# Jerking/bucking while accelerating please help asap



## unitednations191 (May 2, 2014)

1st of all, Im not new here I'm unitednations161. Just the password reset would NOT work. 

Anyways, after sitting a week or so, Last night driving my cruze eco manual for a while when I would accelerate, the car would jerk and buck a little (it felt like in the drive train but My 2001 s10 (beater truck goes through oil like gas) jerks when its low on oil, so I'm guessing it could be the engine like it is on the s10) 

I have copper plugs in there for around 15-20 thousand miles. I checked them today and put the regular ones back in just in case, they did climb to .035 gap. But reading some peoples posts on here they START with that high. I am sposta go somewhere tomorrow 200 miles away, so Im hoping for some fast responses on what you think it could be. I did have a pending code p0113 but I unplugged the MAF for a min to see if there was oil on it from the KN filter. 


Any ideas would be GREAT!


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## stamas (Mar 7, 2014)

What's your millage at


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## Vetterin (Mar 27, 2011)

First off, with the K&N the oil will be on IAT sensor so make sure you clean that one. Also what gap do you have on your "regular" plugs? Might want to knock them down to .030 max. Being low on oil should have nothing to do with missing.


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## unitednations191 (May 2, 2014)

Vetterin said:


> First off, with the K&N the oil will be on IAT sensor so make sure you clean that one. Also what gap do you have on your "regular" plugs? Might want to knock them down to .030 max. Being low on oil should have nothing to do with missing.



I never said the low oil was making it miss. I was saying the engine jerks on the truck when its low. Maybe its locking up idk. 

Im just comparing the feeling to the cruze. Orignal gap is .028 72000 miles


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## stamas (Mar 7, 2014)

All this is pointing towards the gearbox sounds like your flywheel is worn out , when did you last change the clutch


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## unitednations191 (May 2, 2014)

Iat sensor thats it lol This is why I enjoy my classic cars. I drove the car today for a few miles it seemed fine but that wasnt far


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## unitednations191 (May 2, 2014)

stamas said:


> All this is pointing towards the gearbox sounds like your flywheel is worn out , when did you last change the clutch


Never


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## unitednations191 (May 2, 2014)

I can punch it though and no slip what so ever. 70,000 miles seems short for gear box problems dont it?


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## chris097 (Dec 25, 2013)

I had Coppers in my '13 1.4 for about 10,000 miles (Used a worn out gapping tool so they were probably over .045" by then) I added a K&N Panel when the fun began, She started bucking and acting up. Grabbed a new set of new plugs , gapped to .027 and issue went away. Granted I only had 22,000 miles on the car at the time. but it's been great for the past 2-3k. Auto and Stock aside from the K&N filter.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Since no matter what plug you use will open up as you put miles on your car, it does not make sense to run .035 gap. Just beyond that is where I too noticed spark blowout. With the stock plugs I would say the GM recommended .028 will more than get you to the 60,000 mile severe service maintenance schedule in the back of the owners manual without the gap growing to great.


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## unitednations191 (May 2, 2014)

So does it sound like spark blow out? It would only buck on slight acceleration. I really doubt its the clutch. Chris097. Can you describe how it felt?


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Spark blow out does not need to occur at high RPM, even at part throttle at lower RPM your engine load is maxed out and boost is also high.


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## unitednations191 (May 2, 2014)

Would it cause a bucking and drivetrain rocking?


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Sure it could, because it would be causing the engine to misfire & run rough. You can see it on the tachometer as well, you start to accelerate and all of a sudden you fell the power output cut out and can see the tach drop in RPM when the engine tries to protect itself from knock.


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## unitednations191 (May 2, 2014)

spacedout said:


> Sure it could, because it would be causing the engine to misfire & run rough. You can see it on the tachometer as well, you start to accelerate and all of a sudden you fell the power output cut out and can see the tach drop in RPM when the engine tries to protect itself from knock.




