Hesitating

Tiny
GARY COLE
  • MEMBER
  • 1994 OLDSMOBILE 88
  • 6 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 200,000 MILES
This is a follow-up to a Q. I submitted a week or so ago re: hesitation on deceleration. I have a 1994 olds 88 royale 3.8l (vin L) with 200k mi. I replaced plugs, wires and one ignition control module (ICM) coil, which had corrosion/rust on the terminal, which caused plug #4 to have buildup on the electrode. The engine ran smoother and quieter, but still had the same hesitation problem: engine starts fine, idles fine and accelerates fine, but when I would let off the gas while driving I would notice a hesitation. The 'check engine' light has not come on during this problem. I was afraid to drive it, so I parked the car and used another vehicle to get around, submitted my problem to this site and got back some good feedback. I decided to see if I could get the car to act up while in park by slowly accelerating the engine to a higher rpm, which it did, but only at high rpm. At first there were 2-4 seconds between hesitations, but when I repeated the procedure 2-3 days later the hesitations occurred at less than one second intervals. During these rpm tests I noticed a coolant leak under the throttle body, which seemed to get worse as the hesitation worsened. So I removed the throttle body and found the throttle body gasket was leaking and was dripping right onto the engine coolant temperature sensor (ECT). So my question now is: Could the coolant leaking onto the ECT be causing the hesitation? If so, and I replace the gasket and dry off the ECT connector, can I expect this to correct the hesitation problem? Should I replace the ECT sensor? Does it need a special socket to remove it? Could it have been damaged by the coolant? Is there anything else in the vicinity I should replace while I've got it all torn apart? Thanks again for your help.
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Monday, December 20th, 2010 AT 1:17 AM

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Tiny
GARY COLE
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
Also forgot to mention: the engine does not need to be warmed up to get it to hesitate while accelerating it at the higher rpm while in park. It hesitates as soon as the engine is turned on and rpm increased with engine cold. I haven't checked other potential problem areas yet, since the coolant leak became the immediate concern. If this doesn't fix the problem, I will likely check the fuel injectors to see if there is any debris clogging them and hampering the performance. If that's still not it, then it'll have to be sent to the repair shop, being beyond my ability or desire to repair on my own.
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Monday, December 20th, 2010 AT 1:27 AM

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