1994 SW2 hesitates and then ....

We have a 1994 Saturn we purchased new.

Last year it started having a problem where it
seemed to hesitate when starting up from a stop,
and then kind of bucks for a second or two, then
drives fine. We took it up to the Saturn
dealership and they did about $600.00 worth of
repair work( replaced egr valve, cpp solenoid, egr
solenoid, basic engine analyzer test, replace PCV
valve, replaced engine air filter, replaced
serpentine drive belt, clean and decarbon fuel
system, replaced engine coolant temperature
sensor). We went on a driving vacation and
noticed that over a few hundred miles it started
this hesitation and bucking again.

We stopped at a Saturn dealership and picked up a
set of spark plug wires and installed those.
Seemed a little smoother for awhile and then the
problem started again after just a couple of
hundred miles.

The problem is much more pronounced the hotter the
outside temperature is. It becomes even more
pronounced when the air-conditioning gets turned
on.

Now during the cooler months there is very little
if any of this hesitation and bucking problem on
starting from a stop.

Would very much appreciate some suggestions as to
what the problem might be. This is my wife's car
and I hate the idea of her being stranded
somewhere.

Thank you,
Jim

 

Bad valve cover gasket? Do you have oil on the spark plugs? The oil could be
leaking through the gasket onto the spark pulgs, fouling them up.

 

....what do the coil towers look like? (just a thought - mine on my 97 get
corroded and sanding them a bit and putting some new dielectric grease seems
to help)