Gurgle, Burp, Sputter, and Wheeze

[boshea]

I recently purchased another 90 from a jerk in New Hampshire (*******) who blatantly misrepresented the vehicle to me. Unfortunately, I purchased the truck "sight- unseen." I know...I should have bought the ticket and flown out to take a look at it.

Anyhow...this Defender sputters/convulses while I am driving it...usually when I accelerate on the gas pedal. It revs...and sputters (slowing down)...and then revs again (very hurky/jerky motion). My fuel gauge is moving around a lot too...like I am driving through the Bermuda Triangle.

Any thoughts?

Brian

[wicks]

Oh, you're in the Lucasa Triangle.

Could be a simple problem like fuel or air delivery to the motor...

[rover4x4]

I would start with fuel filter. only about 5$ at NAPA and its easy to do. what year/milage?

[Davis]

After you check the fuel filter, try checking out the idle control valve, might be stuck. Mileage would be helpful--

[Doug]

Road speed sensor too.

[evilfij]

SUE!

Or at least threaten to sue.

If it is a 94/95 I would guess TPS.

Fuel gauge moving. I am not sure what else is on that circuit that could cause that.

[Mike Hippert]

Brian! I'm in NH, I would have been more then happy to test it out for you! As for *****, I Don't know him, do you know what town he lived in?

Edit: I just wanted to find out the service history if I could, I know allot of the Rover shops around, and if I could I was going to try and find out what has been done on it for ya. It wasn't my intention to hunt down the guy.:grin

[chrisvonc]

While I can symathise with Brians fustration, please do not continue the non-techinical portions of this discussion here. You can do so either in PM or in the Misc section. As this could really get fired up especially if the seller jumped in here and I would rather that open confrotations take place in the Misc if they have to happen. Besides, this could turn out to be a good tech thread as well.
:)

[boshea]

Trust me...the seller has no idea that this board even exists Chris....this guy is an absolute moron! The truck is a 95 with 93K on it. The guy lives in Bradford Mike...claimed the truck was serviced in Boston...which I highly doubt. Thanks for your help guys...I am taking it in to Roy at East-West on Tuesday morning...hopefully he can shed some light on the subject.

Thanks again,
Brian

[javelinadave]

Brian, If it sat around for a while the gas may be bad. I agree with everyone that suggested to change the fuel filter. If it was my truck I would drain out all the gas, blow out the lines with compressed air and try some new gas. If you change the filter and run some more dirty gas thru it you will be in the same boat as before.
You may also want to try some new spark plug wires. If they are old, they may not carry the full electrical load.
The only other thing that comes to mind is to pull the spark plugs and see what they look like. Fouled plugs could also be your problem.
All just a guess. If you lived in Phoenix, I would be happy to help getting your new beast running. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

[Jase]

Was this a black ST with a fiberglass top? If so, I've seen it forsale along the road. I'd say fuel filter, due to rust.

[Cyborg]

My '97 has the jumping around fuel guage issue. It bounces about 1/4 tank all the time. I guess that is a pretty common thing. This may have nothing to do with your bigger problem. FWIW

Larry

[boshea]

Jason...that's the one! I just took it into my local mechanic to have it thoroughly inspected. I am having it repainted this weekend, new tires, new body armor, shocks, springs, rotors, pads, and some of the electrical system needs to be sadly re-configured. I will keep you posted.

THANKS ALL!