3.1 rough idle.. and sometimes stalls

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Sep 25, 2006 | 05:25 AM
  #1  
hey all, i have a 91 firebird 3.1 auto. i bought the car a few weeks ago as a daily driver and last week it started idling rough when i come to stop, and will finally sputter to a stall. although it dosent happen all the time. if i come to a stop and throw her in neutral, it will idle fine. also when it does idle, sometimes it will smell gasy, like the car is running rich, and when i start it up after it stalls itll blow a cloud of smoke. the car has been sitting for 2 years before i bought it, im thinking it might need a good tuneup, but this one issue bugs me, cause i dont want to mess anything up if i keep on driving it. also... it dosent seem like all the power is there. i dont really beat on the car, but when i floor it. itll hesatate and bog down.. id appreciate any help!!!
thanks
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Sep 25, 2006 | 06:07 AM
  #2  
I'm havein close to the same problem with my cutlass. idle fine but when you "gun" it sputters then goes.

dis there still old gas in your by chance?
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Sep 25, 2006 | 10:01 AM
  #3  
Quote:
dis there still old gas in your by chance?
no thier isnt, when i got the car, it only had 1/4 of a tank in it, and its had at least 30-40 gallons of fresh gas burned through it since ive been driving it
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Sep 25, 2006 | 01:07 PM
  #4  
could be in ur ignition
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Sep 25, 2006 | 03:32 PM
  #5  
yeah i have a 91 V6 also and mine does the same thing i just put new plugs in mine and its still there mine also backfires but im going to buy some 8 or 8.8mm wires and put on it b/c like your mine was sitting for a year and 3 months and well it has (whom ever put them on) cheap 7mm autozone silcone wires on it and i think thats my prob.
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Sep 25, 2006 | 05:26 PM
  #6  
ok mine, if I cover my carb and rev the engine till it almost stalls it runs better then normal for like 15 mins
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Sep 25, 2006 | 05:33 PM
  #7  
I had this same problem and corrected it with new plugs and wires... If that doesn't solve it then I would move on to replacing the distributor cap and rotor.
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Sep 25, 2006 | 10:08 PM
  #8  
thanks for the info!!! i was going to replace the plugs and wires this weekend when i get paid. funny thing about it is today the car ran fine.. no problems at all.. but im still going to do a turne up, also a new fuel filter
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Sep 25, 2006 | 10:12 PM
  #9  
Mine was like that... One day it would run horrible, the next it would be fine and it was just back and forth until I changed that stuff. No problems since.
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Sep 26, 2006 | 02:31 AM
  #10  
Check your plug wires. Get a multimeter and set it to read ohms. Put a lead on each end of the plug wire. The general idea is 8 ohms of resistance per foot. If you have a wire or two that is completely out of whack with what the other wires measured, replace them.

My 92 RS with the 3.1 had a rough idle and would miss from time to time. I pulled the plugs. 2 of them were delcos and the other 4 were some cheapie ngk plugs. I replaced them all with Delco R43TSK plugs. Then I replaced the plug wires. The car runs much better now.
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Sep 26, 2006 | 05:44 AM
  #11  
mine is a carb gasket. at least it got me to adjust the carb and all.
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