Hesitation at 2200-2500 RPM, HELP!!

[brokerdavelhr]

Very recently, my 02 3.8l v6 started hesitating at 2200-2500 RPM. At first I thought that the transmission might be slipping, so I took it to a transmission shop. They drove it and looked at it, and told me that it is definately not a transmission issue. They thought that the engine felt like it was not firing correctly, and recommended a tune-up. So I took it in, got the spark plugs changed, the wiring done, and the ignition coil replaced. But did that solve the problem? No! It still hesitates at 2200-2500 RPM when the engine warms up. The oil was changed on schedule as always, and I am at my wits end. Maybe it is an exhaust issue?

 

[NMStang218]

Doesnt really sound like an exhaust issue. Can you hear any obvious leaks? If you have a timing light, confirm that its within range. Have you done a compression test recently?

 

[brokerdavelhr]

Cam Sensor?

Okay. First off, never take your stang into to a ford shop. Three weeks later, they claim to have fixed the issues. After replacing the plugs, ignition coil, wiring, fuel and air filters, changing out all fluids (for a grand total of nearly 1000), they say that all it needed was a new cam synchronizor. This of course they admitted to have caused the problem, and is under warrenty, but they sure as hell emptied my wallet to narrow the problem down to this. Hopefully I will get my stang back tomorrow, but then again, they are still test driving it for safety purposes lol.
Anyway, for anyone out there who is curious, here are all of the symptoms it had:
1- After about 45 minutes of solid highway driving (in 5th gear at approximately 2200 RPM), it would start to buck really bad.
2-If you do not slow down, the car stalls out, the steering locks up, yet the electrical still functions. (on I-95 at 75+ mph, this is a very hair raising experiencing in traffic)
3- If you do slow down, it works fine for awhile, but then it starts bucking and hesitating in every gear no matter what RPM your at. Then it stalls.
4- No check engine light comes on.
5- No mechanic will be able to pull codes (on account of the computer does not generate any, I took it to 4 differant places, non could find any codes).
6- When your engine is cold, it does not happen.
7- Every mechanic will claim it is a mis fire.

Anyway, I had to take my stang to 4 differant mechanics (including a ford service department that gave me the car back the next day claiming that nothing was wrong with it, and that they could not duplicate the problem even after 2 hours of highway driving (which is 100% bs considering only 5 more miles accumulated on my odometer)) before it seems to be fixed. Every mechanic has stated that the reason the ignition coil and plugs burned out early was because the bad cam synchronizor was causing a misfire. So why is it I get stuck with the bill for the 1000 dollars of work and parts put into it due to a factory defect?

This sucks!!!!

 

[Skymarshal]

Glad you found the problem, but sorry you got fleeced by the dealer.

That's why I look long and hard to find a shop to take problems I can't solve myself. Most dealers and chain shops do the same thing- they just start replacing stuff at random until the problem goes away. That's good for their profit margin but bad for the person footing the bill.

 

[brokerdavelhr]

Gets Better

So, according to the shop, the cam synch fixed the problem. Ignoring the fact that I spent about 1000 in additional repairs due to a factory defect, they then told me that the back end brakes were bleeding, and I need new ones. To top it all off, they deemed the car as 'unsafe to drive' to drive until they were replaced. What sucks is that this job cost me another 450. Funny that the car broke just fine when I was driving it, and there was no squeeling or anything like that, but hey, whos counting?
Then, they sideswiped (damage minor, just another pain in the a**) it in their own parking lot! So I haven't even drivin the car in almost a month now!
It is a freakin mustang, not some pissant civic or spectra for cryin out loud.. Has Ford lost all their decency??!!

 

[98V6 K.I.T.T.]

So, according to the shop, the cam synch fixed the problem. Ignoring the fact that I spent about 1000 in additional repairs due to a factory defect, they then told me that the back end brakes were bleeding, and I need new ones. To top it all off, they deemed the car as 'unsafe to drive' to drive until they were replaced. What sucks is that this job cost me another 450. Funny that the car broke just fine when I was driving it, and there was no squeeling or anything like that, but hey, whos counting?
Then, they sideswiped (damage minor, just another pain in the a**) it in their own parking lot! So I haven't even drivin the car in almost a month now!
It is a freakin mustang, not some pissant civic or spectra for cryin out loud.. Has Ford lost all their decency??!!

This is why I decided to work on my own car and learn how to do things. But in any case finding a good trustworthy shop is nice to have incase things get too difficult. Sorry for all the problems you had to face, totally bites I've been there.

 

[NMStang218]

This is why I decided to work on my own car and learn how to do things. But in any case finding a good trustworthy shop is nice to have incase things get too difficult. Sorry for all the problems you had to face, totally bites I've been there.

Welcome to the club. In my experience with autos, I have yet to find a resonable, honest shop that does NOT try to pry money out of me for no reason.

 

[98V6 K.I.T.T.]

Welcome to the club. In my experience with autos, I have yet to find a resonable, honest shop that does NOT try to pry money out of me for no reason.

It's like, when you take your car in to get your brakes done and you come back to pick your car up and they tell you that your transmission fluid needs flushed. It's partially being nice with checks, but it's more so them trying to find more ways to get you to have them do more work to get more money. I think it frustrates me the most when they call things "unsafe" to drive, cause honestly they only say this to protect themselves just incase some crazy thing happens to your car. I mean, you can tell someone it's unsafe to drive your vehicle because your tire pressure is lower than normal but how many cars tire pressure are probably not right? I just say, every man should learn the basics of car maintenance and how cars work, but not knowing how to build an engine is another thing.