my cars been acting up lately, whenever i start the engine the rpms are jumping a little and u can feel a vibration in the car, after about a minute it will go away and idle normally. this also occurs after driving for a little or revving the engine then letting the car sit it will vibrate and the rpms will jump. i have no idea wut this is my CEL light is NOT on. i have replaced, spark plugs, wires, ignition coil pack, can anyone think of anything else??? this is on a 2.8 thank you

 

Check your engine coolant temp sensor, if its black, that may be the problem. It has been revised with a green one. a bad ects can cause what you are talking about, or the maf. If this just happend recently, it has to go through several drive cycles before it will trigger a cel. I just replaced my ects and noticed better all around performance/idleing. Plus i had a cel from it. I suspect mine has been on its way out for a while before it starting throwing codes/cel. but consider the maf as well, it can cause those symptoms. Deffinately get your ecu scanned for codes. and if you have the black ects replace it anyway with the revised one, its a $6 part. also check your vac lines.

 

yea i actually bought that sensor 3 weeks ago when the problem started just never got around to installing it, how hard is it to do yourself?? this problem;s been here for about 3 weeks or so pissing the **** outa me

 

It tooke me 2 mintues to install yesterday. But i dont know about how long it would take or where its located on the 2.8.

 

1.8....i need to replace the sensor also (for a while now)...mind giving me a quick walk thru?

thanks
--E

 

its on the back of the engine and is held in by a clip. Unclip and pull out (with wiring harness still attatched) unplug, plug in new ects and put on o-ring, stick back in and slide clip on. its simple. Or read this: http://www.audiworld.com/tech/eng66.shtml
Its for a B6, but same location and procedure.
Its easier on a B5 because there arent as many obstructions to get past to get your hands on it. I didnt even need a screw driver to get the clip off. I had no problems at all.
Oh yeah like the article says, make sure the engine is cool and you unscrew the cap on the coolant resevoir tank to relieve pressure and that the ects is seated properlly before you put the clip on. Also make sure you tell the dealer your engine code. Mine is a 4 pin sensor, and i think some other B5 models are different.

 

cool beans thanks

--E

 

Also make sure you get the old O ring out, mine was stuck in the flange and didnt get pulled out witht the old ects. it was stuck in there pretty good. and take a paper towel and wipe the inside of the flange out, mine had some gunk in there that can get corroded on the new temp sensor which could be bad.