It's been sitting for a week or so, VERY low on gas. My dad said it was fine last time he drove it (last sunday).

It starts up immediately and easily, better then ever before really. Right away though, the RPM's drop low and it wants to die. If I goose the throttle every few seconds, it'll stay alive. Afer it's warm, it can settle down to a very rough 400 RPM idle, with occasional surges, just enough to barely keep it going, and after about 5 minutes of this, it dies.

Also, if I put the pedal down to rev it up high and hold it there, the RPM's shoot right up, but then start to slip down and down until it wants to die again, even though I keep the pedal down the whole time. If I gently put the pedal in, it bogs down and tries to die.

It was letting off a vapor of some sort from just in front of the catalytic converters, but it didn't smell like oil, antifreeze, or exhaust really. Just like something burning. It was raining during all my testing, so was it possibly just water burn off? There's definately exhaust coming out the back as it should, and it's clear.

Any input would be great. Thanks.

-Reno
89 Formula 350

[This message has been edited by Reno (edited October 13, 2001).]

 

well the first thing i would check is does it have enough gas?
also could be the fuel pump relay or even the fuel pump.
timing possibly but i don't think it would just go out unless the distributor gear is just worn out.
hope to get ya started i'm no pro but every little bit helps
Andrew

 

Also if your sure its just a vapor coming off the front of the cat then prob no problem but if it were some kind of noticable exhaust gas it may be a plugged up cat, there is a way to test it but the tool is usually owned by a shop for the cost of it andthe lack of use an individual would actually have for it. but they can test the back pressure of the cat by hooking it to the O2 sensor port. If all your testing PRIOR to this dont turn anything up you may want to check it out.
hope this helps

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'87 Monte Carlo SS,with '89 IROC 350,700 trans, blew up 3.73 posi stuck with crappy 2.73's neeed gears! hooker headers, flowmaster 2 1/2" exhaust true dualls, recently installed a set of alum vette heads 58cc, new cam for a paxton, recently installed paxton, OMG need a posi bad. Found a guy who can build me a ford 9" (yep sorry guys) for less than 500 then comes all the goodies such as disk brakes so on and so on, will it ever end?? I hope not!!

 

I put 5 gallons of premium in it before I started messing with it, hoping that was all it was. More suggestions?

-Reno

 

have you tried pulling any codes if any? could be a bad maf. my 89' had similar symptoms. so i went ahead and pulled the maf off my 88' tried it out and volia....problem solved. but try pulling the codes first.

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86',88',89' IROC-Z, 350 TPI, 700-R4

94' Formula, LT1, 6spd

 

Checked codes, but nothing recorded. I"ll pull the MAF and see. Keep the suggestions coming!

-Reno

 

Reno,

Don't bother messing with the MAF just yet. The ECM watches the MAF very closely, and errors are locked in if the MAF doesn't report correctly for 600mS. If you don't have any DTCs, I would ignore the MAF for now. It's more likely the fuel pressure is going to reveal some problem, not the MAF.

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Later,
Vader
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If you want to beat the World, it might reach up and pull you down...
Adobe Acrobat Reader

 

One word/principle: K.I.S.S.

Keep It Simple Stupid.

I'm a moron. Opened it up, pressed down on all the ignition terminals on a last ditch hope for an easy fix, and va-RRRROOM!!!! (instantaneously followed by my teeth chattering and my heart assuming a steady idle of 600 RPM, my arm i still twitching from the shock as I type this).

Thanks for all the help anyway guys.

-Reno (the moron)

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89 Formula 350
"This is how you remind me of what I really am..." - Nickelback