Car's a little sluggish, looking for some insight on my findings.
06-17-2013, 10:36 AM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
Car's a little sluggish, looking for some insight on my findings.
Your guys are the best every problem I have i have solved with help from the forum!
89 6 speed here (all original exhaust), My car hasn't run properly for a long time (2-2.5yrs) I fixed my leaking intake manifold and all other gaskets plenum runners, tb, etc. My idle was crazy for ever, fixed vacuum leak replaces IAC idle ran high, ends up a new ECM fixed it. Car runs and idles smooth now. It has lack of power. I can't get a exact # on 0-60 since the i can't time myself in a 6 speed and was driving alone this weekend. but 1 Mississippi count puts me at 9.5-10 seconds. I remember once upon a time, I use to punch the gas and get thrown back in my seat with all that low end torque not any more.
I checked my air filter it was dirty, I replaced it no difference, I was thinking maybe fuel filter or fuel pump. I have no hesitation car runs smooth through all gears. I'm thinking my cat or pre cats might be plugged, I had overheating issues in the past, so this wouldn't shock me. In my readings I learned a few ways to test, are any of these accurate? Take the temp of the pipe before and after cat using a infared thermometer ? I read that if car is in neutral and some one revs the engine and the exhaust flow doesn't change then it is plugged up.
If my cat is plugged like i think it is, is there any downside to remove the precats and cat. I am not looking for performance gain as I know I won't get any. I am looking for for the cheapest solution long tern.
I know I can go to a exhaust shop I like to know what my problem is before I go to any shop.
If some one thinks it could be something else please let me know.
***** forgot to mention plugs, wires, distibutor cap, rotor are fairly new and in perfect condition. I replaced my injectors also 5 years ago and they are clean as can be.******
89 6 speed here (all original exhaust), My car hasn't run properly for a long time (2-2.5yrs) I fixed my leaking intake manifold and all other gaskets plenum runners, tb, etc. My idle was crazy for ever, fixed vacuum leak replaces IAC idle ran high, ends up a new ECM fixed it. Car runs and idles smooth now. It has lack of power. I can't get a exact # on 0-60 since the i can't time myself in a 6 speed and was driving alone this weekend. but 1 Mississippi count puts me at 9.5-10 seconds. I remember once upon a time, I use to punch the gas and get thrown back in my seat with all that low end torque not any more.
I checked my air filter it was dirty, I replaced it no difference, I was thinking maybe fuel filter or fuel pump. I have no hesitation car runs smooth through all gears. I'm thinking my cat or pre cats might be plugged, I had overheating issues in the past, so this wouldn't shock me. In my readings I learned a few ways to test, are any of these accurate? Take the temp of the pipe before and after cat using a infared thermometer ? I read that if car is in neutral and some one revs the engine and the exhaust flow doesn't change then it is plugged up.
If my cat is plugged like i think it is, is there any downside to remove the precats and cat. I am not looking for performance gain as I know I won't get any. I am looking for for the cheapest solution long tern.
I know I can go to a exhaust shop I like to know what my problem is before I go to any shop.
If some one thinks it could be something else please let me know.
***** forgot to mention plugs, wires, distibutor cap, rotor are fairly new and in perfect condition. I replaced my injectors also 5 years ago and they are clean as can be.******
Last edited by guno89; 06-17-2013 at 10:39 AM.
06-17-2013, 11:40 AM
#2
Safety Car
If you had a vacuum leak for a long time you may have melted the inside of the cats, melted cats are a very good reason for a car to loose power.
The exhaust can go by at idle but when you get on it the gases can't pass the melted cats.
You can just take them off and clean them out the material is similar to honeycomb ceramic, if you can get at them some cats are impossible to break up because of there location in the pipes
The exhaust can go by at idle but when you get on it the gases can't pass the melted cats.
You can just take them off and clean them out the material is similar to honeycomb ceramic, if you can get at them some cats are impossible to break up because of there location in the pipes
06-17-2013, 03:41 PM
#3
Le Mans Master
Those precats are pretty durable. I would think that if you put a pressure gauge where the oxygen sensor is, and take a reading, you would have to drill a hole in the other side, and weld in a oxygen sensor bung, take the reading over there, then just put a pipe plug in the right side if the reading is like the left.
