95 Aurora acceleration troubles

I have a 95 Aurora that is having some trouble. I have some terrible hesitation during acceleration. Mainly over 40mph but some slight hesitation under 40mph. During that I also will get occasionaly pops...don't know what else to call it. My mechanic told me to try fuel injector cleaner Chevron with Techron, which I have and don't seem to see any difference....says try another treatment but I'm starting to really have my doubts here.
Any ideas or someone have any similar troubles??
I did have a "tune-up" 13 months ago with new plugs, new fuel filter and so forth. I had some slight hesitation prior to the "tune-up" but nothing this horrid and it went away completely after the service.
Thanks for any ideas :uhoh:

Did they replace the plugs and wires with AC Delco makes a big difference in these cars.

Yes they were all AC Delco parts.....I got the shock of my life when I saw the price LOL
I think they said the plugs would still be under warranty but they don't seem to think that those could have gone bad.
The car isn't starting well either.....when cold it fires right up but after that it takes a little bit to fire up.
I'm going to put another treatment of the fuel injector cleaner with a tank of Mobil premium gas but I'm guessing it is going to be a waste of time.
:banghead:

Some have found pin holes in their fuel rail check to see if you can smell gas when warm or check fuel pressure, EGR valve stuck open causes problems when warm do you get a SES light.The hard start problem is covered in a couple of different threads on the fourm you might want to check back through them for more ideas.

I don't smell any fuel at all. I had paid attention to that since my mechanic warned me of that common problem with the Auroras and I have had no smell of fuel so I'm guessing? not the fuel rail but who knows at this point.
As far as any lights, not a think...no check engine light has been on at all and lists all monitered systems ok......
I am going to go back thru all the threads that I had read since maybe I have more than one problem going on here. :mad:
Thanks for the input, I do appreciate the ideas as I have come to a brick wall until I get thru this next treatment and I end up probably bringing it in since I have a feeling it will be beyond my chance of repair

I have the same troubles with my 95 Aurora, I think when it warms up in Nebraska, I will do a small overhall to see if that fixes it. Although mine does not do it all of the time. Darndest thing, oh well, like my grandpa says, cars will always keep you broke!!!! Good luck in fixing your problem....

If you've got a mechanic you trust pretty well, let them hook up a scan tool to it while they drive it around. The better ones (like a mechanic would likely have) let them monitor and log all the sensors and such. They might be able to pick up something that isn't enough to trigger a SES light.

On the other hand, the first car I bought when I turned 16 was an '85 Cavalier that just had the wire harness 'mysteriously' work its way loose off the SES light in the dash. Too bad it's a 95 or one of the auto parts store could pull any codes for free just in case.

Good luck with that and let us know if you figure anything out.

Thank you....I think I'm going to need some luck LOL
I'm going to call my mechanic first thing Monday to see when they will be able to look at it, especially after I went out this evening and it started idling a little rough UGH
It is freezing cold here in Michigan, currently in the single digits so that doesn't help it much....or me for that matter LOL
I have it going in to replace the shocks/struts and then some minor body work on the rear end for a recent hit and run accident and so add this to the list and I think I'm going to be without my car for awhile
Thanks again and I will keep you posted on what I find out with this problem.

Techron is really good stuff. It will only make an already smooth running engine super smooth. How many miles in those 13 months? Under what conditions and temperatures? What grade of fuel and how often do you change brands of fuel? All these factor in to plug life. I would bet it's time for new plugs again. Wires are probably fine. Maybe have fuel pressure checked too.

My thoughts have been towards the plugs so I have a feeling you are right on that was thinking maybe bad plugs or arcing in the wires....just a little frustrated if that is the case when my mechanic told me they would last nearly the life of the car with the ones he put in. Didn't understand how that would be possible but I did hope for longer than this.
I think as far as mileage in the 13 months since I put on roughly 18-20K and as far as fuel I usually use midgrade but I saw that premium is recommended so I started to switch to that.
If it is the plugs again I am not looking forward to that bill...last time it was approx $400
I'll let you know what I find out - which I hope is soon....seems like winter hits here and the mechanics are swamped!

Plugs and Wires should be a do it yourself job if at all inclined that way its only about $160 ouch $400 would hurt.

