miles, the truck backfires when i go to accelerate on the highway. Also, after it has been running a while, I will stop at a light, When I go to accelerate, It backfires and tries to stall but wont. I have to turn the key off and wait for the truck to shut off.
Once it shuts off, I will restart it and then it runs normal till the next light.. I have replaced the plugs recently, thinking that it was a misfire problem. All the plugs looked normal. None were dirtier than the rest. It only does this after it has been running for a long distance. If it is cold, it does not have a problem. I have also tried seafoam in the tank and direct into the carb. I am at a loss? the temp gauge never gets hot?
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1999 saab 9 3 loss of power going up hill and when accelerating, have had the catalytic converter replaced, the turbo thingy checked and blown out, the muffler checked and found no problem, It has been put on the machine at 2 different dealers and no problem found...
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SAAB 2007 9-3 - Recently my car has been having a rough idle and stalling on start up. It has been getting worse and I need it fixed ASAP for a long trip coming up. I cannot have this thing die on me while I'm 300 miles from home....
At stop lights the car will have a rough idle while in park and reverse. While in neutral, nothing. As soon as I accelerate, it goes away but does have a lack of power if I really push the pedal. Once I am in 3rd/4th gear, the car feels normal with no issues. If I am on the highway and slow down then need to accelerate, it goes back to losing power BUT if I change over to manual and downshift, car gains power and goes back to normal.
Here's what I have done so far:
1. Changed the spark plugs twice. Once with cheap ones, the second time with expensive ones. I also swapped out the boots.
2. Cleaned the MAP sensor
3. Cleaned intake sensor
4. Replaced air filter
5. Changed oil
6 New battery
The engines gives no codes whatsoever and I have taken it to a couple places and their readers don't see any codes. My SAAB has a built in fuel filter and this cannot be replaced unless you replaced the whole pump (to my understanding). I plan on buying some Seafoam today and see if that works. Also, I have been told to clean my air intake valve but I cannot get the damn tube off! I feel that if I yank and pull on it, it's going to damage the tube. I am not seeing any obvious leaks anywhere. One thing that is weird about my car, since I have bought it used a few years ago, my headlights/tail lights/blinkers go bad QUICKLY!
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I have an 2004 treg V10. I put in diesel yesterday morning(10/13/2010). I went to work, everything was fine. On my way home I started feeling a slight hesitation and sputtering in the motor. It's something that I noticed but didn't give much thought. 10 minutes into the drive and the sputtering became more noticeable. To the point where I would floor the pedal and the treg wouldn't go anywhere, it felt like all the power got drained from the motor. I came to a stop, and listened the engine, no noticeable change in engine noise. Everything seemed fine, but the truck was sputtering every time I would press the gas pedal. I parked the truck for the night and forgot about it.
Now this morning. Driving around in some local streets I def felt like something was off with the truck, it felt like it had a V6 not a V10. took it on the highway and opened her up, car took way too long to get up to speed and once it reached 90 MPH it didn't want to go any faster, it just stayed there. I took an exit off the highway and stopped at a light and the car sputtered and hesitated and eventually stalled at the light. I tried re-starting the truck and it was just stay in the crank position. The battery light came on. I tried starting it again and it would just remain in the crank position. It eventually turned over and started after cranking it for about 5 or 6 times. But the car is still sputtering a bit.
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I bought a 2000 jetta gls vr6 5-speed. Only had the car about 4 weeks, already I am in, ball joints, struts, brakes, core leaks and my half shaft fell off at the transmission. Now, driveabilty issue.
Severe loss of power, sputtering bad. when i shift, the car revs a bit. installed new O2 sensor due to a rich code and a out of range code. Now the EPC light is on with an implausible brake switch signal. Replaced switch still comes back on. Still running like poop. Changed the plugs also about 1k back. I just ordered a MAF.
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Ii had drove my car about 20 miles and after i had got inside and turned it on to drive it again CEL started flashing and car was sputtering lost power and felt like it didn't want to move so I had taken it to a VW specialist and he diagnosed it and told me its my coil pack and its got a bit water inside it and I would need to replace it and he said he would charge me $300 to replace ...
So I figured if its just the coil pack I could most likely do it myself and could this be from the coil pack? and why would there be water in my spark plug? Should I replace all coil or just the one that's bad.
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i have an 07 ford f 150 5,4 liter. at speeds between 45 and 55 it has like a sputtering and jerking loss of power. I had a computer hooked up to it and it said fuel pump replaced it but it is still doing it, what this might be.
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Ok here's the problem. I have a 2003 grand prix se 3.1 and a 1998 grand prix gtp series II sc. Both have the exact same problem running and both had overheating issues prior to. I can start either one on a given day while cold and drive them as if nothing is wrong. But soon as either one hits operating temp, I start to hear what sounds like a rattling or sputtering like sound from under the hood, accompanied with a sudden loss of power and then the engine shuts off. Now yesterday I attempted further diagnostics with the se model GP. I let it idle rather than driving it this time, and it ran perfectly fine for about 20 mins, started to make the aforementioned noise, I revved the engine to about 2000 rpm and it kept it from cutting off and smoothed, but the second I let up, it was off and wouldn't restart till it was cooled off. Same goes for the gtp. I'm really stumped on this one.
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I have a 1997 Saab 9000 CSE Turbo. It has been a great car overall. Last summer, our water pump died while cruising on the highway, leading to a major overheat, leading to warped head. We decided to roll the dice on a rebuild, which was done by a reputable import specialty shop that has worked on many Saab 9000s. Since we got the car back 5000 miles ago, we have lost a few miles per gallon, and we hear a rough noise in the engine (particularly when it's cold). In the last few thousand miles, we lost a lot of coolant, apparently because the new water pump is faulty (the shop looked at it and agreed to replace under warranty). In the last 1000 miles (but no evidence of it previously), we have begun losing oil like crazy and occasionally (but not most of the time) smelling burning oil (the heater is on, moving air around). We are now adding about a quart per 200 miles. When we inspect the block, there is some small evidence of oil leakage, but not a lot, and there are never drips on the driveway.
