Hello all...

It seems as though the problems are starting. First my transmissing, and now I've got a bit of a miss in my engine.

Its usually when I start from a stop and use a heavy foot, it sounds like my old 305 pinging and popping occasionally. I dont think its bad gas, I've had that before... And sometimes under light acceleration, you can faintly hear it jumping all over the place... Reminds me a lot of what happens when you've got a dirty or wet distributor...

What could this be, or do I need some more information before I can start narrowing this down? I want to get rid of all my problems before they escalate!!!

Mine is missing too.. only when its cold, and it goes away once i rev it up past 2500.. distributor?

well.. unfourtunately, I dont have a distributor...

Also, since this has been happening, I also have noticed that when you start the car, the engine revs up and is supposed to then drop down to idle, but mine usually stalls unless I give it a little gas. This never was the case before. This may be a whole different problem alltogether. I took the whole cold air intake apart yesterday and cleaned it all up. Filter is in great shape.

My car had that problem back around 279k miles, haha. I recommend a few things. Run Sea Foam through it first. Get new plug wires. Get rid of your catco. That should put you in good shape, and you'll see a performance boost too.

By the way, my car has a new problem now. It's idling rough and hesitating on first acceleration, but at mid and upper RPMs, it does great. Also, when I floor it, I feel air come out at my feet. Does anyone know if I have a vacuum leak perhaps?

DK

With my old ciera, the 3.1 had the same problem. It had a terrible idle at low speeds, like backing out of the driveway, and would stall when I backed up, and went to put it into drive. At first I thought it was just the cold, but it did it every day. Unforntunally I'm not that good with problem solving and engines, but my brother is a mechanic. He brought home his diagnostic computer, and found that it was a vacuum connector....I think.....I will have to check with him tomorrow. I'll let ya know what he think it might be too.

When my Ciera was hesitating on acceleration it was the fuel pump. Two days ago it stalled in the middle of the road and I had to pony up $500 to get it fixed (can't very well shop around when your car won't start).

well the actual cause of the problem may not be known yet. You can narrow it down with some regular maintanence checks. Im sure you do this often though Sparks, Wires, PCV, EGR in good shape, Fuel Filter, O2 Sensor. The parts that help it run efficient and smooth. Im guessing all those are good. In that case have u took ur sparks out and checked that there ok light brown/tan color. im guessing thats all good to. TPS sensor, throttle body clean? and ur air intake is all tight, sealed and cleaned. hmmm.

this is probably not the case for you but i found a reason why my 3.8 is eating alot of gas and has no power, there is a crack in the exhaust manifold. im gonna get it welded shut.

Yeah, that happened to the same ciera i had the miss, it would stall and then start right back up. Luckly we got it back home, and I went to auto zone and picked one up.

Spark plugs are in good repair, nice chocolate color on all 6... I checked all my connections for various sensors... I just replaced my TPS sensor less than 3 months ago, so I dont suspect it...

I shall check my PCV, I want to check the EGR, but I dont know how to...

I'm thinking its time to change my fuel filter, as I havent done this before. I just changed my wires last year, i dont think they're bad...

I want to check for vacuum leaks tonight, I think that would be a good idea.

I'll keep looking, thanks for the help so far guys!

Fuel Filter, change the asap, in the service manual for almost all types of driveability problems it suggests to check the fuel filter that it is not clogged up. It should be changed about every 48000km or so.

1. The EGR valve is located on the intake manifold. Most of the time when a problem develops in the emissions system, it's due to a stuck or corroded EGR valve.
2. With the engine cold to prevent burns , reach under the valve and push on the diaphragm. Using moderate pressure, you should be able to move the diaphragm.
3. If the diaphragm doesn't move or moves only with much effort, replace the EGR valve with a new one. If in doubt about the condition of the valve, compare the free movement with a new valve.

TOC Admin
Brando

cool brando, thanks I will do that. I will also buy a new fuel filter as soon as possible. I dont know though, because at wide open throttle, it roars, most of my problems are coming from light to moderate throttle pressure. I have no clue what is causing this.

Research will tell!!!

I was JUST handed a haynes manual for my car.... Literally, just as I was typing my last message, a guy walked into my office and handed it to me, said he didnt need it any more!!! This is very good...

Haha, that's where that info above came from!

Good book....

TOC Admin
Brando

Man, this is exactly why my Oldsmobiles are always mid seventies or older. There are so many variables involved when diagnosing an engine problem. The newer cars can be plugged into an alalyzer to get a code (assuming the car's computer knows what is going on), but who has one of those in their back pocket? My engine has intake manifold, two exhaust manifolds, a carburetor and a distributor, that's it. Simpler is better for me. Not knocking your newer rides because they are definitely more comfortable and refined and ride nicer and they are still Oldsmobiles