I have an 88 2.8L firebird..just bought a couple a months ago for a couple hundred $$$..car has not been taken car of very well..i ws informed from previous owner that the EGR valve needed replaced.i have not done this yet..my problem right now is as follows....i am loosing about a gallon of coolant every 4-5 days,kinda anoying but not a big deal,when i get low on coolant it obviously runs a lil hot..it has always had a lil idle problem (cutting off at low idle occasionally) which i attributed to the egr valve..last night while driving i noticed my brakes became extremely hard to press and car was attempting to stall..only way to keep it running while slowing or stopped is to pop it in neutral and lay on the gas(about 2000 rpm)any lower and it will shut off...it still runs fine while at above approx. 1700 rpm but any lower and the brakes go and it stalls..everytime...i am also now hearing what sounds like the engine sucking air..any help would be greatly appreciated

 

sounds like you have a number of problems.. the new one sounds like a vaccum leak though.. do a search on how to diagnose a vaccum leak i've seen some good posts on this around here not too long ago.. the coolant could be a cracked radiator, hose, water pump, leaking heater core, blown head gasket(s), cracked head(s).. etc.. a little more info would help on that one..

 

I have the same car. '88 Sport Coupe 2.8. When it does run normal... does the idle sound kinda hesitant? You might have a dirty/bad Idle Air Controllor (IAC). That is what controls the idle air through the Throttle Body. It gets clogged up with carbon deposits after a while. Its really easy to take it out (just screws out), then you have to clean out the passage (little throttle body cleaner, and a test tube brush). Just put a new one it... run it a few times... and it should work. Worse comes worse... you can elimnate it from the cause list and move on to something else.

Good Luck,

Joker

 

Matt,

Welcome Aboard!

All of those symptoms could be from an EGR valve that is leaking through. It's easy enough to pull a couple of bolts and check it out.

 

Just to let everyone know what happened..I took it to a mechanic(one i actually trust) and within 5 seconds of the car running he told and showed me that it was in fact my EGR gasket that had blown..he told me he wasnt gonna fix it because its too easy and id be wasting my money..guess i start learning how to fix my own car now....Again...thanks.