Car stalls after driving for long time

[Yetah77]

Hey everyone,

My car is a 1991 Cavalier 4cyl 2.2L, when first startup cold, the car runs fine, intermittently running rough on acceleration. The problem is after the car has been driving for a long period of time, being approx 45 mins or so. At this point the car will become very rough when slowing to a stop and eventuall stall. After it stalls I can start the car again just fine in park or neutral, but as soon as I put it into gear, wether it is drive or reverse the car will immediately stall again. If I let it sit and cool down for a while, being at least 15 mins, I can drive the car again.

I have tried changing the spark plugs and wires, the Fuel pump, Sending Unit, and Fuel Filter. None of this has helped at all.

Any help you can provide is much appreciated.

Thank You.

[QuasarCav]

your looking in the wrong place!!!

I've been waiting for this question to come up.

Your tranny has a TCC (torque converter clutch) it locks up on the highway for better milage. When you come off the highway it is not unlocking and keeps your engine in 3rd gear.

If you remove your airbox there is a connector below it. that is for the TCC, disconnect it. Your tranny will not lock in high gear so you will lose some MPG but it is cheaper than replacing it.

Any more Q's??

[Yetah77]

Thanks for the info, I will definately give that a try.

I was wondering tho, when this happens, it does not matter if i have been doing any highway driving or not, usually it is on main streets and back roads where I have to stop at stop lights and stop signs regularly.

would that make a difference?

Thank You.

[Gonthro]

to test this... you can try driving around, never going over 60, and see if it still does it, the TCC usually only kicks in when you do above 60... i actually had the same problem with a car i had, i thought it was the tcc, so i disonnected it.. and it helped a bit, but not fully.

[QuasarCav]

the speed is not the problem, It is the heat. The TCC is a little solenoid that locks the Torque Conv. to a 1:1 ratio

If the heat is too great (highway speeds) it will not disengage.

Think about a manual that you tried to start in 3rd. If you unplug the connector you shouldn't have anymore probs.

But by the sound of it, your tranny may be on the way out:thumbsdow

[Yetah77]

When I went to disconnect the TCC, I could not find the correct connector or disconnect.

When you stated the Airbox, I assumed the box that the Air Filter is held in(which is on top of the engine).....and just under that, the only connector goes into the throttle assembly....when disconnect that the engine just rev's like mad, so I know that is the wrong connector.

If you have any tips on where the correct connector is for the tcc, it would be appreciated.

Thank You

[lancer_evo_7]

A tcc is actually only 65$ (dealer part) and is very easy to install. They are good to have because they increase mileage by dropping about 2-400 rpm in 3rd. I would reccomend changing it, as it is a better solution than disconnecting