today i was driving my car around and i came to a stop light and when i went to take off the car just kindof fell on its face and chugged and surged along then i stomped on it and it came to life and didnt do it for a while. i stoped at a friends house and let teh car set for a bit and when i went to take off again the car kindof surged along spit and sputtered then came to life.. i was also driving along today at about 35 mph and the car was surging and jerking terribly why is this car doing this? the only thing i did to the car this winter is replace the plug wires new runners moved the msd box and also put a new coil in the msd box and the coil are mounted side by side.. would that have anything to do with it? what else could do this come to think bout it i put bout a 1/2 tank of 110 octane in my car two days ago just to see how it would run would that kill my o2 sensor and cause this? any help would be great thanks

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1988 firebird ws6 formula350tpi ascd ram air hood GT AUTO 4th gen spoiler black paint with blue pearl centerline champ 500 16x8 all around potenza 245 50 16 on front and 27x11.5 16 mickey thompson sportsman pros on the rear(real sticky!!) msd 6al box blaster 3 coil accel 8.8 race wires hooker shorty headers hooker cat back system pro shift light A pillar gauge pod and water temp and air/fuel ratio gauges autometer oil pressure gauge b&m mega console shifter vette servo custom ram air system with a 9" K&N cone filter tb coolant bypass slp runners polished plenum and runners 170* thermostat smog pump and a/c delete plus cat delete march underdrive pullies, tpis airfoil cvr high torque starter (love it) aluminum drive shaft
best 1/4 mile run of 14.44@ 96.53
this run is before the new exhaust system new sticky tires coolant by pass smog removal new runners new thermostat and new three core radiator since i would get to the line and be well over 220* aluminum drive shaft and vette servo

 

Hate to tell you this because I've already changed 2 and it's a pain but it sounds like your fuel pump is dying!! I didn't think so either until my car did that!! I started it one day and it spit and sputtered and then I floored it and it kicked back to life...just as you were describing!! Then it didn't do it for 2 weeks and after 2 weeks I went out one day to start the car and it wouldn't start at all....would just turn over and try to start every now and then!! I unplugged the fuel line at the filter and turned the key on and I could hear the pump kick on and the gas came out the fuel line....but when I took it to the garage to have it fixed, apparently the pump wasn't completely dead it just wasn't pumping out enough fuel to get the car going!! Sounds like your problem!!

In my opinion, save yourself the future trouble and just install an inline pump and forget about the intank crap!!

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1986 Trans AM
305 TPI
Well over 200,000+ miles (speedo/odometer non-funtional! Odometer reads 142,000)
4 Wheel Discs
9 bolt Borg Warner Rear (2.77's....oh joy) :P
Completely Stock
Soon to upgrade to a 355 TPI, Stock TPI ported, 24#/hr SVO injectors, Hedman Shorty Headers, Dart Iron Eagle heads or GM LT4 heads, XE262 Cam ground on a 114 LSA, Moroso Blue Max Plug Wires, external MSD Blaster II Coil and an MSD 6-AL Box!!
Current project: Keeping my 305 running until I get my income tax returns!

 

I had a similar problem and it was an intermittent open in my pickup coil. I changed my distributer and the prob went away. I could also and might be more likely it's the fuel pump. Buy a pressure guage and tape it to the windshield. When she starts a-buckin' look at the guage and make sure it's stable. If the pressure is bouncing considerably it's probably the fp.

My pickup coil tested 100% good every time, but when it warmed up it must have 'opened'

This drove me crazy trying to find the prob when everything was checking out OK. It's better to have a part just flat out fail!

Good luck w/ troubleshootin'



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'88 Camaro RS 2.8L
'88 Formula 350 (Too many mods to list...)

 

Well, it can be several things.

Fuel problem: bad fuel pump OR it could be a clogged fuel filter. Change the fuel filter, easy to do.

Ignition problem: coil, timing, ....

Vacuum leak.

Bad MAF.

Bad TPS.

Identifying the exact cause of any engine problem I find is very difficult. Basically, Because I not too smart, I have to elimenate one possibility after another.

Right now I cant find my vacuum leak!!!!!!


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'87 L98 TPI IROCZ, AFR190 heads, 3.70 gears, ZZ9 cam, 2400 Art Carr TC, SLP 1 3/4" headers, SLP cat-back, no cat, no AC, no MAF screens, Accel manifold base & SuperRam, 24#/hr SVO injectors, Edelbrock double roller timing chain, MSD ext coil & distributor, trans cooler, 52mm TB with airfoil, TB coolant bypass, AFPR(58psi), K&N filters, Hotchkis lowering springs, my custom chip, Lay Ind. ram air kit, SS Brakes 1LE upgrade 12" rotors dual piston calipers, 265/45R16 Kumho V700 tires.
ET 13.39sec @ 107.21mph
'90 Eagle Talon AWD, no rust thru 9 winters
'99 Camaro SS, red, 6-spd, T-tops, Mcleod clutch, Pro 5.0 shifter, MAF processor, Direct Flow airlid, K&N filter, next mod: 4.10 rear gears
313.7Hp & 320.6ft-lbf, ET 13.55sec @ 105.1mph

 

Well I see the time and date on your problem and while I'm sure it's probably too late to help you, maybe I can help someone else with the same problem. What you are describing is a bad ignition module. had the same problem. If you change the coil, you should try to get a matched IM because if you don't your car will eat IM's. I did a cruise with san diego f-bodies and was continually embarressed all day because that's when mine decided to take a s**t, but it was still a good cruise. had no power to burn out ( even in gravel) but was o.k. at cruising speed. Hope to help anyone I can.

`89 rs 305 .020 over, tbi (for now), edelbrock performer intake, accel ignition, heddman headers (new addition), emissions delete, a/c delete. Coming soon: the rest of a dual exhaust system, edelbrock 750 man. choke carb, any aftermarket `70's hei distributor, computer delete, radical cam, 1.6 rockers, STB, subframe connctors, and solid motor mounts. Future mods: t-5 to t-56 swap, 4.10:1 gears, 305 to 350 swap.