Take your car to a shop before you blow up the engine from an over-speed. There are several things that may cause your problem. The first step is to read the trouble codes and get a good diagnostic by a qualified technican. From your description, it seems that the transmission is misbehaving, but this may not be the fault of the tranny itself. It could be other things like a bad sensor or low manifold vacuum. The "4" on the RPM thingy is probably 4000 rpm.

irish girl. You wrote "My main mechanic found nothing wrong with the car but said that the cat. converter was hot so it must be plugged and he sent me to the guy who welded my muffler to have it changed. They changed it but did not believe that that was the problem. That cost $110.00. It didn't help" First of all, a hot catalytic convertor is one that is working. If it's glowing RED HOT, then it's overworking because there is a problem in the engine allowing too much air, and unburned fuel into the exhaust. On top of that, find one good shop and tech and stick with him/her. Stop ping-ponging around. Your only compounding your own misery. You wrote" The other day the check engine light came on and I went to Auto Zone who told me it was the O2 sensor just before the convertor." Looks like you fell for the "free diagnosis" and you got what you paid for, an O2 sensor that cannot be proven you actually needed now. You wrote. "My mechanic changed that, changed the plugs and fixed my brakes and rotors for a grand total of $289.00 and my car is still wanting to stall or stalling." Don't lump in your brake work as part of the total you have spent to fix the stalling symptom. They have nothing to do with each other. Treat them as if the brakes were replaced on a different car. You wrote, and now we are concentrating on the stalling. " It stalls or tries to at lights, in drive-through's and now it stalls if I'm going along at a pretty good speed and stop. I told my main mechanic it was still bad and he said that he would clean the throttle body for me that that could be it." That is a plausible answer to the stalling, a good tech can prove if this service is required, and can perform it easily. It's also possible the symptom can be caused by something else affecting the air entering the engine at low RPM's, and the computers response to correct this is exactly the same as a dirty throttle body, and that is for the computer to command the IAC to open wider than normal. This would be a "cut a tree down to see the forest step" in some cases. Sort of once you find something that can cause a particular problem, you stop looking until you prove the problem still exists. You wrote" The mechanic who changed the converter hooked a machine up to my car drove it around with that thing hooked up to it. He said that all of the sensors are working and things are firing or whatever and he seems to think that the tune-up should have been taken further. He suggests that the boots and coils and that plastic thing that holds it all should be changed." Some more specific information would be invaluable here. I can guess what I think he is feeling in the car, and that is still a missfire. The Quad 4's are prone to having trouble with the coil cover and spark plug boots. If there is a problem there, the plugs should be changed again! The reason the plugs need changed again is the boots could be carbon tracked, and allowing the spark to leak right down along the outside of the spark plug, where the boot contacts it. This causes the new spark plug to also carbon track, and it will in turn result in a missfire, and damage the new boot starting the cycle all over again. "I'm running out of money. What is your opinion?" One shop, one tech for everything. Stop ping-ponging. Find someone that can not only diagnose and repair this, but will communicate exactly what they are going to do and why. The O2 sensor replacement is a clue IMO, to an air/fuel ratio issue. This can cause excessive spark demand under certian conditions, and contribute to the coil cover/ spark plug boot problem. There is no more expensive way to attempt to fix one of today's cars than to pull a code and throw a part at it. That's the limit of the ability of a parts store employee when it comes to diagnosing a check engine light. Just because you pull a lean exhaust "O2 sensor" code from the computer, that does not condem the O2 sensor. If you had showed up here with an O2 sensor in your hand telling me Auto Zone had diagnosed it, I would have sent you away. I definately would not have just installed it, because that is not enough proof to me that you really need it.

If you have an automatic transmission, you may be experiencing problems with the lock-up clutch. A sensor controls the voltage to the lock-up clutch and this is a common failure with GM lock-up clutches. The fix is simple - replace the sensor. To diagnose, temporarily disable the clutch by unpluging the lead to it. If this is the problem, it disappears when unpluged and re-appears when reconnected. The sensor is failing. Within the range of 45 to 55 mph, the lockup feature may be disengaging and engaging when the throttle position is suddently changed by a significant amount and will cause a small lurch. This is normal, however, lurching increases when the torque control part of the engine mount is worn. It may need replacing.

I have a 1998 Pontiac Grand am se 4 cylinder. I noticed that when i stop put the brake, then accelerate the car likes hesitates or like it wants to stop, Then i have to press the gas pedal about 2 times and the car goes. Whats the problem?