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This problem is driving me crazy. I have been working on it for 3 weeks now. 3 weeks ago it quit running while moving and it wouldn't start again. It had to be towed home. I replaced the timing belt even tho it looked good. It was off by a few teeth. The car then started running, but it ran very poorly. The engine won't stay running unless I give it a little gas. I did some tests on the fuel pressure which turned out good. I Replaced the sparkplugs and sparkplug wires. I also replaced the air filter. It still runs poorly. The sparkplugs are getting a black powder on them. The check engine light has been on for a while, even before the car stalled out initially. The code showed that it was the egr. I just replaced it today and the car is still running the same. I listened to each fuel injector with a screwdriver while the car was running and I could hear clicking on each cylinder. It still runs poorly. I am out of ideas and am running on a very tight budget. I have to do a lot of this stuff myself because I can't afford a mechanic right now. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!  

Black soot deposits are a sign that it is running very rich.  Disconnect the MAF sensor and see if that clears it up.  

Thank you so much for your response! It didn't work, but at least it's one more thing I can rule out.  

It's possible you may have bent a valve, I would check the compression of each cylinder. If one of the cylinders is less pressure than the rest I would pull the head. I bet you bent a valve when the chain skipped a tooth.  

The timing belt would not look good if it jumped teeth, think about it.  

Next thing I would look at would be the engine coolant temp sensor and the base engine timing.  

Without seeing live scan data, though, it's all a crap-shoot.  You can shotgun parts at it all day long (as you have been) and it still may never get fixed.  

Thanks guys for the continuous input. I have tried a leak down test on the valves and they all look good. Also, I had someone do a scan on my car, and they said the valves appear to be good. Should I still do a compression test? I would have done that first, but I don't have the equipment. I replaced the fuel pump and the fuel filter. It still stalls out when I drive slow. I will check out the coolant temp sensor next.  

Check coil/electrical yet?  

Someone told me to change the Throttle Position Sensor.  

My user name here is Fun{d}sar{lo}w ,so I'm always doing my own work.

From what I've read so far the car was running good until the timing belt problem.
I would go back and recheck everything on that repair
I would make sure that the timing marks on both the crank and cam shaft marks are spot on. And check the camshaft sensor since that was right in the work area. Some cars also have two crankshaft sensors one in the back on the flywheel and another on the front by the harmonic balancer.  

I had a problem close to yours. I did the spark plugs and belt thing.  Even changed leaking oil sensor to see if it would help with pressure. Each thing would cause it to run a little better, but then it just ran like crap. I took apart the cover to the valve throttle and there it was. A peice of ribber blocking the valve from throttling correctly at low RPMs. It's worth a look!!!! Hope it hepls out.  

It's possible you may have bent a valve, I would check the compression of each cylinder.
http://playcarracing.net  

I just picked up a 2001 2.4l with a timing belt broken. I pulled the head and no issues. i set the timing and put it together and i have the same problem. I'm at a loss at this point (that's why i ended up here). At first the engine would run smooth for a few minuets then it would stall if you hit the throttle. if you didn't touch it it would slowly get lower on the rpms then catch its self until it would stall. now it wont start unless you hit the throttle, did i set the timing off a tooth?  

first.... do you have an OBD2 scan tool... if not.. this car will display trouble codes..

without staring the engine..    turn the key on 3 times within 10 seconds with the last stop  being ON>.

off.. on.. off.. on.. off  on..    

trouble codes will be displayed on the odometer numbers...

the what.. in the middle of the speedometer.. are the numbers to show how far you have driven..

post what you get...

you should be able to pull the upper timing cover to check the timing marks... with a scan tool.. you should be able to see the cam sensors relation ship with the crank sensor..




there are various ground wires around the engine and body... many have to be loosened and removed to work on the various engine parts..  i think there is also one to the back side of the head that connects to the firewall somehow..   these have to be clean and tight..    remember.. electrons flow from NEGATIVE to positive..  loose a good ground.. it may not have enough current to operate the electrical devices.. or it can throw off the amount of voltage from the battery and alternator on the ground side..  driving a computer crazy..

i seem to recall that 98 models also had a problem with the PCMs that they needed to be replaced.. and then the mileage and VIN number programmed in with a proper scan tool

i already posted this above.. please try it...  it really does find the gremlins..


lets start with the simple and cheep stuff...

do you have a digital volt meter... if you don't.. they can be had for 7 bucks to 25 bucks..

a lot of parts stores have these from innova for about 16 bucks..



harbor freight stores have these for about 20 bucks



either will last you for decades..


next.... i would take a digital volt meter...

set it to 20 volts DC scale...

start the engine and turn on the headlights..

1. test between the positive and the negative battery posts.  14.1 to 14.8 volts is expected.

2. test between the negative battery post and the engine block. 0.04 volts is expected..

3. test between the negative battery post and the body... 0.02 volts is expected..

4. test between the Engine block and the body..  0.02 volts is expected.

if you get 0.00 on the last 3 tests.. change the meter setting to 2 volts DC scale.. and retest.. the last 3...

this test takes about 2 minutes...

post your results by test number..

if you get more than the 0.04 or 0.02 volts on the display...

you have a bad ground between those parts..



why do this test....   bad grounds will stop any new car in its tracks...

why... electrons flow from Negative to positive...  if you loose a ground.. or it becomes intermittent..  you won't have any power for that circuit...  just like a table light when the plug falls part way out of the wall...  the light will go out..

also i have fixed a LOT of cars lately with that  2 minute test... some hot water and a stainless steel wire toothbrush ...

finding the ground connections.. removing them from where they are bolted down after counting how many wires are on each one..   wire brushing both sides of the ring terminals...   wire brushing the back side of the nut.. wire brushing the mounting pad...  washing with HOT water..  

putting them back on.. and counting to verify the number of wires is the same...

the verifying with the same test again...  

Don't touch the throtle positioning sensor u will have bigger problems.  Instead try to clean your idle air control valve if it runs better that is your problem.  It will work fine for a couple of months but you have to take it out again and clean it to work right again so getting a new one is the best thing to do.  Good luck!