Anyone have any ideas on a stuttering problem under acceleration. I have a 1988 323 GT with the 1.8T. I have pretty much replaced everything under the sun in this thing and it's begun to have trouble when pushing the accelerator down past half. I took the intercooler off and there is ample boost from the turbo, the spark plugs,wires,fuel pump, distributor,coil, filters have all been replaced, and it idles like a dream. When under normal acceleration with the pedal depressed halfway, it seems to pick up it's speed quite fine, but when i give it a quick snap or floor it, the car does a nose dive and begins to sputter, and backfire. I have checked all vacuum lines and they all seem ok. What i did notice was when the turbo light comes on in the dash it sputters the minute it comes on. Is there a vacuum advance on timing when turbo cuts in? I'm fairly confident the turbo is working the way it should, and the mass air sensor is functioning. This problem only arose when the engine was degreased and washed, but care was taken not to get any of the major electricals wet by bagging everything. the car runs fine without boost, and if all else fails, i wonder if i can just pull the turbo off and cap the exhaust. would this be an option? The car has been in the family for a long time, and it's near mint condition. I'd hate to send it to the junk yard with all the time and money invested. Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

Since this began to occur only after the engine was washed then 99.9% chance that moisture has made its way into somewhere. Make sure to double check the knock sensor and control unit. Control unit faults can create some unusual problems that are hard to track down. The sensor is on the backside of the engine down by the oil filter. Control unit is on right fender just in front of the shock tower.