I was driving down the highway in my 88 305 (147,***) (running well) when suddenly traffic tightened and I had to pull to a stop. The engine reacted by sputtering and eventually stopping. I tried to restart the engine on the spot, but it would only crank and not start. So I tow it to a local auto shop and they tell me that the spark plugs are old and the engine cannot fire with such small sparks. They installed a brand new distributor cap, spark plug wires, and plugs. When i go to pick up the car the tech attempted to start the car and again it would only crank--tells me to come back tomorrow. When i get home he calls me again, saying he got it started by adjusting the timing. Driving it home the engine stalls out at a light while idling and sounds wretched (like a diesel engine) plus it has virtually no HP. When I looked at the engine myself, I found the breather filter to be disconnected and the oil about 1/2Q overfilled. I then removed the spark plug wires from the cap to check their connection before reconnected them. But now the engine starts even harder than before--it chugs very weakly, and only when i give it gas, otherwise it just stops. My guess would be some type of fuel/ timing issue. What do you guys think is wrong with it?

 

Hi Hermz28,

Let me say that I'm not familiar with TBI, so keep that in mind... but since no one else is offering advice, I thought maybe I could help...

What you are describing could be caused by a few things.

Here are a few:

1. A failing fuel pump. Check the fuel pressure and see if it is fluctuating or steady.

2. A failing Ignition Control Module. This is located in the distributor. I'm not aware of a way to check this but it will produce similar results that you have described. I believe a replacement is around $30 at Autozone and is easy to install.

3. A failing fuel injector. Again, not familiar with TBI setups but if one of the injectors was failing, it could cause these symptoms.

Let us know if you find the problem or need further advice.

Hope this helps!

 

if this was a carb i would say check the fuel mixtures, but tbi=wtf with me as well. aside from fuel my money's on the ignition module or MAYBE the coil. but the cap prolly came with a new coil. get someone who knows tbi or get a book or something. run some tests on the tbi unit.