hesitation, poor acceleration.. but smooth idle?

[crash]

I took a look around first and other than not having any codes thrown.. my issue seems similar to specelc's problem described in this post.. viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1245

i changed my fuel filter around 6-7mths ago

at idle i'm smooth, under initial accel it seems to be held back .. there was a slight hesitation around the 1-2 shift then the accel got a bit better and another hesitation around the 2-3 shift... after that it seems fine. no hesitation, no lurching, no rough idle... no codes.

now.. here's the weird thing.. i have spelled the rotten egg smell twice in the last week but only outside the van.. so i assumed that it wasn't me and was a passing vehicle or something in the air... it's not consistant .. coincedence or not?

is there a way to check the cat without actually replacing it? lol ... assuming that it is the cat that is causing the problem? :-k

[phr1$k37]

My thoughts:

When I first got my Safari it was sitting for a long time. Around 80kph it would hesitate for power - floor it and it passes it no problems. Idles no problems - cruises no problem - just at that 80kph. It turned out to be one spark plug wire (night time doghouse off saw it spark spark spark with some spray water).

If CAT (someone else will have better ideas here) you can just load her up and run her hard - if the CAT is causing the problem and you load her up the CAT will die fast Trust me. It happened to me twice now. Once with the Jag, second time with Safari. Jag I found it shuttered a lot when I stomped on it but it would go - so I kept doing it for 1 week and sure enough the CAT went bye bye which I promptly gutted and replaced before damaging the mufflers. Safari I was complaining doing a 5 day camp trip to the woods that she was working a bit harder than normal. Back in town I heard some gruggling noise and a few clunks. Next day I was driving a load of teens to go hiking and through the slopes I was losing power till she went "puff" black smoke. The rotten egg smelt more - changed the CAT the follow weekend and all was good.

[crash]

thanks.... i'll keep a close eye on it today but i checked my trans fluid before i left work yesterday and it was down around 3/4 of a litre ... i know that one of my cooler lines has a small seeping leak to it.. nothing that even leaves a drop on the ground. i topped it up and i'll see hw it does today...

something else i noticed... when i pull in my driveway or into a parking lot. stop. put it from drive into either N or Park ... the rpms take a bit of a jump up.. then they slowly drop back down to idle. is that something to do with the torque convertor?

hmm.. i might have move this thread to tranny issues..

[phr1$k37]

Wow you are all over the map! ;p
Hopefully someone with more knowledge will come post something.

[crash]

ok.. so I know I'm all over the map.. LOL.. would you expect anything less?

the lack of power and hesitation seems to be resolved... guess I should be checking my trans fluid more often =;

[kings-x59]

As an alternative, you might fix the leaky cooler line...
I had a mechanic service my trans once and he didn't put the new o ring on the filter. How the filter managed to stay in place is anyone's guess.
When I'd drive up a slope, the pump would lose suction on the fluid in the pan and the trans would slip. From what you have described it sounds as if you are experiencing something very similar, although caused by a different issue.
I think it very well could have been the torque converter causing the hesitation, but not because it is bad. I suspect it was due to the low trans fluid and the pump not being able to build sufficient pressure in the torque converter.

[crash]

As an alternative, you might fix the leaky cooler line...

I totally agree kings.. as soon as I have access to a shop or we lose the 2 feet of snow on the ground I'm going to change the lines... until then all I can do is check it daily and watch for areas my van is marking it's territory.. hmm.. if it was a she, I'd think it was in heat

[phr1$k37]

something else i noticed... when i pull in my driveway or into a parking lot. stop. put it from drive into either N or Park ... the rpms take a bit of a jump up.. then they slowly drop back down to idle. is that something to do with the torque convertor?

Well that is not fair - with holding information from us eh!? hah ha. Glad you found "a problem" and fixing it. Makes you wonder if you did any damage to the tranny eh?

[crash]

sure rub it in by making me think there's damage.. lol.. nah.. I'm not concerned

[phr1$k37]

sure rub it in by making me think there's damage.. lol.. nah.. I'm not concerned

If only you could see the smirk on my face right now ...

Well you probably werent hammering the throttle or pulling loads - should be ok.

[crash]

LOL... nope.. this one hasn't seen WOT since i've owned it.. and since this problem i only really drove it 3 times for around 10min each time.. no load *wipes brow*

[crash]

UPDATE: ok.. the problem isn't resolved .. it's pretty mild here today (above freezing for the first time in weeks).. it's really damp and raining very heavy to boot.

I haven't driven the van for two days and now I just went out to grab some take out and it's worse with the hesitation and kind of sputtering feeling... not just at shift points like I described in my initial post.

I just also wanted to add that the trans fluid level is fine.. so it's obviously not that.

I did change the cap and rotor about 2mths ago but didn't do the plugs and wires (ran out of time and decent weather)

is it a common problem for the TPS to go on these things? I know I went through 3 on my 00 dakota in 6 yrs. it seemed like the tranny was falling out of the thing when it went bad.

i'm not sure where to even start (even though I've already started.. lol)

[phr1$k37]

Wait for one of the gurus to answer you - but I wonder if this has anything to do with the secondary coil? Someone will be able to chime on this. I relaced mine a long time ago because my vehicle had trouble starting up in "dam" weather. I dont remember if it effect the driving - I just know it would die randomly on the road

[crash]

today .. dry out.. 5 below and running great ](*,)

[Cobra]

that sounds just like when my ignition coil was going with doghouse off driving at night i say it arc between the tiny gapes between the plates once i replaced it no problems