2003 protege 2.0 sputtering up hill

[kevinmcc]

What would cause sputtering up hill and sluggish acceleration from a stop

No check engine lights.

 

[concept]

First check for a disconnected vacuum hose or sparkplug wire. Next, check your air filter. A filthy one will choke an engine, quite easily as well.

 

[kevinmcc]

Everything looks good. Should I replace my coils and wires? I just did spark plugs and that didn't help.

 

[rpmorley]

Fuel strainer, under the back seat. I just replaced mine on a 2005 Ford Lynx RS, same car, in the Philippines last vacation.

 

[kevinmcc]

How do i get to it, any DIY?

 

[concept]

How old is your catalytic converter. An internally melted one will create excessive backpressure and rob the engine of power. A garage can test it by temporarily bypassing it. Have you also checked your distributor cap? It can get expensive if you just take guesses. If you don't have a shop manual and some diagnostic tools, you may have to have a mechanic look at it.

 

[kevinmcc]

My cat is 34k miles old, that is how many miles are on the car.

 

[concept]

Here's another possibility:

ROUGH IDLE - DTC P0300, EGR VALVE STICKING OPEN
Applicable Models
2001 - Protege VIN Range: 000000 - ZZZZZZ;
2002 - Protege VIN Range: 000000 - ZZZZZZ;
2003 - Protege VIN Range: 000000 - ZZZZZZ;
Symptoms
020 ENGINE HARD START
030 ROUGH IDLE
050 ENG. STALLS DRVING-WILL RESTART
620 DOES NOT TURN OFF/WARNING LIGHT
MTOL - 4166 Dealer Repair Information
Symptoms and Conditions
Some customers may experience an intermittent or constant rough idle
with MIL illumination and DTC P0300 and/or P0401 being stored in memory.

This condition may be the result of rust accumulation on the EGR valve
shaft causing the valve stick open. A shield has been added to the
valve's body to prevent reoccurrence of this condition.

Repair Procedure
When you encounter a vehicle with this concern inspect the EGR valve
for this condition and if necessary replace the valve with the improved
part.

EGR VALVE Part No. FSY1-20-300-9U
Gasket Part No. JE27-20-305A

Are you getting any warning lights on the dash?

 

[kevinmcc]

No warning lights at all

The car only does it at low rpm

Say I went to get gas and went to pull out. When I hit the gas the car just falls on its face and then like 3 seconds later it had good power.

 

[concept]

Okay, get a can of Techron concentrate and pour it in your tank, right before filling it up with gas. One of your injectors may be partially clogged. It's a good idea to pour in a can of Techron every year to keep your fuel system clean.

 

[kevinmcc]

Yea I tried Gumout regane and it helped a bit for a couple days, maybe techron will be better.

 

[kevinmcc]

Well, the car doesnt just do it up hill, but it does it about 60-70% of the time from a dead stop. Feels like the car isnt getting enough fuel or spark or something for about 3 seconds.

 

[tradosaurus]

1 gallon of Lacquer thinner in half-full gas tank. Run for 150 miles.