Lately, I've run into nasty problems with my engine choking. I'll be driving along and all of a sudden the rpms will just drop and the engine sounds like it’s choking. Even if I push on the throttle it will just continue to choke as the RPM’s will bounce up and down and the car is obviously bucking. It almost feels like my spark plugs are giving out but I just put in new plugs and when I pull my CEL’s I’m not seeing any misfire codes. I am however getting tons of P0101 and P0106.

Help Please!!!

 

Check/clean/replace your Mass Airflow Sensor. It's the sensor in your intake tube, right after your air filter.

Check your air filter to make sure it's clean too. Maybe you sucked a squirrel or something up in there the last time you hit boost. I've had some stumbling issues due to a really dirty filter before.

Also, as always, check for boost leaks.

 

What spark plugs did u put in? Did it just start Doing this after the plug change? If it did, 100% that's ur problem

 

I put in the stock AC Delco plugs. It didn't start immediately. It took about a month for this to happen the first time.

 

What'd you gap them to?

 

I didn't do any gapping. One of the reasons I bought the stock plugs because they're already pre-gapped to what they need to be right?

 

I'm running a bit tighter gap than stock, like many others on here, so I don't remember if I needed to gap them out of the box or not, if I was going to run the stock gap. It's always good to check them either way though. Factories have varying tolerances, so you could have one that's gapped a bit too wide.

 

True. buuuut, if that was the case I would think I would be getting a misfire code or something like that. I'm going to do a boost leak test ASAP.

Has anyone else had their car choke like this before?

 

If this started happening after the plug change, it's most likely the plugs. Don't only check the gap on them. Also check to make sure they are definitely all the same plugs and all the correct kind. I have had A-Line sell me 3 of one type of plug and 1 of another, and got lucky when I noticed it.

They should all be AC Delco 12620540

 

I'm pretty sure they were all the 41-108. The other thing could be that I didn't tighten them tight enough. I heard that you should be careful not to over tighten so I was really light on them.

Also, how do you actually check the gap on them?

 

Sounds like a MAF issue, i know this used to happen to my car but it would only happen in a heavy down poor, my filter was getting wet from the rain and causing the car to buck and bog pretty hard, sounds exactly like what you are describing.

P0101= MAF
P0106= MAP

 

They need to be tightened to ~15lb-ft, so it's not super tight. If you over-tighten them it may mess up the threads on them due to heat expansion/contraction and cause difficulty getting them back out again.

The gap needs to be .035 going from memory. Many use .032 though, especially if tuned. You measure the gap using a wire or disk gap gauge from the auto parts store. They are only a few bucks. If you buy a disk one, make sure to not use it for the actual gap adjustments... in other words, don't push against the electrode tip on these plugs. They are fragile and can break.

You're right about the misfire part. Usually spark plug issues are accompanied by a misfire code.

I forgot that the P0106 is a MAP code. That also leads me to think you may have a boost leak.

 

That sounds a lot easier than I thought. I'm thinking the same thing about the boost leak. I still have the stock intercooler, which had a lot of scrapes on the bottom of it when I bought it, and I've hit it numerous times coming out of parking lots with a dropoff. I fear that I may have cracked an end tank or something.

Something else I forgot to mention was that I installed an oil catch can a while back. It has caught nothing so I'm going to replace it with one of those Husky air compressor filters and see if that does better.

 

Some cars don't have a ton of blowby that would lead to stuff getting caught in a catch can. Also, usually catch cans have some sort of material in them (sometimes steel wool or something like it) that aids in condensing/capturing the oil out of the air. A straight container/filter may not cut it.

 

Yes very true. Mine hasn't caught anything and didn't come with anything inside it. I put some stainless steel and loofa but still nothing. I'm about to go install a Husky air compressor filter in its stead. Some people have claimed success. I'm actually going to post a new thread about it right now because I'm not sure how the air flows through the can.