martyr

OK..

I was driving around the other evening...not running the car hard or anything..then the car started running very rough; like it was not firing in one of the cylinders...

I have checked all plugs / wires.

Replaced distributor ( long story)

Replaced Cap & Rotor

Checked the TPS a couple of weeks ago and it was fine, cleaned the IAC too.

Still running like crud.....took it to a shop but they couldn't scope it because of the mods that I have. They did concur that it wasn't the heads, valves or head gasket.

This is frustrating because it just happened for no apparent reason. Not like I added a mod or tweaked the chip and then it happened...just literally driving down the road and WHAM.

Any help in solving this problem would be appreciated.

Plugs did have a little white residue but nothing crusty or bad.

Thanks,

marty

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Anybody check the injectors yet?

martyr

If it involves removing the Superram I'll drive the darn thing the way it is until hell freezes over. I have the tall valve covers installed and the middle 2 injectors on both sides are pretty well covered.

They're 24lb Accel units that have less than 10,000 miles on the. The mileage is the same for the AFPR and Fuel Pump. Not that newer parts can't go south just like any other part...

Any idea how to check the injectors without removing them?

martyr

All I need is that one person who knows exactly the right questions to ask to diagnose my car's problem..the autodoc.

The sun has gone down...it's getting colder...the tools are starting to get cold...the halogen light under the car is the only heat I'll have as the temperature starts to drop.....I rented a KIA for a week while my car's been down and had to turn it in this morning....gotta take my daughter to school bright and early...but with no ride........???

Any help is appreciated!

hydric

well i'll ask the obvious:

Have you look to see if you can smell/see any gas around the injectors? perhaps a injector seal went bad? the 4 bolts that hold the fuel rail I believe can get loose n cause a problem (sorry i dont have a torque spec for them, bloody TPI)

Have you looked for possible vacuum leaks? Could your CAT be clogged? checked for burnt plug wires? all the lil normal thigns that could give you a sluggish run

hydric

oh and another thing that comes to mind, how long since u replaced the fuel filter? EGR?

martyr

Thanks for the reply...

OK

No clogged cat ( took car to muffler shop)

2 burnt plug wires were replaced but problem still persists ( 2 -sets of msd 8.5 fried against my Edelbrock tes Jet hot coated headers )

Fuel filter was replaced 5-10k miles ago.

No fuel smell.

How to check EGR under Superram?? Arghhhh.

martyr

And the problem developed very rapidly ( as in minutes) I would assume that a loose fuel rail would result in an intermittent, then constant symptom.

Trickster

I can't contribute much to this post. However, the torque spec's for the fuel rail bolts is 15 foot pounds if you want to try that. Another thing you can try as far as the injectors are concerned is to check the OHM resistance on them. If you don't know how to do it, take a multimeter and set it to OHM's. Pull the connectors off the injectors one at a time and touch the testers probes to the pins in the injector. The resistance on a good injector is somewhere between 14 & 18 OHM's. Hope this helps.

The Trickster!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1badrocZ

iTrader: (1)

hey martyr im having a very similar problem except i just put my car back together and its running really rough and seems like its not firing on a few cyl. ive checked vaccum, new wires, correct order etc......i noticed my injectors are not real tight, i mean i can turn them with ease, i didnt have the tork specs so i just put them in and gave them a few turns. I also noticed the egr wire broke off and im wondering if either of these could be my problem?

martyr

Yeah...I'm not too bad at troubleshooting. It's the sudden "not-working out of the blue" problems that get me.

This superram really makes it a PITA to troubleshoot because it covers soooo much and is hard to remove.

These tall valve covers are about to take a hike.....I can remove the webbing from the stock ones and get them to fit over ith 1.5 crane roller rockers...or so I've decuced from the posts on this site.

JUST NEED ROOM!!!! I mean....dropping the starter to change plug #8?????

My dad had a Ford Falcon Sprint Convertible...260 V-8; You could almost climb into the engine bay and set up a chair and table to work on the car if you need to....

Still...when it's running..I love this Firebird....

SMasterson

Explain what mods would prevent them from being able to put a scanner on it. Wiring to ALDL incorrect or missing?

I've had the ECM to do that but tapping on it with a ratchet would correct it temporiarly. Finally replaced it and cured the problem.

ECM's are cheap from salvage yards and if that doesn't fix it you'd have a spare anyway.

But, to narrow things down, check fuel pressure, check for spark at each cylinder and fix the ALDL so you can check for codes. If you've eliminated mechanical problems look for electrical.

EGR problems aren't noticable at cruising speeds because it open then anyway. If it was stuck it would really be noticable at idle and diminish as RPM's went up.

Air_Adam

Vacuum leak? Maybe a vacuum line just came loose or cracked or something.

hydric

yeah that exactly what I originally thought n suggested was a vac. leak. if it fits the shoe, wear it.

martyr

What areas should I be checking for vacuum leaks?

twistydick

check everywhere.if you know this trick im sorry for mentioning it. spray carb cleaner around everything that has to do with vacuum.the idle will change when you hit the spot. id especially check the intake gasket area.thats how i got a deal when i got my car.guy thought something way bad was wrong. idled like hell shook goin down the road......but i knew it was vaccuum.checked after i bought it and it needed a new intake gasket.if you smoke, an old shadetree mech. trick is to unplug a vacuum line and blow loads of smoke into it, the smoke will come out wherever theres an opening.ive never did it tho, carb cleaner always worked.

martyr

Sprayed everything with carb cleaner and nothing happened. No surges or anything.

But I did notice that two problems I had before this one are gone.

The idle no longer surges up and down..which it did until it was warm, and the charging system is at a pretty constant 13v. Previously if I was driving at night in the rain with the heater on, the car would stall if the RPMS dropped...and if was using the turn signal too it would stall at any RPM. I was at the point where I would turn off the heater to make a turn!!!!

The idle is really rought but the other two, I'm assuming electrical problems, are gone. This leads me to believe that this problem has something to do with the electrical system.

Anybody out there getting anything out of this...All I want to see is a reply with " Oh yeah..that happened to me and I twisted the Knewter valve clockwise half a turn and rubbed the Benson Hub like the book says and it went away!"

Never that easy...right!!!

Your help is greatly appreciated!

twistydick

if its electrical, dont overlook anything.i had an old mopar that would do the turn signal and heater thing. after goin thru everything, i found out my ammeter was shorting out.first thing i would do is check the ecm, get a junkyard one or something just to see if thats it.if the problems mechanical, id check the valvetrain, bent pushrod,thrown rocker arm, etc.i feel for you , man.

martyr

Well finally sucked it up and took the car to a mechanice. He did a compression check and found number 4 cylinder didn't have any pressure.

I pulled the valve covers a few minutes ago and this is what I found......

martyr

Now doesn't that spring look a little BROKE? These are TFS heads with about 5k miles on them! Any opinions as to why the BROKE..and a solution? Doesn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy that I have the same springs underneath every rocker on the heads.

Maybe I should go with new springs that would allow the 1.6 roller rockers I was inquiring about in another thread!?!

Red Devil

What's the valvetrain set-up?

martyr

Valve train setup"

Crane 2032 cam .452 .465 Lift 112 lsa
Crane Chromeoly Pushrods 7.2"
Trick Flow 23 deg. heads 1.25" Springs good up to .52 lift
Crane 1.5 Roller Rockers non-self aligning narrow body.