Intermitant engine problems...NEED HELP! (long)
 

Tonight I had to be towed home because of this intermitant engine problem I'm having.

What happens is all of a sudden the car will start to run like crap. It hesitates and bucks and the CE light will come on. When I rev it when it does this, it sounds like a cylinder is not firing or something. It just doesnt sound right and doesnt feel right so I have to shut it off.

It has done this to me like 3 times before but always when it does it, I just shut the car off, turn it back on, and it's fine. This time however, I tried restarting the car 10 or so times and it didn't help.

The last time it did this was a month ago. Since then the engine has run fine. Like tonight, the engine was running fine, then all of a sudden this happens. But now when the tow truck dropped the car off and I start it, it runs fine again

This is annoying the hell out of me. Also, I have a crappy idle which i think is very related to this problem. It's not really a crappy idle in the fact that it will never stall or anything, it's just that my car sounds like it has a cam in it now. Sounds kind of cool and everyone asks what cam I'm running, but I know it's not right.

Another thing is that when this problem occurs, my A/F ratio guage doesn't go full green (rich) like it's supposed to under part throttle or idle or full throttle. It really never gets past stoich when this happens. But like I say now that the tow truck just drooped off my car, I start it and drive for a bit and it's fine again. And the A/F ratio is fine also.

I know I should buy a code scanner and find out something from that. But my cousin has one and hes in Orlando so that's a ways away.

This whole problem has gotten me worried to the point where I think the only solution would be to pull the valve covers and heads and see what's goign on. I use this car to get me to/from work so i don't need this happening on my way to work. I'll get my a@@ fired. But any input you all could give me would be very apprecaited. Thanks

Sounds like a faulty TFI or a fuel pump heading south to Orlando.

or...engine grounds or computer ground?

How old is the fuel filter?? I had a Escort that use to drive fine for awhile and then it would start bucking like that. I would turn the car off and wait like a minute...start it up and it would run fine. It would be a cheap thing to change and try. Maybe it could make a difference..

Or maybe a stuck open fuel injector?

You can easily check this by turning the key forward (when it is running bad) and watch your fuel pressure gauge. The pump should prime up the line, and it should drop off relatively slowly. (over 5-10 minutes, sometimes longer) if it drops right to zero after the pump primes, you most likely have an injector stuck open.

Hey thank you for all the good input! You all give me much more knowledged advice than people on Stangnet. Not to dis them or amything, but you all just seem more knowledged. :) Thanks. i seem to think it has something to do with the computer and the #8 cylinder though, but that injector stuck open could be a problem too. Take a look at my plugs which I yanked last night after I got towed home. The #8 has more brownish haze then the rest of them as well as more white dots all over it. What does this mean?