PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

I have searched this forum somewhat and cant seem to find what Im looking for.
My question or problem is this
Took my 2001 Bonneville SSEI on a 750 mile trip, Car ran great has 143K miles on it.
At internet speeds 70 MPH when it goes up a hill I notice it seems to surge , you can feel the car doing that, I looked at the TACH , stays steady.
Have checked tranny fluid, Really nice and clean , no burnt smell at all, wipe it on a white rag still looks amazingly clean.
Any suggestions
Thanks for any input
Also I had the cruise on, took off cruise still does the same thing

Hi, is she throwing any codes?

[quote="bdavis68061]
At internet speeds 70 MPH when it goes up a hill I notice it seems to surge , you can feel the car doing that, I looked at the TACH , stays steady.
Have checked tranny fluid, Really nice and clean , no burnt smell at all, wipe it on a white rag still looks amazingly clean.
Any suggestions
Thanks for any input
Also I had the cruise on, took off cruise still does the same thing[/quote]

Do you really drive your car "at internet speeds" ?

I'm assuming you checked the transmission fluid level and not just the condition.
It doesn't sound like the transmission anyway, since the RPM remain steady.
Obviously, it isn't the cc, since it does it with the cruise off.

Have you checked to see if there are any codes stored?
If there are none and if you haven't tuned it up in recent memory, then this would be a good place to begin--a fresh air filter, fuel filter and plugs--maybe some new spark plug wires, too.

Here is one older thread on the subject, as well http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/fo ... c7138.html

Thanks for the help , Ill check out the old thread
And no I meant Interstate Speeds lol cant type

Oh also did check the transmission fluid level its perfect.!!!!!!!!
So ill start with a tune up and go from there
Thank you

You're quite welcome.

You'd be surprised at how many problems can disappear with a tune up, using good parts.
FWIW, Amazon currently has the OEM ACDelco 41-101 Iridium plugs and there's a $2 rebate per plug.

Thanks on the plugs ill check that out

If I'm not mistaken, the super-charged members advise against using iridium plugs in supercharged engines. I think they favor copper plugs. - BC

1oldman wrote:If I'm not mistaken, the super-charged members advise against using iridium plugs in supercharged engines. I think they favor copper plugs. - BC

No, the warnings are to never use platinum plugs.

Iridium plugs are OEM plugs.
IIRC, NGK makes the ACDelco Iridiums but the ACDelcos are priced lower.
Some people do prefer copper plugs on their supercharged engines but those copper plugs do need to be replaced more frequently.
On this forum and elsewhere some people find iridiums better and some find the coppers better.

There are also numerous posts advising against any Bosch plugs, though.
I'm not surprised, since my one and only use of Bosch plugs in a vehicle taught me to never use Bosch plugs.
Having heard about superior German engineering for many years, it was a most unpleasant surprise.

Part two -I have noticed that at times the car starts really hard, have to crank the engine over a lot, and it will die at low speeds in town, I have watched the tach and it does not go crazy , also the car will start immediately , and it has thrown no codes .
Any suggestions, I am going to change the plugs, wires,fuel filter , and clean the MAF sensor next week . Any suggestons, I read that if the crank sensor was going bad that the car wont start right up, so would it be a cam sensor???
Sorry lots of questions??

bdavis68061 wrote:Part two -I have noticed that at times the car starts really hard, have to crank the engine over a lot, and it will die at low speeds in town, I have watched the tach and it does not go crazy , also the car will start immediately , and it has thrown no codes .
Any suggestions, I am going to change the plugs, wires,fuel filter , and clean the MAF sensor next week . Any suggestons, I read that if the crank sensor was going bad that the car wont start right up, so would it be a cam sensor???
Sorry lots of questions??

The first thing I'd check is fuel pressure.
The fuel pump or fuel pressure regulator may be failing---or the filter may be clogged.
You can check the fuel pressure, first with key on/engine off, next with the FPR vacuum hose connected and then with the vacuum hose for the regulator disconnected.
Also check that the fuel pressure remains constant when the engine is off/key off.

Here's a tutorial on MAF sensor cleaning.
Notice that you must use MAF cleaner, not carb, brake or other cleaners which can ruin the MAF sensor.
http://troubleshootmyvehicle.com/gm/3.8 ... f-sensor-1
You may also find this helpful http://easyautodiagnostics.com/gm/3.8L/ ... articles-2

Thank you very much,ill post an update on my progress

when your driving will it die if u slow down to quickly, like stopping at stop sign quickly?? if so try cleaning the IAC (idle air control valve) that would explain all of your issues.... its what regulates the amount of air going to the motor at idle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST0qUTAztPk

p.s. u dont need to remove the throttle body like this guy did

UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!
So finally took the car on a short trip,the tach dropped out when I was watching it, but this time the car started to run crappy, then the service engine light came on, hooked up my code reader , forget what code it was but it had to do with the crank position sensor.
SO that being said , I went to AMAZON , found a crank position sensor for $17.00 bucks plus $4.00 bucks for next day delivery. In the mean time I changed the fuel filter, installed new spark plugs , plug wires and cleaned the MAF sensor, best the car has run.
Last night I went to install my (thought great deal) crank sensor, was a breeze had it done in a hour, put all back together , put tools away, told my wife im going to go drive it , found a procedure on the internet to program the thing, get in , start car it fires up , back fires , then wont even turn over, IM speechless , WTF happened??? Yeah bad POS crank sensor out of the box, So I have to drive 17 miles to an Oreileys , get the lifetime guaranteed sensor, tear it back down, of course the darn Harmoinc balancer doesn't want to come off, finally it comes off, replace the sensor, button all back up , and wouldn't you guess it, I starts immediately, runs the best since ive had the car.
LESSON LEARNED BUY QUALITY PARTS NOT CHEAP STUFF
Thanks everyone for all the help !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

bdavis68061 wrote:UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!

LESSON LEARNED BUY QUALITY PARTS NOT CHEAP STUFF
Thanks everyone for all the help !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I suspect that many of us have learned that lesson the hard way!
It is beyond irritating when you get a defective part.
All that time and effort wasted.

Glad you got it sorted out and that your Bonnie now runs like a top.

Thanks again