ok i just bought a 1990 firebird with a 3.1 v6. when it gets warm it starts to studder and run rough. the car sat for a couple months with almost no gas in it. put in half a tank with some dry gas and injector cleaner. started running a little smoother till it got warm. then checked plugs and wires and found they were almost new but the driver side plugs were gapped way to small. fixed that and now the new thing is timing. it says that you have to bypass the est.(no idea where or how) tried to do it without but at the right degree it pops loud when i rev it. so i got it to where it seems to run the best but its at like 20 degrees instead of the 10 that the sticker on the hood says. any ideas would be great or if someone could tell me where the est is and how to bypass it. thanks

 

The EST connector is on the passenger side fenderwell, its a single brown wire. Disconnect it then start the car. Without it disconnected youre only seeing the computer advanced timing not the base, and yeah it'll prob read in the mid 20's. 10* is stock, you can run around 12 on 87 octane and get away with it....

 

thank you now i have another problem. after i drive for 20 min or so, the car will sputter stall and take over 30 min to restart. any ideas would be great. also where is the fuel filter located

 

the fuel flter s located on the drver sde under the car n the rear.

 

Sounds like your ignition control module is failing. When they get hot they shut down and that results in no spark.

 

Also check the pickup coil... if it looks like total crap, replace it (requires distributor removal)

 

thanks guys i changed the fuel filter and it like a whole new car found out its only a one legger though

 

car is acting up again. where is the ignition control mod. had the dist apart and everything inside looks good

 

IIRC, the ignition module is under the distributor cap. It's a half-circle looking thing with some wires

 

i appreciate all the help today i changed the knock sensor( found it broken while changing the starter) the ignition control mod, the pick up coil, and the fuel filter. now it will run smooth for a few seconds then run like its got a big lumpy cam then stall like the topic says i need help. starting to hate this car already

 

Put a spark tester on one of the plugwires and a fuel pressure gauge on the schrader, see if the spark starts cutting out or the fuel pressure drops.

 

If you disconnected the battery the computer has been reset. Go drive the car above 40mph for a couple minutes and the IAC will reset to 0 counts and the ECM will be able to get it to idle again.

 

ok changed the fuel pump and ended up dropping the car at a shop to hook to a diag machine and they couldn't find it only left for a day cause of money issues. they told me prob the timing chain. changer that and nothin. next pulled and grounded a plug and found weak spark. changed te plugs and coil(wires look new). nothin still, found now that the only code left was for the map sensor. tried new and nothin. for haha's changed the ecu, car runs like new. thanks for the help and ideas you all gave. just hope that all my issues might help someone else in the future thank you