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You have Ford T, apparently. Ford T had gravity flow fuel supply, and they had to go uphill in reverse, or there will be no fuel supplied to the engine. Fuel tanks was atop of the rear seat backrest.
What sounds like happening, and only fools judge over the internet, so fool I am, is that you have fuel supply cutting off when fuel tank is lower than engine. Resulting in jerking engine.
Check fuel pressure at the fuel rail. Your fuel pump is likely going south.
This sounds plausible. OP try going up a hill with a full tank? Do you have any hills that are right after you start driving?
I'd get your rotors, calipers, and alignment checked. Seems unlikely since it's only after distance.. but they're good things to have right.
I have not had it changed in a few months and now that I drive so much for my commute, I'm wondering if this is it or perhaps something else? Keeping in mind with all the snow and mud and filth on the roads that I have to drive in, I'm wondering if it's just really, really dirty.
Car runs perfectly fine on flat surfaces, going downhill, etc. Car does not shake when going 50mph or more on flat surfaces or downhill.
When beginning trip, car does not shake when going up hill, this only happens at around 50-60 miles in to trip. It also only happens when the hill is particularly steep, again, towards end of trip.
When it shakes, it makes what to me sounds like a warbling noise. Is it a clogged filter, is it just the tires need to be rotated? Does it sound like something more heinous?
Thanks.
Oh, in case you need to know: 2004 Kia Rio.
No other issues, at this time, with it.
How long since your last full everything tune up?
Up hill calls for more torque and in doing so over loads the engine which can , if in bad tune, cause misfire in one or more cylinder.
Doesn't that happen when it's warmer outside? I thought it did. It's been freezing cold here...
I've also read, while looking around on the internets: fuel filter, oil change, rotating tires, spark plugs...the closest I found was someone who had a truck that shuddered going up hill but it was all the time not just after 50+ miles and only up steep hills. What they did was change the oil and filter, put in new spark plugs and balance the tires and their issue went away...but I don't know if that is my same issue.
All the "checks" to do, putting it in neutral and/or stepping on the brake when going up the hill while pressing on the gas at the same time...if I could ever get to that hill without a bunch of traffic around me I would try it but I don't trust that people pay close enough attention that they wouldn't hit me or my car wouldn't stall and someone would hit me...
Anyway, I'm quite anxious because the mechanic, just talking after a test drive where he could not recreate the incident, as I knew he wouldn't be able to do, stated maybe calipers but nothing that I've read sounds like it would be calipers. Short on cash and really do not want to be ripped off.
Up hill calls for more torque and in doing so over loads the engine which can , if in bad tune, cause misfire in one or more cylinder.
I had a massive tune up before I moved from Miami to Maine. That was in May of 2011. That is about....well, less than 10,000 miles since. Of course, I got it done in Miami...a city I do not trust so who is to say if they actually did it.
You are also mentioning torque...maybe I should ask the mechanic about the torque converter?
Ok, I found this...it's #2 in the Top 5 Reasons A Car Starts To Shake:
Quote:
Car starts and drives fine for a while, but later begins to shake
These symptoms could be signaling that it's time for a new set of spark plugs. If the plugs are fine, it could be that the spark plug wires need to be checked (are they connected in the proper order?) or replacing.
Lastly, a dirty air filter or clogged fuel filter can starve the engine of needed oxygen or fuel, respectively. So be sure to replace them at the manufacturer's recommended intervals.
That's pretty much my car. It starts and drives fine for awhile and then shakes later...with mine, up a steep hill.
So here we are, back at filters, which is something I asked in the beginning. And then perhaps spark plugs.
I would much rather that be the issue than an expensive torque converter.
If the engine was misfiring, wouldn't it throw a Check Engine Light?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Three Wolves In Snow
All the "checks" to do, putting it in neutral and/or stepping on the brake when going up the hill while pressing on the gas at the same time...if I could ever get to that hill without a bunch of traffic around me I would try it but I don't trust that people pay close enough attention that they wouldn't hit me or my car wouldn't stall and someone would hit me...
No one is saying go up the entire hill in neutral. As you're going up the hill, if the car starts to shake put it in neutral. You'll find out in a matter or seconds whether the car stops shaking or not. You'll only slow down a couple MPH and then you put it back in Drive and continue up the hill.
I don't see how the car would stall in that situation.
When beginning trip, car does not shake when going up hill, this only happens at around 50-60 miles in to trip. It also only happens when the hill is particularly steep, again, towards end of trip.
I had a Saab do something like that. Turned out it was the drive shafts whose splines were worn (the gear-shaped ends of each shaft, it was a front-wheel drive car with two drive shafts) and bouncing back and forth in their driven mounts when under heavy load. The solution was to remove the shafts and swap them, putting the right shaft where the left one used to be and vice versa. This caused them to push the car with the un-worn side of the teeth. Problem cleared up.
YMMV.
Quote:
Oh, in case you need to know: 2004 Kia Rio.
I was car-shopping in 2004, and was interested in the very low prices for Kia cars.
Went to a Kia dealer with my wife, we test-drove several. And every one we drove, had something wrong with it. Burning oil enough to smell it inside the car, engine making funny sound, wheels wobbling, brakes grinding and pulling. These were NEW cars, fresh from the factory.
We left, and bought a Toyota. We've put 128,000 miles on it since, and it still runs as well as the day we bought it. If/when it ever dies, I'll buy another Toyota.
It is best to do a bit of testing to narrow down the problem. Eliminate things.
With that said, another test would be to drive in a lower gear going uphill and see if that gets rid of the shaking. Like if you have overdrive, take it out of overdrive and see if it then runs better. Or a 5 speed manual transmission, try 4th gear.
The thinking behind that is the engine does not have enough power. A similar example would be to place a manual transmission car into 2nd or 3rd gear and try getting the car going from a dead stop. It will shake! Not enough power to start off in those higher gears.
With that said, and if not enough engine power is suspect, then look for things which would cause an engine to not have enough power when warm.
And first of all, if the problem is narrowed down to an engine problem, would be to FIRST do all the recommended engine service (for the given mileage) if that has been neglected. Your owner's manual might list what all should be replaced, checked, serviced.
Like replace air and fuel filters.
Maybe replace spark plugs.
Distributor and rotor if you have those.
Change oil.
Etc.
The manufacturer will specify what all should be replaced or serviced at say 15,000 miles, 25,000 miles, etc. If that has not been done, then do it and that cures a lot of problems.
If still having the problems after that, then start troubleshooting. One thing to check would be the various engine sensors. The engine computer will "adjust" the fuel, air, and timing based on inputs from the various sensors.
For example one sensor tells the engine computer how warm the engine is. Another sensor tells the engine what elevation you are at (different fuel/air mixture if cold/warm or sea level or in mountains).
MANY more sensors than just those! They can all be tested. Instructions in a factory service manual you would order from the dealer.
They just called and are replacing the fuel filter. Not to say that is the answer but that is what they think could be the solution. They've had the car for four hours now, tinkering around, looking for issues. Not terribly expensive, hopefully it's the fix...will find out tomorrow when I drive it to work again.
Forgot to add: During that four hours, they were somehow able to recreate the issues. I guess they drove it around quite a bit on some hills around here. So, hopefully this is just the cost of a filter and another tank of gas.
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