I watched the tach, that seemed stable during it, but im guessing when the engine sputterd the engine output and tranny were spinning at a different speed and causing the car to buck? 

And if it was the flywheel or clutch, I dont see how it could just stop doing it, it cant fix it self, unless its electric where it can come and go. 


The s10 when its low on oil, IDK why it does it, but it violently jerks around 55, i thought it was the drive train for the longest time until I checked the oil, Put some in, all was well, did it agian 2,000 miles later sure enough no oil on dipstick. ( i have to check it daily now I learned haha) Im not saying the oil had anything to do with the cruze, Im saying engine shakes, dont really sound like anything in the motor they make the whole drive train make some odd noises though.


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## stamas (Mar 7, 2014)

As fare as I am aware clutches only last 60 - 80 k but I may be wrong about the cruze , was it very cold when you parked the car up , and I only suggested clutch as you said it felt like drivetrain problems , next time it happens put your foot on the clutch and rev it up see what happens , it could be a spark issue that's only present under loads eg when your driving


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Sounds more like a clutch issue or a bad motor/trans mount. If your clutch is going bad could just slip under certain situations at first. Why not take it to the dealer to get someone to figure this out? driving your car that way could cause even more damage.


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## unitednations191 (May 2, 2014)

I drove it today 300 miles with no issues after changing the plugs, Im hoping that was it. I have never heard of a clutch doing that. But im not positive that it cant happen. Also I doubt ill take this car to a dealership anymore, they are just money grabbers, a clutch job is over $1000. I think a independent mechanic could do it cheaper, but then again im not positive, this is my 1st manual car. and a clutch should last more then 80,000 miles? what would be the point of buying a stick shift if you had to fix them so much. 

If a bad clutch slips, then what would cause the car to shutter while accelerating if it was clutch related?


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## Dwnshft (May 16, 2011)

Hmmm, I'm having the same kind of issue on my ECO as well. 

I'm tuned with a Injen Cold Air Intake. I've noticed this "bucking/jerking" thing ONLY when in the higher boost mode (not in the ECO mode) and usually around 3,500-4,000 RPM (usually 3-4 gear pull on the highway). I also have coppers that I had gaped at .32 (based on some advice I read when switching out my plugs). 

I'm guessing the gaping on them is too much so i'll re-gap these tomorrow to 0.27 and see if this helps.

Has anyone else experienced this?


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

If tuned, plugs must be .028 or you will get blowout. The higher psi from the tune requires smaller gaps than what a stock untuned 1.4 would allow.


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## blk88verde (Apr 30, 2011)

> I'm guessing the gaping on them is too much so i'll re-gap these tomorrow to 0.27 and see if this helps.


 Yes-Trifecta recommends gaps no larger than .027 -.028.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

blk88verde said:


> Yes-Trifecta recommends gaps no larger than .027 -.028.


Yeah once the coppers got close to .030 you could start to feel it on a 3rd gear hill pull. That's when I knew I had about a week to do something or get P0300 and cel flashes.


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## Dwnshft (May 16, 2011)

Well, I re-gaped to .028 and that seems to have fixed the problem! Thanks everyone

BTW, I've been off the forums for a while, what is "P0300 and cel flashes"?


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

Dwnshft said:


> Well, I re-gaped to .028 and that seems to have fixed the problem! Thanks everyone
> 
> BTW, I've been off the forums for a while, what is "P0300 and cel flashes"?


Misfires on multiple cylinders most likely from the gaps being too big or a dead coil pack.


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## Cane (Apr 13, 2020)

I’m new here so I hope I’m posting this in the right place . Just wanted to try and help anyone that is having the same issue I was with my 2014 Cruz . I had the jerking and missing issues when leaving a stop . Check engine light would flash and service traction control would come up on the display on the dash . Turned out to be my coil pack .. took the old one out and the boots were half melted and springs from the coil pack we’re burnt. I installed a new pack and new plugs and she’s back to her old self running great . Hope this helps someone in the future.


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