Sudden death on highway.

[Mr. Burns]

Cruising in my "reliable" e30(not the turbo). Doing about 65mph, and I get a noticeable stumble...wtf.
Check engine comes on, engine still running....

I let off the accelerator and the cel disappears.
Hmm

Think nothing of it, cruise carefully at 50mph for another 10 minutes.

Slow down for a red light, idle now at 300-400....ruhroh...

Try to accelerate, and won't have it.
Stumbles, hesitates, bitches whines and dies... Coast to the shoulder of the road, check everything... Nothing out of place.

Call for a tow, do stomp test in meantime.

Results are : 1221

Leads to bad oxygen sensor?

Don't they normally give more notice than a sudden highway suicide?

Anything else a 1221 code can mean?

[Mr. Burns]

And to add, car will not start will turn over yet not catch. It wants to, but won't maintain. Just does.

Recently replaced:
885 head full rebuild
Distributor cap and rotor
Spark plugs
Spark plug wires
Thermostat

Was running perfect until today.

[M-technik-3]

break a rocker?

[Mr. Burns]

????

[Cronopoulos]

He is referring to a rocker arm located under your valve cover.

[BAlbertiX]

I had two similar stories, one due to a clogged cat which clogged suddenly on the highway. Complete loss in power, 50mph max on highway and from idle the car was doggin hard. Did you hear any rattling under the car?

Second, a seized bearing. Any screeching from the engine while trying to turn the car over?

[kingston]

Do you have spark? Coil may have just crapped out

[maniacmatt]

That 1221 code just means that the o2 sensor is giving the ECU values that are outside of an acceptable range. It doesn't necessarily mean the sensor is at fault. Anything that could cause the engine to run very rich or very lean would cause the CEL to throw the 1221 lambda code. A faulty o2 sensor is very unlikely to cause the car not to start.

Assuming the car has an m20 broken rocker as stated above is a good possibility. You could also check the fuel pressure as the FPR or fuel pump could be at fault. A stuck or faulty AFM is also a possibility.

[F34R]

break a rocker?

Brother broke two rockers in his b25, ran badly but ran.

I am thinking the coil on the fire wall.

[Mr. Burns]

He is referring to a rocker arm located under your valve cover.

Oh, sorry. My brain went strait to rocker panel.

Couldnt be that, would sound like catastrophic failure if anything.
This failure was weak and fairly quiet.

I'll check for spark at the coil. Good call.

[Mr. Burns]

Just checked spark, all I good. Turned engine over, started 1st shot flawlessly.

Idled fine. Gave it some gas, stumbled.

I did take notice however that my fuel filter flap was dangling after I may of ht some road debris the other week(styrofoam blocks)
Also, torrential downpours here lately.
Fuel pump seems to work fine, feeds engine while in acc ( hear the humming)

So Coles:
Cold starts fine, will rev up to 7k with no issue.
After a couple minutes will start to complain.

Several bursts of rev's is when it'll choke up....

[nokincy]

Have you tried running it with the O2 sensor unplugged?

[Mr. Burns]

No. Still too warm to meddle with exhaust. Will wait till tomorrow.

[jlevie]

As stated above a 1221 (or a 1222) code can be the result of an upset in the A/F ratio. In this case my first suspect would be a fuel system problem since the engine will start but not run well above idle. A check of the rail fuel pressure would be the first thing I'd do.

[Mr. Burns]

As stated above a 1221 (or a 1222) code can be the result of an upset in the A/F ratio. In this case my first suspect would be a fuel system problem since the engine will start but not run well above idle. A check of the rail fuel pressure would be the first thing I'd do.

Fuel rail pressure.
Can this be checked with compression tester?