Any car guys (or girls) out there? Help??

[Reaper]

Ok, so usually I'm pretty good at diagnosing what's wrong with my car but this problem has me stumped.

I have a '99 Buick Century and for about 3 months I've been having a problem with the car "fluttering" at cruising speed (75-80mph). It is not consistant as it has only happened 3 or 4 times on trips over 1.5 hrs but not every long trip. It doesn't matter if the cruise control on or off. It is not as blatantly obvious as a surge and it is subtle but it can be felt in the accelerator as well as in the seat of the pants.

I have been searching the internet for a solution and have found 2 possibilities. The only problem is that the possibilities were gathered in a thread in a Ford Truck forum. The first possibility is that it could be a COP (Coil Over Plug) that is going bad. The second possibility is that it could be my torque converter/transmission dieing.

If anyone has any ideas please feel free to share.

Mike

[fingers80002]

Ok, so usually I'm pretty good at diagnosing what's wrong with my car but this problem has me stumped.

I have a '99 Buick Century and for about 3 months I've been having a problem with the car "fluttering" at cruising speed (75-80mph). It is not consistant as it has only happened 3 or 4 times on trips over 1.5 hrs but not every long trip. It doesn't matter if the cruise control on or off. It is not as blatantly obvious as a surge and it is subtle but it can be felt in the accelerator as well as in the seat of the pants.

I have been searching the internet for a solution and have found 2 possibilities. The only problem is that the possibilities were gathered in a thread in a Ford Truck forum. The first possibility is that it could be a COP (Coil Over Plug) that is going bad. The second possibility is that it could be my torque converter/transmission dieing.

If anyone has any ideas please feel free to share.

Mike

What color t-shirt am I wearing, right now?

[CommonHighrise]

I've been having a problem with the car "fluttering" at cruising speed (75-80mph).

Slow the hell down?

[PisnNapalm]

Check tranny fluid. You might also have valves that are sticking. perhaps... Oh yeah... slow down. :P

[o1dakota440]

i don't know if this will help or not, but i had a simaler problem with my r/t. i was doing the same thing you described, and after checking all the plugs, wires, coil, tps, cps crank and cam, and everything tested good. it turned out that my trans filter was clogging when the fluid got hot. so a fluid and filter change and no problems since.

[CarolinaGuy]

torque converter dieing.

This is how my Buick Century died.

Started out as just a little flutter. Within a couple of weeks or so, I could barely break 20mph.

[shefearsnothing]

What color t-shirt am I wearing, right now?

White.

[Reaper]

What color t-shirt am I wearing, right now?

Slow the hell down?

[SARCASM]Ummm ... yeah ... thanks for the input. [/SARCASM]

Check tranny fluid. You might also have valves that are sticking. perhaps... Oh yeah... slow down. :P

Fluid is full and doesn't look/smell burnt. I still have a warranty on my rebuild so I'll have to take it in and have them check the valves.

i don't know if this will help or not, but i had a simaler problem with my r/t. i was doing the same thing you described, and after checking all the plugs, wires, coil, tps, cps crank and cam, and everything tested good. it turned out that my trans filter was clogging when the fluid got hot. so a fluid and filter change and no problems since.

I'll have them change the fluid and filter as well when i take it in.

[o1dakota440]

after a nice long drive check the tranny fluid, if its frothy/bubbly. that would indicate that the tranny is sucking air

[dm_n_stuff]

Could be the MAF sensor. Mass Air Flow. Dirty or gone bad would cause the problem you're suggesting.


did you plug it in to an OBD and check to see if it's tossing any codes? You can buy a code reader cheap (mayve $100) at Sears or Pep Boys. the codes should be available online.

Oh, and dumb as this may sound, check to make sure your gas cap is on tight, and doesn't leak. Loose cap has been the foil of many an onboard computer.