Cold stutter back with a vengenance!!

[wyldnwoody44]

Now that it drops below freezing, ive had some problems with a cold start. A while ago I thought it was my tranny, but now its too hard to even tell. If I start cold and take off while it isnt completley warmed up, when i press the gas the car will just not move, maybe a jerk here or there, no matter how hard I push the pedal down. As it warms up it jerks a little more and stutters until it is at operating temp, then it is basically fine. I know cold starts arent the best thing, but ive never had a car do this before. It doesent seem right. Could it have something to do with fluids, any ideas, does anyone else have this problem?

[sowise]

I would atleast check your trans fluid level make sure it is good. If you have not had it replaced in a while or like some "ever". You may want to do a fluid change and trans filter replacement. Sounds to me like your fluid is not working with the valve body very well when it is cold. As it warms up it starts to work better. This is just what I would look at first though I am not an expert or anything either. I am sure more knowledgeable people will have some other ideas.

[Motorsport-SVX]

had this problem, or similar on one of my Svxs a few yrs back.... changed alot, never figured it out.
Dont think it was trans related. But maybe an electrical connection doesnt work when cold of course.

[Trevor]

Originally Posted by sowise

I would atleast check your trans fluid level make sure it is good. If you have not had it replaced in a while or like some "ever". You may want to do a fluid change and trans filter replacement. Sounds to me like your fluid is not working with the valve body very well when it is cold. As it warms up it starts to work better. This is just what I would look at first though I am not an expert or anything either. I am sure more knowledgeable people will have some other ideas.

I would endorse the above as a being a very sensible suggestion. Low fluid level could well be the simple answer, so let us hope you have a merry Christmas.

[TomsSVX]

It is a fueling issue. if there is a buildup of ice in the fuel injector from water in the fuel it can cause this problem. Also, the SVX is notoriously lean at warm-up which causes a heavy hesitation. You can make sure the coolant temp sensor(two wire one) is working properly, but outside of that you are kinda stuck with it. They did try to address it with the TSB chips later on but I don't believe it made much of a difference

Tom

[Trevor]

Originally Posted by TomsSVX

It is a fueling issue. if there is a buildup of ice in the fuel injector from water in the fuel it can cause this problem. Also, the SVX is notoriously lean at warm-up which causes a heavy hesitation. You can make sure the coolant temp sensor(two wire one) is working properly, but outside of that you are kinda stuck with it. They did try to address it with the TSB chips later on but I don't believe it made much of a difference

Tom

Tom, good advice.

However as is not unusual, the problem has not been very exactly defined and causes those replying extra time and effort.

If I start cold and take off while it isnt completley warmed up, when i press the gas the car will just not move, maybe a jerk here or there, no matter how hard I push the pedal down. As it warms up it jerks a little more and stutters until it is at operating temp, then it is basically fine.

I had presumed the drive was "jerking", you have presumed the engine was "jerking". Ambiguous queries continue to present problems.

[SoCal LS-L]

Mine does this slightly when I first start out, not jerking but the power sort of flattens out at mid throttle and the car feels like it is powered by a 3cyl motor.

A small amount of idling before I set out usually avoids this.

If it is a symptom of water in the fuel system like Yt suggested, I believe they sell water remover additive you can pour into your gas tank, its worth a shot.

Also I like the temp sensor idea, mine has tested to have too low of a resistance at any given temp, giving the ECU a false signal of higher engine temp than actual. Its worth checking on if you have an IR temp reader and multimeter.

Does the engine rev when the car doesnt move, or does it bog?

[TomsSVX]

its not just water in the fuel. Condensation in the engine can end up on the tip of the injector and freeze over night.

Trevor, while he says it goes nowhere I am assuming it is just not accelerating and not actually totally disabled.

Tom

[Trevor]

Originally Posted by TomsSVX

its not just water in the fuel. Condensation in the engine can end up on the tip of the injector and freeze over night.

Trevor, while he says it goes nowhere I am assuming it is just not accelerating and not actually totally disabled.

Tom

Tom.

That is the problem, we can only assume.

Merry Christmas, Trevor.