some info about my car first

Trans am
1985
tpi/FI
305
v8
5L

Th eporblem is the other day i went out and moved the car around to keep the tires from getting flat spots it moved just fine today i go out to turn the car around to do some rear end work the car lost about 95% of its horse power it has never done this before so im confused.

when i start the car takes a few tries then it dies, when i get it started i turn the steering wheel the engine dies, put my foot on the brake to switch to reverse to back the car up some (on a slight hill) the engine has enough power to keep the car in place.

Tried reving the engine to blow out some gunk that might built up foot all the way on the floor doesn't go higher then 4500 rpms.

the car will idle rough dropen to 750 rpms the lights will follow the shaking of the car getting brighter and darker.

I haven't touch timing or any eltrical yet so im confused did i throw a piston?

 

If you threw a rod, you'd know... you'd have a huge hole in the block or the oil pan.. or both.

Sounds to me like something went rotten while it sat. I'd suggest checking your charging system/battery first. Check the battery first if its been sitting awhile, let it charge over night and see how it is the next day. Fuel pressure would be next if the charging system checks out. Have your fuel pressure tested. IIRC, it should be around 40psi or so at idle, and higher at higher engine speeds. If its not around there, check your fuel filter, thats a common cause of fuel pressure taking a dump, and will make your fuel pump fail if it gets bad enough.

 

Try checking for broken or disconnected vac. lines and check the wires for corrosion or cracks in the insulation.

 

check your ignition timing. pull the cap and look at the rotor too.

 

I would agree with everyone else check ignition, and most of all check fuel cause I think that might be the culprit sounds like plugged fule filter or a fule pump problem

 

Do you have the lose sloppy tilt wheel?

Kinda common as GM didn't use any thread lock and the bolts for the tilt work out and the wheel gets sloppy. Well it would screw with me. It would turn the car off on me if I turned far enough in the right direction but sometimes it turned it off just enough to **** off the computer but still run. But owuld lose all power. Id just push in clutch, turn car off then back on and it would be fine again.

But yea I fixed my lose bolts a while ago. And it stopped.
The slop in the wheel was yanking on the ign rod switch.

 

i'll start with the easiest thing first the fuel filter.

I don't have a book on gms or pntiac but where abouts would the fuel filter be located.

also can you use an compresser to flush the fuel line if both side are disconnected or would it just be easier to buy some flex pipe and rerun it.


now about 1 or 2 months ago i put some seafoam in the tank to help clearup the lines and injectors by any chance could this cause the problem also


(the care sits but i start it up every couple of days and move it back and forth to keep everything in order.

 

I'm thinking that your Seafoam froze the fuel line. Seafoam = Plague.

 

Leave the timing alone. It didn't just up and change out of the clear blue. Twiddling around with it will only create more work for yourself, in that you'll just have to go back and UNdo whatever you DID to it instead of fixing whatever is broke, once you fix the broke thing.

Don't outsmart yourself. Start with the simple and obvious things first, that MATCH the description of the problem.

I.e., runs rough = some cyls are running but some aren't

"Timing" won't change that.

Put new spark plugs in it.

 

That is just dumb and I mean that as nice as possiable.

seafoam is one of the only products that really works as advertised.

Its saves people tons of time and money daily in the bike world.
So many funky running problem have been fixed by just adding seafoam to a tank or two of gas that they should get awards. And in the bike world we mix it heavy, half a can to a 3-5 gals of gas. If seafoam made sludge, we would know it.

There is nothing about seafoam that = sludge.

That is unless you system was full of garbage and yes the seafom would set that stuff lose as its works. Gumout STP n other don't do anything.

 

That IS strange. I've never heard of an F-Body turning into a Mitsubishi overnight...



Gumby,

I was more concerned about the water in the Seafoam freezing in Connecticut. Ever try "making" your own "Seafoam" to save money and avoid the excess water? I have the formula if you want it. You can easily make a gallon for what a 16 oz. can will set you back.

 

Okay. That may have been a little extreme. It's more like "Walking Pneumonia" or e-Coli than the plague, since it is a little more survivable.

Adding any water to the fuel in winter is probably not going to help, and most injector manufacturers frown upon running water through their precision parts and expecting them to survive for long.

 

sigh for all those that think im adding the little ocean critters to my tank im not...

Sea-Foam at 12$ a can where i live does all this and works.

Injector Cleaner
Carburetor Cleaner
Carbon Cleaner
Fuel Stabilizer
Frees Lifters - Rings
DE-icer anti Gel
Upper Cylinder lube
Dries Oil and Fuel

whats cool is it can be added to oil and cleans out the crap and build up you poor it in and and let the car run for 1 to 2 mins then drain the oil put fresh in
i wont buy cheap crap again.

 

Seafoam is only like $7 a can here but well worth it.

I can tell you want you need to make coke pepsi or DrPepper but you will never get it right.

Same goes for seafoam. If folks could just copy it......
STP Gumout and others would really work but they don't.

[Seafoam is also famous in the subaru world for stoping the infamous tick of death.]


I have seen the data sheet on seafoam but there is seomthing they do that can't be repeated.

Id make my own DRPepper but how they mix them 32 flavors isn't repeatable. There is no info how each flavor is pre treated, heated or cooled, mixed at this ratio in this order at this rate......... just knowing whats it made out of doesn't help.

 

What are you talking about? It's mostly just light oil mixed with some bits of mineral spirits, alcohol and water. Nothing to it. Simply using water to clean the combustion chambers would be just as effective.

The reason people think it works so effectively is that alcohol is highly flammable, and it ends up coming out of the tail pipes of the car as clouds of smoke which creates the illusion that it's seriously cleaning the engine out regardless of whether it is or not.

 

Funny, in the Goldwing circle everyone raves about MMO. In fact they add to oil about 200 miles before change and add to gas. Actually, I believe it used to be used in the first transmissions. To get back to subject, if your lights a dimming that is a charging problem. Check battery. disconnect battery while running to check if alt is working. Funny all these problems at once.

 

anyone know where i can order a maintence book?

 

just wondering, how long did the car sit in between starts, this time of year little critters try to find a winter home, exhaust could be really good nest...also the air filter is a good place to stash wither food, on my bike I've found a hand full of dog food along with other stuff in places i would have never thought mice would get into...

 

a similar thing happens when the cat clogs/becomes blocked almost completely

 

the car would sit no longer then three days.


Another thing with the car starting if i let it sit all day and start it the enxt day it starts for about 2 seconds but the exhaust blows a white smoke and dies out and then i can't start it for the rest of the day.

 

Checked your anti-freeze lately? White smoke = burning anti-freeze. May be a little more than a charging problem. Popped head gasket anyone?