Sound like you got riped off at $400 dollars you could do it yourself for about $150-$200. Its pretty simple too, I've replaces spark plugs and wires for a lot of my friends, I just have them buy me a couple of beers for repayment. Good luck in what ever you do.

i would look along the lines of a fuel problem.i have a 1995 aurora which was having similar problems.start of with a new fuel filter.if no results try a new fuel presure regulator and last a new fuel pump.after replacing the fuel pump,my vehicle ran like new again.since you just had the car tuned up only 13 months ago,dosn't sound like a plug/wire problem.let me know how you make out.

Yeah, you can have your fuel pressure checked quick and cheap at any shop.

Look before you do anything else, try replacing the coils...Mine did exactly what yours did. I replaced the wires with aftermarket and bosch platnium plugs. Still had the problem. Replaced the coils and have had wonderful p[erformance since then. The coils were about 20 bucks apeice. the wires I think were like $50 and the plugs were 1.99 each. Mine was doing exactly what yours is.Good luck!

Why not leave the coils alone and run the correct plugs and wires?

Just wondering, I see 4 of the plug wires up front which seem VERY easy to get to. How easy is it to get to the 4 on the other side? Do I remove that cover in the middle (aurora V8)? Used to be pretty good doing tune-ups but with older cars and dont wanna screw up worse w/ this car, but I am having the SAME symptoms, hesitation w/ the occasional popping. Only had the car 4days so maybe the previous owner used poor gas, I use 91 octane but dont know what she used. Could this also be catalytic converter issue???

The other four aren't terrible to get to, but you do have to remove the plastic engine cover, as well as the coil packs. It's not a job for the fat-fingered. Be sure to use only AC Delco plugs and wires. There's some debate as to whether the gap should be .05 or .06 - mine are gapped at .05 and the car seems to need to chug for awhile starting (yes, I've replaced the FPR, twice).

--Robert

As always, thanks alot Robert. Just to clarify the OBVIOUS engine cover is the gray part on top that has Aurora V8 on it right? I know, I know that was a idiotic question. Coil packs??? Dont wanna screw anything up. I have wires that say packard on them that are in the car now have you ever heard of these??? Pretty sure the lady used cheap gas, especially when I gave her a deposit! LOL, Anyway im gonna use some treatment on my next fillup. Which one do you recommend. Heres a part of an email I got today from previous owner when asked about her last tuneup!!!!

Hello -- good to hear that things are going well. As far as an overall tune-up ... I only took it in to get the oil changed and if I thought something felt wrong. I trusted my mechanic ... he only fixed what needed fixing. Ever since driving the car, I've known it to make a sound when I turn. Sorry I don't have any answers there.

I turned in the "Transfer of Liability" form on Saturday. I'm pretty sure that's all I had to do ... please tell me if there's more!

Yes, the plastic gray "Aurora V8" is the engine cover.
If your wires say "Packard" on them, those are probably the original ones. Re: removing the coil packs, just be careful not to drop the bolts, and to note what wires plug in, where, and you'll be fine. I'd also suggest changing the Fuel Pressure Regulator as long as you have the engine cover off. Might also want to change the fuel filter as it doesn't sound like the owner did much for maintenance (supposed to be changed every 30k miles or two years, whatever happens first).

Re: fuel system treatment, I've never used it (a buddy has a fuel injection cleaning kit - costs around $400, and the solution you run through it is $15 or so), but I understand that Techron is held in pretty high regard.

Hope this helps,

--Robert

it does help a great deal as always. Thanks ONCE AGAIN Robert. Think i'll get on it this weekend.

Hey you guys! Lets get back to basics here. Does't this problem sound like like the notorious Fuel Pressure Regulator? You know - the part that fixes just about every performance problem we have.

I would check the FPR before ANYTHING!

(I can't believe this thread is this long without mentioning the FPR)

sorry - "1995oldsaurora" did suggest the FPR -

my eyes must be going...

will check now heres a dumber question, wheres the FPR???

Remove the engine cover. Look at the back right corner of the actual engine, where the fuel rail is (and begins feeding out to the injectors). You will see a small device that looks like an "oil can" - IIRC it has one external connection, and it screws down/is held on by a clip. This is your Fuel Pressure Regulator. This goes bad on virtually every Aurora. Hardtimer, I think you've got a '95, and the bad news is that this part is around $90-$100 for that model year. The one for my '98 was only $36.

