I've researched on the problem with my car and I have yet to find a thread where someone had a similar problem. My 87 had sat for 4 months only being started and its really stutters and makes poping sounds on take off now. When you give it full throttle at speed it doesn't do it and once it is warmed up it does not do it. Only when taking off from a stop. Is this a major problem? If so than what can it be and how can I fix it? This car had an exhaust leak and we had it fixed but it still does it.

ITs actually backfiring through the intake (found tha tout the other day, scared the crap out of me) It's not the distributor or spark plugs and wires, and has me leading towards the fuel system. Car runs great once its warmed up after 8 minutes but if you get in it and try to push a little it will miss fire and back fire adn go no where. Kind of a pain in the @$$.

Also have a problem with the tach turning off when i turn on my headlights my aftermarket tach turn off. One day when i hit my rear defroster it turned off completely with the headlights on, and today it was back to the tack jumping around with the lights on, I have a feeling its a ground but im not 100%.

Any updates on your situation? I have the same problem except my problem dont go away when warmed up. Car was in a 2 year restoration and when I got it back it started doing this. Went through the ignition system and fuel system?? No codes as of yet. I am in the middle of getting the old fuel out of the tank and will let you know how that goes?? These cars can be a pain!

Well, I think it has something to do with my timing, have you checked yours? I'm going to get a timing gun around christmas time, and after that I'm goingn to start moving to the coolant temperature sensor(I think). I've heard that with this, when it goes bad it tends to cause your timing to get screwed up when the weather changes, creating this backfire. I am also pulling no codes. Going to also try sea foam next year...

If yours does it all the time when you got it back has be questioned as it wouldnt be the timing or a timing chain of the like. Maybe something inside the engine is sticking?

I did solve why my battery dies all the time, starter was bad. Tach was also a bad ground

1. 85-87 fuel injectors were of the older pintle cap design, prone to clogging. If you guys have the original injectors, check them out thoroughly. Resistance should be above 8 ohms per injector, with no more than a full ohm difference between the highest and lowest.
2. CTS is a possibility, with the cars having sat and all, they could be caked with junk. Replace them and change your coolant (completely... also pull the drain plugs out of the engine block). DO NOT use sealant when you reinstall them.
3. Timing may also be an issue. Don't forget to disconnect the timing bypass connector over the top of the blower housing when you check.
4. Check the color of your spark. If it's not white, some new ignition parts are in order, especially the coil.

Have you guys disconnected your MAF sensors and checked them out? Remove the sensor and look at the film inside against a light. If the light doesn't reflect off of the film as though the film were a perfectly flat mirror, your sensor needs to be replaced as the film is warped and sending out bad readings. My first MAF did this, and I ended up replacing it twice before I got a good one.

I will deffintely check out the injectors, thanks for that info I forgot about those.

I doubt its the MAF as it had been replaced only a few years ago, but if it does come down to that I will check it.

Removed fuel tank and drained, replaced fuel filter. Also replaced distributor and plugs. I reset the IAC and can you believe the car runs like a champ. I think it was the distributor all along, but not sure as I did all the work at once, never the less its running great again. Question about the MAF - if that were the problem would you not ge t a code of some sort?

wt* i been wondering what that is cause i just replaced the sparkplugs, distributor carp, spark plug wires and the misfire stopped a whole lot..but now the car make a few popping sounds when i run the car cold..once it starts its completely gone..and also when i turn my headlights on, my right run symbol turns on for some odd reason my rpm gauge stops and my oil and battery gauges go nuts..what could that be?

First, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with this problem....Thanks for the ideas of where to look for the cause. I suspect a combo of my distributer and the CTS, as my temp gauge has been acting funky for weeks.

Dealbatony...your instrument problem is caused by a short in the mylar circuit sheet that is behind the stock cluster. Its apparently a common problem, mine went out like this several years ago, and comes back to life from time to time. Classic industries sells replacements for the sheet for like $70, i just haven't had the extra cash to fix what amounts to a simple annoyance more than anything else.

After thinking about your problem a bit what I would check out after all the obvious stuff, timing,TPS voltage,CTS,making sure your plug wires arent on wrong or crossed, ETC. When the engine is cold, as with anything that gets cold stuff shrinks or contracts. Now when you said your car sat for a while, maybe your TB gasket or intake plenum gaskets dried out and hardened. With the engine cold there may be a large vacuum leak causing the pops you hear. When the plenum and engine warm up everything expands creating a temporary seal. I would also check your injectors like several have mentioned. Also i would buy new o-rings for them and buy new gaskets for your upper plenum and TB or you can be a cheap A$$ like me and buy a $4.99 roll of gasket material and trace the outline of your old gaskets onto this sheet and cut out your new gaskets with a utilily knife and now you have a new gasket set for next to nothing vs 25 bucks from the autozone. It sounds to me like you may have a vac leak.

As far as the MAF, no, it won't always throw a code. When I first got to actually drive my car after the 3.1 was dropped in, I would have to hold the gas and the engine speed up to about 2k for about 3-4 minutes before I could go anywhere or the engine would crap out every time. Without a vacuum leak (checked, re checked, and checked some more) or a code. When I visually inspected the sensor (replaced the original, which WAS throwing a code 34, with a used one and ended up with the same problem), I found the film to be wavy inside. So I went and got a new one, and the problem was solved. Well, for the most part.

Now I need to find out if my TPS is the reason for my code 45 (no, my injectors don't leak and will hold pressure for HOURS, and I have 39 PSI pressure when running). One thing at a time, though.

Oh, and a malfunctioning temp gauge has absolutely NOTHING to do with the CTS. The sender for the gauge is behind the A/C compressor, or above the power steering pump for those without A/C. They're 2 separate entities, the 2-wire being for the ECM and the 1-wire for the gauge (like the oil pressure units on your 2.8's).

:edit: Also, dealbatony, check the grounds for your headlights, on the passenger's side. It's either loose or broken, and that's why you're getting backfeeding into the right turn signal when your headlights are on (made the mistake of not hooking the driver's side ground back up to the body the last time I had the front end off and had to remove the harness). Also check the ground for your instrument cluster.

I just bought an 88 that had sat for 4 years and after replacing the gas tank, fuel pump, fuel level sender, fuel filter, plugs, wires cap and rotor, the car ran like others have explained, popping through the intake, little power and after having read this post, I remember the coolant temp gauge is errattic. I was getting pretty frustrated with this little car. I will replace the coolant, thermostat and sensor and see what happens after that. Hopefully I will be closer to getting it running correctly! Thanks everyone for the tips, suggestions and ideas in this post. This has re-motivated me to get working on my car.

I fixed the problem with all the poppin and everything..


What I did was posted the car on craigslist, few weeks later I sold it and got another car!!

Trans Am Gta

That my next step if a couple other things don't pan out. lol

Did you check teh timing? Is it throwing a code? Lack of power sounds liek it could be the timing or the coolant temp sensor. Good luck. It's gotten to cold for me to work on mine,snow.