I have a 98 z24 5spd with 60,000 miles on it. The issue i'm having has been going on for about 6 months and gradually getting more frequent. when i start the vehicle it is fine. it idles smoothly but usually when i go to leave about the time i am to the end of the driveway or leaving a parking lot ill try to give it a little gas to get back on the road and it starts to die when i try to get up to speed. if i let off of the thottle it will idle very rough occasionally die. it last for about 5-10 seconds and then all of the sudden its running like a top and i never have an issue with it again until it has been cooled down and shut off for a bit. it seems to happen more often when its hotter out. when it first started occuring it would occasionally trigger the engine light and the code was for the tps sensor. i replaced this sensor but the problem has continued occasionally happening but it hasnt triggered the check engine light since i replaced that sensor. also my gas guage has stopped working once it gets to about half a tank. I'm thinking that the fuel pump may possibly be an issue. it does seem to hesitate for a second or so at lower rpms but i havent decided if thats an acutal symptom or in my head. any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

hey man, I am having the same exact problem. I threw 2 codes, 1 for the up stream o2, changed it and the problem still occurred. I threw a code for the down stream, erased the code, and the code has yet to re-appear again. I will let you know if my down stream fixes the problem or not. And as far as the gas guage goes, mine is the same. If my down stream o2 doesnt fix the problem, I am going to start lookinh at the gas filter and pump. Lets work together on this and figure out our problem! Mine is also a 98 z 5-speed.


98z24, lowered 2", aem intake, cat-back striaght pipes!, cop ligths in the front and rear, 18" liquid metal's, primer black, tint, full audio and video.

Thanks for the reply. im thinking strongly about replacing the fuel pump. i already replaced my fuel filter the old one was as clean as could be and the new one didnt help. Ive replaced my spark plugswith no changes. my thinking behind the fuel pump is that a few years ago i had a 96 z24 that the gas guage did this on and it turned out to be the slide inside the gas tank causing the problem. about 2-3 months after that my car would ocassionaly just decide not to start but start pefectly other times. after about 600 dollars of mechanics saying they couldnt recreate the problem and talking me into fuel injector cleaning services and a bunch of other crap i took it the dealership who replaced the fuel pump for an amazingly hefty price and cured the problem. This may be totally inacurate to how the system works but possibly my guage slide has built up some corrosion/deposits and the fuel pump has done the same since they are both located in the same vacinity. Also im thinking that a majority of the electrical possablities should be throwing codes if that was the case. also since my guage stoped working i did have the car run all the way to empty the first time it happend and I tried to restart it a few times with no gas in it which cannot be good for the fuel pump. i hate throwing money into blindly fixing this but i think thats where im going to start unless im told differently ill probably do it sometime next week and hope for the best.

hey i have something similar to this, every once in a while if it sits cold for a couple of hours then i start it up again, then back up like out of my garage or out of a parking spot, then put the clutch back in, the rpms start bouncing around from like 500 to 200, and when i start letting out on the clutch and giving it gas to start moving again, it feels as if it is about to stall, but it never does, i just end up revving it more to get started. It only happens like once a month, but its enough that its still annoying, I am not sure if this is the same as what you guys are experiencing, but for me it seems to happen most when its getting close to needing an oil change, and after the oil is cjanged it wont happen for like two months, and then it will do it like once or twice a month, ill check the oil and top it up if needed, but it still happens every once in a while. Also for me it usually only seems to happen when my gas tank is less than 1/8 the way full, and my old man said that since its an old car that it could just be crap from the bottom of the tank,

sorry this must have been confusing as hell to read

oh and mines a 97 z24 5 speed

Aunt Jemima wrote:hey i have something similar to this, every once in a while if it sits cold for a couple of hours then i start it up again, then back up like out of my garage or out of a parking spot, then put the clutch back in, the rpms start bouncing around from like 500 to 200, and when i start letting out on the clutch and giving it gas to start moving again, it feels as if it is about to stall, but it never does, i just end up revving it more to get started. It only happens like once a month, but its enough that its still annoying, I am not sure if this is the same as what you guys are experiencing, but for me it seems to happen most when its getting close to needing an oil change, and after the oil is cjanged it wont happen for like two months, and then it will do it like once or twice a month, ill check the oil and top it up if needed, but it still happens every once in a while. Also for me it usually only seems to happen when my gas tank is less than 1/8 the way full, and my old man said that since its an old car that it could just be crap from the bottom of the tank,

sorry this must have been confusing as hell to read

@!#$ that was supposed to be from 500rpm to 2000rpm

hey, well, I have changed both of my o2 sensors and the problem is still occurring. Actually now, my car has quit completely..... I am going to open another thread to try to get my car back on the road again.


98z24, lowered 2", aem intake, cat-back striaght pipes!, cop ligths in the front and rear, 18" liquid metal's, primer black, tint, full audio and video.

that sounds almost exactly like what mine is doing. mine will do it with any amount of fuel in it though. and at any interval of oil change. if your car has stopped completely one way i have used to check to see that the car is getting fuel is to spray starting fluid into the air intake, if it starts right away but dies as soon as the starting fluid is gone the engine isnt getting gas which is another finger pointing at the fuel pump.

wow. I forgot all about that trick. Thanks for the tip. I will give it a shot tomorrow! Anything else?


98z24, lowered 2", aem intake, cat-back striaght pipes!, cop ligths in the front and rear, 18" liquid metal's, primer black, tint, full audio and video.

let me know if you change the fuel pump and if it fixes the problem, my fuel pump seems to be pretty healthy although, when i turn the ignition to the on position and it pumps gas forward, it sounds very consistent and strong, im not sure just how worried about this i am though, mine has never died out completely on its own yet and the idle fluctuation seems to correct itself pretty quick after it happens, weird, anyways let me know

I had the same problem on my sunfire and on my cavalier and it turned out to be an ignition switch. I don't know if that could possibly be your problem or not but thats just a posibility for you. My sunfire had the 2.2 and my cavi has the 2.4 so maybe try that?