:unsure:

This is a long question, but I am at my wits end and really would appreciate some solid advice. I have read many of the prior postings of similar problems, but would like help in prioritizing my strategy to avoid excessive cost. My '93 Eagle Summit has given me countless problems in the past year or so. I have replaced the transmission and had the engine rebuilt. Then last year, it just died on me while driving. I checked the fuel pump (it was OK), then replaced the relay, the computer, and the distributor. I took it to a professional mechanic, but after four weeks they had me tow it home because they couldn't figure out why it wouldn't start. By accident, I was wiggling the plug on top of the distributor one day thereafter and discovered if I put pressure on the plug (six prongs), the car would run. So I jammed a stick against the plug and drove the car fine for months. Then it died again. The car then sat without running for about six months till I found a replacement plug at a junk yard last week. Unfortunately, while changing it, two of the wires accidently got crossed. This blew my alternator, so I replaced it. The car ran fine for about an hour. Then I filled it with gasoline, and about ten minutes later, its began intermittent hesitation problems. Soon thereafter it would only run on level ground, but would buck and stall on hills. I checked the spark plugs, and the lower tips were coated with black soot. So I replaced the plugs and put injector cleaner in the gas tank. Now the car starts no problem and idles fine. But as soon as I press the gas pedal (whether in park, neutral, reverse, or drive), the RPMs go to almost zero, the car bucks, barely moves on level ground, and bucks to a stall on hills. The plug wires have barely any mileage on them, but they did sit for the past months without being used. I am wondering if I blew out a sensor of some sort when I crossed the two wires to the distributor (which did blow the alternator)? Or could something have become clogged (fuel line; exhaust) by sitting around for six months? What baffles me is that the car ran fine for an hour with the new distributor plug, but then when to nothing after about an hour of driving it. Any advice on the cheapest way to approach this problem would be greatly appreciated. I have thousands of dollars spent on a car that will idle fine in my driveway, but won't even make it up the hill thereafter. I have many ideas of what might be wrong, but no good plan on what to try first, second, etc.. Thanks for any suggestions.

It could be your fuel pump or bad sensor. Do check for trouble codes before carry out other testing options.

The "Check Engine" light is not coming on so I can't read any codes. I also recently checked the fuel pump and it seemed OK. A friend told me it could be a clogged fuel filter. Would that allow an OK idle, but no acceleration? Where is the fuel filter located on a 93 Eagle Summit 2.4L All-Wheel Drive? Thanks for any replies!

The symptoms sound like it could well be the fuel filter. The car is 13 years old so a new filter can't hurt. Soak the fittings well in PB Blaster, Kroil, or some other penetrating oil before trying to loosen them. They are likely to be balky. You can find the filter by following the fuel line back from the fuel rail until you come to it. Often it is on the firewall low on the driver's side. You will likely need line wrenches to remove it.

Thanks for the reply. I am going to try replacing the fuel filter. Just a side question in the meantime. When I am starting the car now, I am getting a lot of white/blue smoke. Would that be consistent with the fuel filter problem discussed? If a sensor was bad, would the "Check Engine" light be coming on? I'll let everyone know if the fuel filter makes a difference. Thanks for all the reads and replies.

The smoke issue is troublesome. I doubt it is related to the filter. A bad sensor may or may not trip the CE light. Depends on the sensor.

The white or blue smoke while on cold start, is caused by engine oil leak into your engine combustion chamber. The main caused for white smoke is worn piston rings or valve steam seal.

Well, I finally got the fuel filter loose and replaced it. The car still is the same. Idles great. In park or neutral, it usually revs fine when the accelerator is pushed. But sometimes it cuts out and RPMs drop to almost none. When in drive or reverse, it is fine at idle, but when I press the accelerator to move the car, it starts to putt putt, RPMs drop to almost nothing, then bounce back to about 1000, then down to almost nothing again, and so on. It acts like it is only running on two cylinders when the accelerator is pushed. As soon as I take my foot off the pedal, the idle returns immediately to a smooth 1500 RPMs.

Any ideas what to try next? Distributor? Sensor?

Not sure if this means anything or not, but I disconnected the return fuel line while running the engine and no return fuel is coming back to the tank. Should it be?

At this point you might want to consider the fuel pressure. You'll need a gauge and likely a bajo bolt adapter to test this. Consider a weak fuel pump or bad fuel pressure regulator.