Rough Idle at Incline

[Jim NotreDame IN]

What would cause my 90 reatta to run a little rough when i am sitting at an upward incline? my driveway slopes upward, and before i park at night, i notice that my engine seems a little off.

at first i though that i was just hearing normal car noises in the context of my driveway, kind of like how most cars will sound like they have more engine noise when you are next to a concrete barrier or a building that reflects the normal noises from the car.

but after hearing the car sputter a little bit at other intersections around town that are a little uneven, i'm pretty sure that something is actually happening. the commonality of these instances is when i am stopped at an upward incline.

the engine seems to sputter and rumble a just a touch, kind of like when it is oxygen sensor time. i replaced my oxygen sensor and plugs and wires about two tankfulls ago, and improved my mileage about 2mpg coincidentally, but the rough running at an incline did not change.

any advice? i have not checked my tranny fluid level since i have determined that something is actually happening, since my driveway is at an incline. i'll check it at work tomorrow and let you know what i think. any other thoughts?

thanks

[D-a-n-i-e-l]

Last time you change the fuel filter?

[Jim NotreDame IN]

that's on the to do list also. do you think i have water built up in the fuel filter? i have the filter, i just didn't pop it in yet... its on the frame rail right about where the drivers feet go, but beneath the floorboards, right?

[DAVES89]

Correct. Word of advice, do not use a sheet of syrofoam to lay on. I did and it was a disaster!

[D-a-n-i-e-l]

Your other thing may be a fuel pump near the end of its life. I would get a fuel pressure gauge and make sure you have the correct fuel pressure, before and after the filter change.

[AlanAnt]

Maybe you want to do a fuel rail clean job with seafoam.

If the "complete" fuel rail procedure is too involved, consider adding a can of seafoam when the gas tank is low. Then drive around for a while making sure you are relatively close to a gas station. When you think it's time, buy gas. That's what I have done and I notice significant engine improvement (especially at idle).

I know you are specifically asking about idling at an incline but if you have not done a seafoam cleaning, I recommend it anyway.

This forum turned me on to seafoam. In my opinion, it's the best injector/carb cleaner out there. I used it on a sputtering Honda moped and got an extra 5 to 10mph after using seafoam.