My car sometimes dies when come to a stop, and also sometimes rough idles. i have all new plugs, wires, cap, filters, fuel filter and the car is stock except for my custom ram air. could a partially clogged cat be the problem? im planning on gutting it out. we dont have emissions around here in the country. thanks for the help guys

 

i would get a timing light and check your timing. does it run rough all the time, or just at idle?

maybe get a new coil.

 

Generally, no. A clogged cat will idle fine and run fine at light throttle but make zippo power when you nail it or take it into higher RPMs- when there is a lot of exhaust gasses trying to get out of the engine through the constricted cat. The more clogged it gets the worse the problem gets until the engine will barely run but the first place you'll feel a cat going bad is at WOT and high RPMs.

 

Is there anyway to tell if the cat is clogged without taking it off?

 

it rogh idels sometimes but when im trurning from a stop sigh onto the highway and slam on gas it is like i never touched it then all of a sudden slowly starts to speed up. and also if i am just barely touching the gas while driving through a small town with a low speed limit it starts to jerk as if i was slamming on gas then the brake. it is so odd. i wasnt sure if it was the gas lines or a vacuum leak or the exhaust. i have no idea about the timing, how do you check it? is the timing light expensive? thanks guys

 

It sounds like the timing to me. My timing was way out it was doing the exact same thing. If you having messed with the distributer though, there is no reason for it to be that far off. I would check it anyway. You can get a timing light for under $40. Have you tried just turning the distributer and see if it idles any better?

 

i know nothing of distributers. I have a 88 V6 2.8L MPFI and i had to take all of my intake off to change my valve gaskets. and i have switched the coil so maybe i messed something up. what do you mean by turning distributer?