Are your fans coming on when it reaches at normal operating temp? For the stalling issue, make sure you don't have a leaking vacuum line. It can also be a clogged catalytic converter if it has never been replaced.

 

Fans come on as they are supposed to. Which is one thing that baffles me on why it keeps happening. A radiator hose blew a couple months ago, easy fix. But the issue still keeps happening. The cat is brand new, replaced about 5 months ago. (The guy that "fixed" my car drilled out the platinum without telling me, which gave some compression issues.) As far as vacuum lines, any of them that I should look at that may have possibly been tampered with while changing any of those seals?

Also, none of this sounds like a tranny issue, does it? Thanks again!

 

No tranny issue.

What kind of coolant are you using? I've used Prestone for awhile, but it ended up making my car over heat, so I switched it over to the Dealership coolant and haven't had over heat issue since then. There are multiple vacuum hoses on the engine, so finding it might be difficult. Grab a bottle of water with soap and start spraying around the engine. If you hear the idle change, you'll have a vacuum leak. Are you getting any ECU codes popping up or check engine light?

 

Check engine light comes on every now and then, and the code it throws at me is the O2 sensor. I bought one to replace it, I just haven't been able to get the tools to replace it yet, and don't want to pay the shop the quoted $150 to change a single sensor. Do you think that could possibly be what is causing all of these issues?

 

AH, there's your culprit on the weird acceleration. Right now, your ECU is in limp mode. If 1 O2 sensor fails to operate normally, it'll go to that mode so it doesn't do any damage while driving. To remove the O2, you'll need a tool like this:

Once you replaced the O2 sensor, make sure you remove the Alternator Sense Fuse in the engine bay fuse box for about 10-15 seconds. That'll clear the code and remove the limp mode.

 

Awesome! I'll give it a shot tomorrow and let you know if it works!

 

Also, forgot to mention about the overheating issue, when you replaced the hose that blew, did you properly bleed the system? If you didn't, a hot air pocket can go on the temp sensor and give you a faulty reading.

 

When I replaced the hose, literally the entire radiator was empty. It happened that quickly. As far as a faulty reading, I wish that was the case. But when it overheats, it boils over into the reservoir and spills all over the road. So an actual overheating issue. But usually when that happens, my check engine light comes on a minute or so before that starts to happen. And the check engine light always seems to be an issue with the O2 sensor. At least, that's the code it always throws at me.

 

How about this, when the car is at operating temperature (fans kicking on), touch the upper radiator hose. Normally that hose is always hot, so be careful not to burn yourself. The lower hose is suppose to be the same temp as the top hose. If it feels cool/warm, then the thermostat isn't doing its job.

 

Seem to be running a little better and is better on fuel efficiency by a small amount. At this point, I think it might also be the EGR valve ($500 replacement)... Ugh. Radiator hose is fine. When the car overheated before, both hoses were super hot.

 

A great way to test the EGR is to apply vacuum to it and see if it holds. If its holding, then it probably needs some cleaning, due to carbon build-up.

 

Thanks! I'll give that a shot in the next few days here and keep ya updated. Thanks for the help!

 

No problem.