Hi, I own a 1998 3.0L Cl with 175K and virtually no problems for 2 years. Saturday morning my car started acting very strange. It will start up but then quickly die in idle. If the gas pedal is pressed the car will start and run until the pedal is released, then it dies. It took it for a slow drive to see if it would run better when warm but it shifts really bad. It got to almost 3000RPM before shifting into 2nd during a slow accel. The RPMs will drop to zero, even when the car is in gear, if the gas pedal is released. No codes are being given. Cleaned the IACV and throttle body, no luck. It just suddenly began to do this... no warning signs. Could the IACV have gone bad? Is there a way to test it? What could be the issue? Thanks in advance for any help.

Ben

 

I'm having the same problem with my 97 3.0 did you figure out what it was?
Thanks in advance

 

sooooooo many similar issues in the past couple months, their is a host of things that im just going to throw out their but it may not even be one, these are just the ones that have been like yours.
-ignition switch (thing the key goes into, they are notoriouse problems)
-ignition module (in distributor)
-ignition coil (beside the distributor)

might be something elce im just trying to give you idea.

 

My 3.0 has been shifting after 3k from first to second for about 10k miles now lol! Or if I barely give it gas it will shift early as hell with a slight lurch.

 

for both of you in the shifting department, i used to thinke fluid changes were all one could do but take off your shift solenoids and clean them. there is a screen on the one and it can gum up.