Engine "choking" problem...

[serboliver]

I posted this on the 240SX board before I read the FAQ...so here it is....

Ok, I have had this particular problem for about 4 months now. And I cannot figure out what it is.

First..my car...

93' s-13, stock motor, injen CAI, 5zigen fireball exhaust, PDM dump-pipe...those are all the engine mods.

Second...the problem(s)...

Sometimes (not all the time) on rainy days, after about 10 minutes of driving, the motor will sound like its choking. A few times, it got so bad that I have had to nurse the throttle and clutch to keep the car moving so I could get home. The motor has no power when this happens, I push down the pedal, and it hesitates (kinda like the car has no gas, but it does).

Other times, after about 30-45 min on the highway, the same thing will happen, but to a lesser degree. On these occasions, usually I cannot go above 3500rpm or the motor will start to sound like its choking again (again the "out of gas" type of hesitation). This will not happen for long, sometimes it happens for about 2 or 3 minutes, and then just go away. Other times it will persist for the duration of my drive.

Needless to say, all these things make me very nervous driving the car.

Third...what i've done...

My first thought was that the CAI was getting excessively wet in the rain, and that the dust in the dirty filter was holding the water and choking the motor of air. So I thoroughly cleaned the K&N, oiled it up, and reinstalled. I also semi-sealed the area in the wheel well where the filter is located, and blocked the air inlet duct below the drivers side turn signal with a piece of clear plastic and sealed that as well. So I am sure that the filter is staying dry in normal rain conditions (except of course big puddles, but I avoid those or drive very very slow thru them).

Once I did this, I was sure it would fix the problem. Not. On my next trip to Houston, the highway hesitation happened again. When I got home to my parents house, I brainstormed again. My next guess was that the motor was not getting enough fuel...maybe a dirty fuel filter....so I replaced that. That seemed to help a little bit, and again, I was convinced that I had fixed the problem.

Low and behold, on my way home on the highway, more hesitation.

Now, none of this hesitation has actually happened in the past 2 weeks, but am I missing something? Is there something else that could be causing this to happen?

All information/help would be appreciated very much.

-Oliver

[rschwalbe]

I am getting some of the same stuff and haven't figured it out yet either! Sorry I wasn't posting to help you (although I wish I could) but more to ask that if you find the answer and get it fixed, PLEASE--PLEASE--PLEASE let me know what the answer was!! I have been racking my brain! One thing I know for sure on mine is the injectors are bad--you could check them! I am replacing mine in about 2 weeks. After that I am going for a new fuel pump (these are both suggestions I have gotten)

Thanks in advance for any help!

[email protected]

[truhlth]

I am also having a hesitation issue and I would really like to know if anyone has found a solution. I have cleaned and rebuilt all injectors, new fuel pressure regulator, new plugs, cap, rotor. Still no help..

Scott