Car was stored for 7 mos while tranny was being rebuilt. Distributer was pulled. Today I made sure I was in time....replaced coil. Tomorrow going to replace plugs/wires and siphon all the gas out hoping that it is just water in there.

My problem is that it is still running like dung. It dies at intersections and hesitates big time when tryning to accerlate. I noticed that if I barley push the throttle, it will try to bog down. If step on it, it will rev up. Also, when I put it in gear and give it gas...it wants to die. I have checked and to the best of my knowledge, I see no vaccuum leaks.

But....I do remember when I had the exhaust off, it was in the rain and I had to poor the water out off the pre-cats and cats...could that have caused them to clog???

Please be Patient with me...for I know not what I do

:confused: :nonod:

 

I would start with fresh gas, change the fuel filter and check fuel pressure and go from there. good luck and let us know :cheers:

 

Sounds like fuel delivery. Measure fuel rail pressure while it bogs. If the pressure remains constant then you will have to look elsewhere.

 

Alright...just siphoned all the gas out, put new filter on....put in fresh gas. Still bogging when slightly giving it gas...or putting it in gear.

I'll get a fuel pressure gauge and check it...what should it be at?

 

Does it run any better? Fuel pressure should be about 40psi, check at idle and when the engine bogs. :cheers:

 

Thanks for your help guys....no it still runs the same. If I don't have 40/psi what could cause it? Fuel pump or regulator?

I am also concerned about my cats....I poured a lot of water out of them when they sat in the snow and rain over the winter. Could it cause it to clog?

 

If fuel pressure is low I would lean toward the fuel pump than the regulator, since you mentioned water in the tank. Yes the cat could make it run crappy.
Have you checked for any codes yet?

 

Thanks again Mike....the first thing I did was check for codes and got none. It's really weird....the car was not doing this before the tranny went out. It's just very sluggish part throttle....

I will pull the exhaust off and see if that helps...I am going now to look for a fuel pressure gauge. Thanks again! I'll keep you posted

 

I believe clogged cats are going to introduce themselves under high flow conditions (WOT), not the off-idle transition you describe.
-Bill

 

Try checking timing w/o unplugging anything, just hook up the light to the battery and the #1 plug wire. You should have approximately 17-23 degrees at idle. If you have 10 or less, you have found the problem.

Also check the plug wires for correct firing order 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2


[Modified by ELEVENS, 9:30 PM 4/8/2003]

 

Thanks again....so 10-20 degrees which way BTDS? And if it is less than 10...then what would be the problem....the auto advance?

 

Yes to the first question. There could be several causes for the second, but most likely a connection problem.

I'm just putting "2 and 2 together" here. Removal of the distributor, combined with the symtoms you described makes me think timing or electrical.
-Bill

 

My original thoughts were electrical of some sort but I couldn't find any loose wires or bad connections. When the tranny was out....the battery was hooked up when a cable was grounded to the frame by accident. The neg. cable caught fire and I thought that maybe the ECM got fried or something.

 

Ouch. You should bet a check engine light if the ecu is toast. There's a lot of grounds under a tranny bolt that had to be disconnected to remove the tranny. Also, the tach filter attaches to one of the upper tranny bolts. I've seen that wire get pinched between the tranny and engine, too. Doubt that's the problem, though. Weird, unexplained things can happen with loose grounds, open grounds, and ground loops, though. My bet is still on retarded timing.

 

OKay...thanks....I won't be able to get back at it until Sunday...but i will print this post out so I can refer to it.

BTW...the fire was nasty...I had a charger hooked up to it when it happened....the cruise control cable above the battery was red hot until I disconnected the battery....thats why I think it may have fried something else.

Talk about seeing my pride and joy pass before my eyes...... :nonod: :sad:


[Modified by Bruthish, 12:44 PM 4/9/2003]

 

Also, now that you mentioned grounds...There was a clump of grounds down by the tranny like you mentioned...would they be okay grounded against the tranny..it's aluminum isn't it?

 

The electrical conductivity of aluminum is nearly as good as silver or copper, and about 4 times better than iron. The tranny is a very good place for a ground.

 

1. Did you have fuel pressure? it should shoot up some when you are under acceration.

2. Check the advance with a lite, you would be around 18-22* when at idle and somewhere higher when RPM is increased.

3. Checking for vac leaks isn't as easy as looking, as you descibed above. You need to get some ether and spray it around in little shots (its VERY flamable), but this stuff works GREAT to find the sources of leaks. When I did my SR I used propane etc and knew there was a leak, but could not pinpoint the exact location. With the ETher I found it in under 1 minute. When you spray it near a leak you will hear the engine rpm increase slightly as the engine burns it.

4. Make sure you have good wires and plugs in the car. I once bought a brand new set of moroso wires that had a ever so small pin hole in them, which caused the car to hesitate and had nearly NO power. I went to pass an old lady and he took me! :lol: :crazy:

5. If you have a dead hole (cylinder not firing), upon initial startup when the car is cold, have a glass of water nearby. Pour a little on each header/manifold port and the water should sizzle off, if there is no heat you have no spark.

6. Another way to check for bad connection on wires/plugs is to get in a dark garage with the engine running. I have seen sparks jumping everywhere before to pinpoint a bad connection/wire. Sometimes you can even hear them snapping if you listen close.

7. If all that stuff fails, take the car for a ride without the exhaust on, if the cats are plugged it will tell you that for sure :lol:

8. Also make sure the distributer is in properly. You said it was taken out, it easily could be off one tooth and be causing you tons of grief. Triple check it if necessary.

Hope this summary helps, some of the items were already mentioned, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to recap.

Good luck let us know what it was. :cheers:


[Modified by ski_dwn_it, 4:44 PM 4/9/2003]