I'm starting this thread tonight that I'll be updating after I go to the mechanic this week. My 1999 Ford Escort SE started stuttering and riding hard last night on the way up to see my fiance. I hit some extremely heavy rain and very light flooding on a major interstate on the way, as I was coming through one of the cities halfway between us. That's when it started.
When I would accelerate from around 40 MPH to 60 MPH, the car would start to ride hard, almost stuttering or shuttering. Like a quick series of hesitations, the car would feel like it was jerking a bit. It would clear up around 65 MPH or so, but I did experience it between 70 - 80 MPH for a few minutes.
I'm at about 82K miles on the thing, after being bought around 40K. Never had any serious problem with my fuel injectors sticking, and I just had the engine decoked at around 70K. Other than some problems with an improperly installed fuel filter, an IAC valve that wanted to go bad a lot, and one leak in my EVAP system, the car didn't give me much trouble.
I stopped during the rain, after feeling it stutter a few times, filled up the tank, and put in an engine treatment that would remove water, an STP brand I believe. Didn't do any good. It still stuttered in that MPH range on the rest of the way up, but the rain slacked off, so I could easily keep it above 70 MPH for the rest of the trip, letting it ride smooth.
On the way back down, it kept stuttering in the same MPH range. Then it got bad and the Check Engine Light started flashing, indicating the engine was misfiring.
A friend of mine theorized that perhaps the Escort took up some of the water and maybe it got in the distributor. I did a quick bit of research about that, consulting the Haynes manual for Ford Escorts & and Mercury Tracers, 1991 - 2000. However, The engine, a 2.0L SPI (Slit Port Injection?) engine that 1999 Ford Escort SEs have, doesn't have an distributor, like many newer engines. However, the theory may still be helpful—I may have water in my ignition system.
Of course, it could be many other things causing me to misfire. As long as I drive it smooth it seems okay.
I'm going to see a local mechanic tomorrow and I'll probably update this entry with any details.
The problem was caused by faulty spark plug wires. A tune-up seemed to do the job and the car seems to be riding a lot smoother. Cost: $150.
Current total: $1665