Acceleration Engine Shudder

[curtie94]

Hi when my car warms up and im cruising or taking off from a stop I get a shudder from what seems to be the engine. The car has 173,000 miles and I have changed the following parts since I got the car in 10' Plugs right away, Fuel filter at the same time(but I ran the old gas through the filter, the gas was in there since 2007.) Should I change it again? I have done a valve adjustment, Distributor, alternator, exhaust, I did replace the top o-rings for the valve cover gasket as with the gasket, but I still get oil in the plugs. When it gets really bad the shudder I pop the hood and almost every time the #2 plug wire is popped out, but it clicks in which makes no sense.

Any ideas?

I don't know if its related, but sometimes while driving down the road usually on a downshift the battery light flickers on. It has done it since the new alternator. When it flickers the lights on the car do nothing. So I don't think its anything but just wanted to bring it up.

Oh yeah my CV shafts also clunk going around corners left or right, but the boots are NOT ripped.

[oyajicool]

I would check alternator belt tension for flickering issue.

I would replace plug wires for shudder issue, especially #2 is coming off. Check the security of #2 plug on to the cylinder head. Also check to see the condition of #2 plug itself as it might be leaking compression through the plug. Rare,,, but I've heard it happened on a plug made by "NOT" NGK or Denso.

[noahrexion]

I would check alternator belt tension for flickering issue.

I would replace plug wires for shudder issue, especially #2 is coming off. Check the security of #2 plug on to the cylinder head. Also check to see the condition of #2 plug itself as it might be leaking compression through the plug. Rare,,, but I've heard it happened on a plug made by "NOT" NGK or Denso.

All good advise. While you have the plug(s) out you should check your compression. Sounds like you could be getting some blowby the rings - this could cause all the things you're experiencing.

[curtie94]

if it was blow by then wouldn't i burn oil? Because it doesn't burn oil. I just think its wierd that it only shudders when warm.

[mtnbikaah]

The shuddering while accelerating sounds like bad drive axles. (you said they are already clunking)

Fix known issues before unknown problems. Especially when they could be related.

[curtie94]

ok I was planning on replacing them. I had it on a 4 post lift at school and grabbed the center of the shaft and the driver side inner joint had play.

[mtnbikaah]

5 speed? The intermediate shaft may be bad as well.... (just a heads up!)

[curtie94]

Yes it is a standard. What are some other symptoms of the intermediate shaft?

[deevergote]

Someone actually spells "shudder" correctly! I think that's the first time I've seen it used properly on this forum (not "shutter")

Anyway, bad axles are definitely a possibility. A torn boot means that dirt has damaged the joint, but the joints can wear and fail without the boots being torn as well. Get quality remanufactured axles (NAPA has good ones), and be very careful to install them correctly (many people don't push them all the way in... did it myself once.) I haven't heard of an intermediate shaft going bad, especially if it hasn't been removed... but it IS a possibility. The best way to check it would be to remove it (pulling the axles is necessary), and check to make sure the splines aren't damaged, and that it spins freely. If you change your axles, this will be just one more fairly easy thing to do.

If your #2 plug wire keeps popping off, I suggest replacing it. Does the #2 plug come loose? If so, it's likely that you have damaged threads in the head. I have this problem in my H22 (I'm guilty of doing the damage...) and it actually caused a knocking when the plug got pushed far enough up! If the wire is pulling free, I can only imagine that air is getting past the plug to push it off... not a good thing. The head has to come off to repair that properly.

Other things to check would be your motor mounts (rear especially), and various suspension components (ball joints, specifically).

As for the battery light, check all your grounds. I had a snapped fender ground, and because the battery was fairly secure, and the ground is so stiff, I never noticed it. I just noticed that every time I made a sharp turn, my radio would reset. Grounding issues could wreak havoc in how your engine runs as well.

[mtnbikaah]

Mike, I've had the intermediate shaft go bad in both of my CBs...

[deevergote]

Really? I've never heard of that happening. Was it after the shaft was removed for one reason or another?

[mtnbikaah]

nope, neither CB had the intermediate shaft out before it failing....

expensive ass bugger too!

[deevergote]

That's what junkyards are for!

I'm still running my original shaft. 250k or so on it. My original fuel filter as well (same gas from 2008... )

This car is going to get some love very soon...

[wed3k]

yea i also never heard of intermediate shafts failing

[JDMDriver]

I have done a valve adjustment, Distributor, alternator, exhaust, I did replace the top o-rings for the valve cover gasket as with the gasket, but I still get oil in the plugs.

You are still getting oil in your spark plug tubes because you need to replace the lower oil tube seals (you have only replaced the top ones - which is under neath the cam cover).

In order to remove the lower oil seals you will need to remove the rocker and cam assembly. That is a more involved job which you need to gauge if you can DIY.