So my escort has been coughing like crazy. It's on and off, but seems to have gotten worse recently. I thought that maybe it had to do something with the fuel or spark since it will shake and sputter at a certain RPM. When you accelerate to a higher RPM it works fine, but if you go back to the speed you were at, it starts to cough and even shake the whole engine. Time of day and temperature doesn't seem to matter. Any suggestions on what the problem might be? It is a 1.9L engine. Any help is much appreciated.

 

I am guessing that its at a low rpm right?
How does it do from a stop to take off ?

 

It was about 2000-2500 rpm that it would happen. I got it fixed over the weekend though. It turns out that it was a combination of things. The fuel injectors needed to be cleaned and the gas tank had excess water buildup in it. After dumping in some fuel injector cleaner/water remover into the gas tank, it ran like a champ.