I for one tried the precats /cat thing on my run stand, and you wouldn't believe the difference with and without.
Without the cat, you can't breathe behind the engine. with the cat, it is not noticeable how the exhaust fills up the garage.
Soooo
On that note, get behind the car, and start it up. does it smell like turpentine like always?
If it does, I would guess that they are ok, and go in a different direction.
First I would check the oxygen sensor. If it is 5 or 6 years old, it might be time for a new one.
Sure, it doesn't throw a code, but they get exhaust in the little louvers on the cover of the sensor, and they get lazy. they are milliseconds off, and that changes the fuel ratio.
The other thing I would suggest is buying a new ignition coil and distributor module.
The coils are in the hottest environment in the engine compartment, up at the top of the hood, and the coils do break down from time to time.
The modules are also heat affected, and the values may change depending on the temp and age. Remember they are called semi-conductors. sometimes they work perfect and sometimes they don't.
I bought a pertronics coil, and although I couldn't tell a sseat of the pants difference, it started quicker.
I alsoo had to buy plug wires, because with the hotter coil, I was shorting out to metal near the plug wires.
Also, something to try,
get a thin piece of aluminum or a small square piece of a tin coffee can, and loosen the EGR pipe over by the heater. Slip the little piece of metal, maybe 1 inch by 1 inch in between the bolts, and effectively turning off the EGR. See if that helps your engine acceleration. Sometimes if the EGR is stuck partially open, you can get too much cylinder charge dilution, and you lose some ponies that way. If it does not help, just carefully pull out the metal piece and tighten the bolts back down. Be careful, if you rip the gasket, you have to make a trip to Chevy for another one. And if it leaks, it can overheat the heater box plastic. Isometimes make the gaskets from left-over header material. If you buy header gaskets, they don't puch out the gaskets all the way because it helps the gaskets hold their shape over time. So when you push out the leftover material, you have enough to make EGR tube gaskets.
zzif yoou need a precat, I have a couple that were sawed out of a front Y pipe, and would look for $20 each plus shipping.
I for one tried the precats /cat thing on my run stand, and you wouldn't believe the difference with and without.
Without the cat, you can't breathe behind the engine. with the cat, it is not noticeable how the exhaust fills up the garage.
Soooo
On that note, get behind the car, and start it up. does it smell like turpentine like always?
If it does, I would guess that they are ok, and go in a different direction.
First I would check the oxygen sensor. If it is 5 or 6 years old, it might be time for a new one.
Sure, it doesn't throw a code, but they get exhaust in the little louvers on the cover of the sensor, and they get lazy. they are milliseconds off, and that changes the fuel ratio.
The other thing I would suggest is buying a new ignition coil and distributor module.
The coils are in the hottest environment in the engine compartment, up at the top of the hood, and the coils do break down from time to time.
The modules are also heat affected, and the values may change depending on the temp and age. Remember they are called semi-conductors. sometimes they work perfect and sometimes they don't.
I bought a pertronics coil, and although I couldn't tell a sseat of the pants difference, it started quicker.
I alsoo had to buy plug wires, because with the hotter coil, I was shorting out to metal near the plug wires.
Also, something to try,
get a thin piece of aluminum or a small square piece of a tin coffee can, and loosen the EGR pipe over by the heater. Slip the little piece of metal, maybe 1 inch by 1 inch in between the bolts, and effectively turning off the EGR. See if that helps your engine acceleration. Sometimes if the EGR is stuck partially open, you can get too much cylinder charge dilution, and you lose some ponies that way. If it does not help, just carefully pull out the metal piece and tighten the bolts back down. Be careful, if you rip the gasket, you have to make a trip to Chevy for another one. And if it leaks, it can overheat the heater box plastic. Isometimes make the gaskets from left-over header material. If you buy header gaskets, they don't puch out the gaskets all the way because it helps the gaskets hold their shape over time. So when you push out the leftover material, you have enough to make EGR tube gaskets.
zzif yoou need a precat, I have a couple that were sawed out of a front Y pipe, and would look for $20 each plus shipping.