I have a 98 monte carlo ls, it has 250,000 miles on it currently and lately i have had the engine stutter at all speeds and it will jerk. it is an on and off type thing. I have changed all my spark plugs and spark plug wires, and that didnt help at all. i get seafoamed my entire car the other day, and that sorta helped the jerking wasnt so bad, but now it has went back up to wat it was like. and twice in about a 2 months i have lost power in the engine, but it started back up like there was nothing wrong. i have 4 codes for the engine: crankshaft position sensor, o2 sensor heater circuit malfunction, and 2 codes for evaporation emission control system leaks. Could any of these be my problem with the stuttering and jerking? or does anyone know what it could be? im sick of it stuttering and jerking, i am starting college on monday and i dont want it to lose power on my way to school. plz help

 

Evap code is a fuel leak/aka possible fuel pump.
Crank sensor.. I would replace due to the amount of mileage..

I would also consider cleaning/replaceing MAF.

 

Post the actual codes, those are more helpful.

But in a nutshell, YES, a combination of codes like what you are saying could be the cause. O2 sensors are recommended to be changed around every 70K miles (the heating element in them eventually does break down). The upstream O2 has impact on the fueling of the car.
And the crank sensor being bad can cause a host of other issues, that could be what you have going on.

Trace down and resolve the codes before doing anything else.

 

X2!
Thanks Jason for the clarification!
You da man! (new eyes)..

 

srry the codes are P0442, P0442, P0141, and P0336

 

I should have also asked, which engine (as some of the information varies between engines, but how it varies is minimal).

P0442 - First and easiest thing to do, check and ensure your gas cap is tight. Yes, this can cause a engine code on modern cars (it has to do with emissions). I believe this is the same code that was set on a car that had pin holes in the metal fill neck for a gas tank. It also mentions possible vacuum leaks, but let's start with making sure the cap is tight. A bad cap seal can also cause this same error (which would be replacing the cap).

P0141 - Regardless of engine, this refers to the O2 sensor that is under the car, after the cat. There is a host of diagnostic steps to determine if there is a possible wiring problem. My advise, at your mileage that O2 has probably never been changed. Replace it. It's recommended for any O2 to use a Delphi or AC Delco part. Too many reports of people who used BOSCH O2's and had problems (as well as some other brands here and there). To my knowledge, the O2 after the cat is just there to validate the health of the cat. You should not see a performance problem from this, but service it regardless and get rid of this code.

P0336 - Again, this has a host of diagnostics to determine if the wiring is faulty. I skimmed the troubleshooting chart for this. Both the 3.1 and the 3.8 have different diagnostic steps. Looking at the 3.1, the final step is replace the Crank Position Sensor. On the 3.8, I've looked at the list a couple of times, I don't see replace the crank sensor in the chart, but does indicate possible issues with the ICM and/or coils. If you tell me your engine, I can post the chart information.

 

Vacuum leak maybe?

 

my burgandy monte had the P0442 code and it was a faulty gas cap. Cost around $40 I think at a dealer and it was fixed. It still closed properly but wasn't making the seal

 

3.1L engine