I replaced mine a month ago as kind of preventative maintenance (actually, it was beginning to suffer hard starts). After the replacement, it got worse. I noted that the small O-ring on the new FPR was a bit bigger than the old one. After much consternation and swapping old FPR's and o-rings back and forth , I got a new O-ring kit that had the correctly-sized O-ring for my car, and now the new FPR is installed and the car is working great.

--Robert

Robert ,had the coils and plugs changed. Runs great!!! Only the car idles slightly higher now and I dont like that. Other than that im happy. Did notice this morning a little bit of an unstable coast, I can sort of feel a bit of fluctuation in rpm. No hesitation or misfire anymore though and that makes me more than happy!!! I think i'll take your FPR advice this weekend and what do you think about coil packs???? BTW my old wires WERE bad!!! They had TAPE ON THEM!!!!!! WTF!!!!

Yes, its' possible that, if your car was run with really bad wires for a prolonged time, that one or more of the coil packs has gone bad. Suggest you get one replacement, mark it, install it, then try the car. If it still hesitates/stumbles, then swap it for the next one down the line and see if it makes a difference, et. al. Of course if more than one is bad...

Also may not be a bad idea to clean the throttle body (do NOT use carb cleaner, there is specialty throttle body cleaner available at any auto parts store for around $2/can) as well as the Idle Air valve. If both are carboned, this can be a problem.

Either GM injectorguard or Chevron Techron fuel system cleaner may not be a bad move, either. You did change the fuel filter, right?

Here's a tip for the FPR install... put a little oil around the small o-ring on the bottom, before twisting in the FPR. I had problems with my replacement FPR, which turned out that some idiot had put the wrong size O-ring on the FPR, causing it to tear/not to seal when the FPR was installed. This led to hard-start conditions (cranking for 4-5 seconds). I was able to buy a FPR parts kit for $9 and it was apparent to me when I put the new one on, that the one that came with the replacement FPR was about 2 sizes too big. The replacement one seemed bigger than the one that was on the car, but I attributed that to the original one being compressed from being in the car for 6+ years...

Hope this helps,

--Robert

My 95 had the same problem as the original problem on this thread. Chugging and backfiring. New plugs and wires fixed it. Sad part is I had new plugs put in a couple of months prior when I had a starter replaced. I wish I had returned to the dealer when I noticed the first hint of a miss becasue the real culprit was a craked spark plug that had to have been craked when installed. When I complained to the service manager about it he discounted the repair by giving me 1 new plug!
I feel my car has fallen in love with the mechanic because today it in for a FPR and filter along with a new neutral switch, since when it would die due to lack of fuel you had to stop and put it in PARK. Kinda dangerous. I do hope the FRP and filter do the job because of course the fuel pump will be next. I will probably try that one myself. I do hate to have the dealer do the work becasue of the expense, but throwing parts at a problem can be expensive too.
The folks on this are very very helpful.


Yes, its' possible that, if your car was run with really bad wires for a prolonged time, that one or more of the coil packs has gone bad. Suggest you get one replacement, mark it, install it, then try the car. If it still hesitates/stumbles, then swap it for the next one down the line and see if it makes a difference, et. al. Of course if more than one is bad...

Also may not be a bad idea to clean the throttle body (do NOT use carb cleaner, there is specialty throttle body cleaner available at any auto parts store for around $2/can) as well as the Idle Air valve. If both are carboned, this can be a problem.

Either GM injectorguard or Chevron Techron fuel system cleaner may not be a bad move, either. You did change the fuel filter, right?

Here's a tip for the FPR install... put a little oil around the small o-ring on the bottom, before twisting in the FPR. I had problems with my replacement FPR, which turned out that some idiot had put the wrong size O-ring on the FPR, causing it to tear/not to seal when the FPR was installed. This led to hard-start conditions (cranking for 4-5 seconds). I was able to buy a FPR parts kit for $9 and it was apparent to me when I put the new one on, that the one that came with the replacement FPR was about 2 sizes too big. The replacement one seemed bigger than the one that was on the car, but I attributed that to the original one being compressed from being in the car for 6+ years...

Hope this helps,

--Robert

read my post regarding advice on plugs/wireset on 6-20-04