Dropping a Cylinder in low gears

[Jarrod]

***Background info***
I have an 86 Spider. My alternator went out a little while ago. No big deal. I took off the aircleaner to get to it. As soon as I got the air cleaner off, I found out I didn't have a ride to the store. Well, I thought about hooking everything back up, but then I got lazy. I drove to the store with no air cleaner and more importantly, no air flow meter. The car ran about as bad as you would expect. I got the alternator and put it back on. I put everything together, and the car wouldn't start. Seems simple enough, driving + no air flow meter = fouled plugs. So, I got some new plugs, and thought everything would be great. I was wrong.

***Problem***
When I accelerate, the car misses really bad in 1st and 2nd gear. It's a lot like putting the car in first gear and slamming the accelerator pedal down and letting off over and over again. When there is no load on the engine, or it's in a higher gear, it doesn't do this. I kinda figure it's either spark or fuel, but I'm not sure which. Hell, it could be niether.

Any ideas would be appreciated. Driving my car to work has gone from being the best part of my day to almost unbearable.

Thanks,
Jarrod

[Jarrod]

I should also mention that it doesn't do it when the car is cold. I can accelerate about twice with no problem, but as soon as the engine comes up to temp, everything starts to suck.

[rossored.com]

I have experienced this once - surging idle going "rrrup..rrrup..rrrup.."
For me it was "bad" air (unmetered air) getting into the system post-AFM.
Usually it means that the soft ribbed hose from the AFM is installed incorrectly.
If you don't watch it closely you may have a gap under the connection between the two hoses above the intake cam.
I assume that if you drive for a couple blocks when your engine is doing this you may have replace your engine mounts, and go to a chiropractor.

[Jarrod]

Thanks for the reply. I want to go take a look right now, but I'd probably get fired. I guess I'll have to wait for lunch.

[Jarrod]

Well that's neat. It seems that was the problem. The hose was slightly disconnected from the AFM. The hose almost doesn't seem long enough. I really had to work to get it to connect firmly on both ends. Kest Lavy I guess. Anyway, thanks for the help. It was much appreciated.

[rossored.com]

No problem.
Glad I could be helpful!