Where is all that oil going? I showed it to the shop, we put it on the lift, and there is no spray on the underside, leaking oil pan, etc. I suspect the new head gasket is leaking, but there is little enough residue on the block that it's hard to be certain. What other explanations are there, and is it fair for me to blame the repair shop and insist that they redo the head gasket? The shop is a 6hr drive from my house, so I can't just drop by to discuss it with them.
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From the title post above, you can see that I have multiple issues with the car, or just maybe one causing all the symptoms. The initial problem is this.When the car starts, it starts up fine and has normal power. After driving for a few minutes, the car starts exhibiting the following symptoms.
1. If I step on the gas pedal hard and hold it, it sounds as if the car is drowning, the car loses power, then may back fire, then instantly, it regains power and accelerates. This is by keeping the pedal down.
2. If I feather the pedal, it doesn't lose power and accelerates decently but as soon as I begin to go up hill, it bogs down and does the drowning noise again.
3. I created a video showing this issue for my friend who typically familiar with these things. Here is the link ; [URL] .... In the video, the car is idling fine but when I throttle it, it begins to drown, then just picks up right away for no apparent reason.
4. Just two days ago, the car will not start after it's been running for a while. If I let it sit, it starts up again.
-Could my catalytic converter be bad and therefore it somehow creates back pressure after the car warms up?
-Would it be a fuel injection problem? I put fuel injection cleaner in the tank and it seemed to run a little better.
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My wife was driving the 1999 K3500 7.4 model ls crewcab truck home the other day and out of the blue it started running rough popping and back firing and lost power. It had a major tune up about 40,000 miles ago. It sometimes has a hard time cranking to start, but once it starts it idles really rough and pops and smells like it is running rich. I thought the distributor cap but it looks fine, could it be a sensor?
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I have a 2003 Chevy Malibu, V6, 3.1, auto, 140k miles. Car started out with code 0420 with no noticeable symptoms, but then added code 0303 (miss fire cyl #3) with loud knock (mostly after warmup) and loss of power under load. Now internal loss of coolant (no puddles or external drips). Changed plugs and wires - no change - all plugs looked good with no sign of contamination. Questions - if this is a valve/piston/lifter problem (which would explain the knock, miss-fire and loss of power), why would I get the loss in coolant? If the loss of coolant is fouling plug #3 (which would explain the coolant loss, miss fire and loss of power), could that give me the loud knocking? I don't see how a valve/piston/lifter issue would cause a leak in coolant but I also don't see how a coolant leak into cyl #3 would give me such a loud knock. Do I have two different problems? If it is a leak into cyl #3, is there any way to tell if it is the intake manifold gasket (which leaked before and was replaced five-six years ago and which I could do again if I had to) or a blown head gasket (which I don't think I could fix or afford to get fixed)? Engine will occasionally get hot (but not overheat).
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1999 Saab 9-3 2.0/turbo, manual, 159K miles. Barely replaced turbo (with new turbo) at 154K miles. Had sluggish power after new turbo installment. I had informed saab mechanic that the car felt sluggish upon receipt, to which he replied I could pay extra for a "performance" tune up. But, now months later the loss of power problem has worsened. Since I paid dearly for a complete new turbo installation I'd expect the same level performance as prior to the old turbo going out.
To be clear: no turbo power upon acceleration, slight whirring noise heard when stepping on gas, turbo pressure gauge stays near end of white zone, barely top of white, but needle doesn't leave white into yellow zone as it's suppose to when full gas is given or when revving up rpms to 4800 while switching gears.... absolutely no power, nothing. I'm relying on down-gearing for some engine power when going uphill - tis' that bad. Also, no black smoke or indicator lights. In researching people mention both vacuum hoses or waste gate come up as possible culprits to turbo-related power loss.
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We got "bad" gas in Feb, 2016, had to replace entire fuel system. Haven't driven the truck but 4000 miles. Last week, she started spitting and sputtering and lost power. We could see fuel pouring out. NO CEL. Towed (AAA has paid for itself several times over with this truck) to dealer that replaced the fuel system, still waiting to hear from them. Does this sound like it should be under the warranty for the work they did? We have averaged a huge repair bill about every 3-4 months on this truck, 2011 F250 Lariat, 8cyl, 6.7L, since we bought it 2 years ago.
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This began occurring after I hosed down my engine with degreaser, stupid me. Car will begin to sputter like it is losing power around 30-40mph, and then it's fine. Rarely it happens around higher speeds with the cruise control on around 65 its just fine and the CEL never came on. Well yesterday i pulled the battery cable for 30 minutes to let things reset, then i got a CEL, code P0030 which I think is an o2 sensor, so i guess it went bad from the water perhaps? What part I need, where it is located and how difficult this would be to do in the driveway?
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I started my car up for work this morning and it starting sputtering. I tried backing it up and the power cuts in and out. The check engine light is flashing. What could be the problem?
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I have a Golf 1.8 t 2003 and when the car reaches 4000 rpm on 3rd gear it starts sputtering and can't go above that rpm. it sputters a bit on 2nd gear but at about 5000 rpm but it keeps accelerating. I couldn't try the other gears because i don't have a suitable to reach those speeds (traffic laws speed limits). I have noticed a slight tear on the connection between the hose from the air filter and the T hose. could that be the problem.
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