When I'm driving on a hot day my car starts to miss and sputter very badly and then go away for awhile only to do it again.
It seems to only do this on hot days and only between 60 and 80 mph.
I installed new plugs, wires, coil pack, and still has the same problem. Can someone send me any suggestions. I was told by a advanced auto clerk it may be the cam or crank sensor. Can this be possible ?

 

Yes it could be. Do you have a check engine light on? What's the code?

 

This is weird .. you say it only happens if you drive between 60 and 80 mph ... this translates into fourth gear and, say, 2000 - 3500 rpm or so ... do you get the stutter if you rev up the engine like before but in a different gear?

Put the tranny into 1st or 2nd and rev up the engine in the same range, does it still stutter and hesitate on hot days?

Let us know ... and good luck!

 

I forgot to mention I do not get a check engine light at all. My sputter does occur in drive and overdrive also if that helps at all.
The common signs of the sputter are hot days and between 60 and 80 mph. The sputter is very sporadic, you just don't see it coming and then goes away. Can a catylitic converter be clogging up or something. This is not your typical ignition miss. Please reply.

 

If you installed Motorcraft plugs and wires you already eliminated 2 possibilities, if not there's always that room for doubt. Been there , done that!

 

Ibyer:

I had something like that happening with my Aerostar and in that case it was a bad coil pack. You have replaced your coil pack. Just make sure the wires are properly seated.
My next thought is to check and make sure that all electrical connections to and from the alternator and all ground connections are good and clean.
How about running some fuel system cleaner (Gum-out, Techron)? Since it doesn't cost much it is worth a stab in the dark.
Check for vacuum leaks as well.

If that doesn't help you may have to wait until it gets worse...

 

This might be a left field question, but what's the fuel pressure like when this happens?

 

Hey !!
I'm glad to see 2 old friends have returned. Cougar-fan and greasmark. Missed you guys. Hope you have a happy fourth!

 

Same here, Hanky! I've been offline for a while, I'm trying to build a house for us and it takes all my time ... plus my dear Cougar purrs, she gave me no headaches lately ... Kind of, I just replaced some front suspension parts this past week and that work reminded me of the fine people who helped me out of trouble not long ago ...

I hope you guys were spared by the weather horrors we're reading about up here ...

I'll be around the forum, on and off though, but never too far. Again, great hearing from you!

Cheers!

 

I've got similar similar issues with my 98 Escort. I'm waiting to test my fix.

I can drive 30 miles to work just fine in the morning when it's cool. My car sits in the sun until 6pm. I usually make it about 17 miles going home before it starts acting up. It will start to sputter, accelerate through it, and it would run fine for a few miles and then happen again. At that point, I would have to pull over due to the engine's sputtering and near complete loss of power. I've grown to recognize the signs and pull over in a safe spot ahead of time. I let the car cool down a few minutes, and it will start back up and run for several more miles with little fuss. I have to let it rest like that maybe 2 or 3 times in the last 13 miles to my house. Mind you I'm not running A/C, amps, or anything fancy.

I have a theory that my ground wire from the battery to the engine block is starting to degrade, and is presenting too much resistance when the engine is hot. My S10 does basically the same thing, and for 2 years I've replaced countless parts with no results. Neither vehicle throws any codes or show any weird readings on the gauges. Both also use coil packs for ignition. I think the coil packs are not getting the voltage/amperage they need and I lose spark. My car did this before, and after a few weeks of it I noticed the ground wire was loose in the connector to the battery. I tightened it and the sputtering issues were gone. Everything was fine for a few months and then the issues came back when I had to wait in line for gas for almost 2 hours on the first day after a big storm knocked out the power for a week. It was hot with little shade and I was starting/stopping every ten minutes to advance in line. About 8 miles from the station it sputters a bit and starts this routine all over again. Now I think the connection on the engine block is starting to degrade.

Anyway, today I installed a new 6-awg (I think) ground cable and battery terminal. I took a wire brush to the ground locations and ran the new ground in parallel with the old one. I don't go to work until tomorrow, so I have yet to test this fix. We just got hit with another storm, and power is out where I work; it may be another day or so before I can confirm whether or not this was even a solution to my own problem. I'll be sure to post my results.

I think it may be worth a try since it's cheap and relatively easy to do yourself. I've searched countless forums with issues similar to mine, and nobody ever suggests a bad engine block ground, and most of those posts are abandoned with the issue unresolved. (Edit: I see Bluewind did suggest checking the grounds - my mistake). From the sound of your post, it doesn't sound like your ground connection is in as bad a shape as mine, but I think it's worth a look. Hope this helps.