junkyarddog

my car does this weird jittering with the tack needle shaking, once and awhile and won't wind over 3000 RPMs. I have the stock setup exept for headers,borla cat-back,K&N air filter,the transmission is beat(700r4)the longblock is 2500 mi new,I have replaced the HEI ignition coil,module,pick-up coil,cap,rotor,the capacitor hasn't been replaced. I replaced the knock sensor,that eliminated the problem for awhile,then it came back.sometimes it shows it's true colors and hauls A$$!! this could be a short somewhere or the ECM is dying,my most recent opinion was that the problem lies in the distributer,I can't put my new engine through this much longer,what's a good way to trouble shoot this?has anyone experienced this before?

thanks,James

David Trimble

Have you replaced the spark plug wires recently? While I didn't have the same symptoms as you did,my tach needle would twitch. Found that I had a open in one of my plug wires so I replaced the whole set (they were almost 9 years old anyway!) and the twitch went away, oddly enough.

Even if the wires are fairly new I'd get a ohmmeter and check them. They should have fairly high resistance (a few meg I THINK- don't hold me to that number tho) but they shouldn't be infinite (like the bad one I found).



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Original owner - '84 T/A w/stock 305HO 5-speed

mikeage2

and if ou live anywere near a saltwater(roads,beach,etc.)check your grounds for the ecm+dash.yo unever know ive seen some weired ash ground problems before

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86 camaro:was a v6 car,now its going to be a v-8 5.7l!!
350:cylinders bored .040 over.a little over 9:1 compression(getting a blower some day when im rich lol)line bored.deck is milled a little(was pitted)
trw forged pistons with summit stage 2 polished rods with arp bolts.
194? intake valves(not 2.02( ),pocket ported,gasket matched,and polished ports,old vette intake with new zinc 650 holley

ase certified for a few years,learned alot though

working on freakin NEONS ,cirruses,tauruses,cobras(well` at least they look nice lol)and intrepids all day makes me drink too much
good job security though

im always on the lookout for cheapv-8 t-5,s
and t-56 setups.they must be cheap.i dont care of they need rebuild,as long as they arent totally blown

junkyarddog

thanks dave,mike!! both those sound very likely to be the cause,my wires are autozones $20 set,decent quality and only a year old,although I wouldn't be surprized....the car is 17 years old so even the subtle surface rust could mess up the grounds. I trouble shoot electronic gear in the Navy,so this won't be very hard. I'm sure you guys can understand how I feel about tearing apart my car though,and my tech manuals really aren't that good.I'll get right on that tonight,and post what happens. thanks again!

jase

Be thankful it's not a crossfire. Alot of trouble!!!

junkyarddog

how would I know it's not a cross fire?

RB83L69

Because you have a L69. The cross-fire was the thing with 2 of the Celebrity-type throttle bodies, one over each valve cover, with REAL long skinny runners such that the one on the left feeds the right-bank cylinders and vice-versa.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

eightTfourTA

iTrader: (3)

Are you sure it's not the tranny itself? I have the same car you do, and it did something very similar when my tranny was fried. The rebuilder told me basically the tranny was slipping in a way that made the engine bog-go-bog-go-bog in a chattering kind of way, and my tach needle even went nuts, like yours is, when this happened. Not trying to complicate your situation, just giving my .02.

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DR Stevens
Car #1: my ride
1984 TransAm
305HO(L69) 95K & counting
750 cfm Q-Jet reman. by Holley
K&N filter
700R4/Superior shift-kit
3.42 lim.slip
underdrive pulleys
Accel HEI Super-Coil
180 stat/hi flow water
pump/Jet fan switch
dual snorkel /w/ hood louver
3" exhaust of some sort
partial emissions delete
Audiovox GM-250 DIN.5 stock-appearing radio /w/
10-disc Prestige changer
Car #2: My wife's ride
1991 Firebird/Formula
305TBI(LO3) 99K & smoking
K&N air filter
Hypertech Thermomaster Chip
Stock AM/FM cassette /w/ EQ, Jensen 400W amp, 12" Pioneer sub, 6-disc Jensen changer
more engine mods in the near future
"I'd rather flatbed an F-body than drive a
'Mudstain'.

Chvywolf

Oh God, another Navy Tron. (Sorry, but i am still one of them)

I don't know it this will help at all, but i had a problem with my old Camaro (86 2.8) and it turned out to be the cat was blocked up. Didn't have the tach jitter but it wouldn't go above 3500 no matter how hard i pushed it. I may be way off but hey, it's my .02 cents

"Oh yeah, well i'm taller"

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89 RS Conv 305 700R4
85HO heads
Edelbrock intake
Holley 600
Hedman Hedders and Y pipe
Flowmaster
B&M MegaShifter

Pino91Formula

I had the saem problem in my 83 TA , what had happened , was a lob on my came was worn down , so it would foul that plug , everytime i changed it it would be fine , then it would come back ,, some days it would be fine. after cam change it was fine