My Firebird run good before, one day the ECM and distributor broken, then everything goes wrong.

My Firebird "should" be 1989, I put a 1987 ECM on and rust distributor on, the ECM seem can't work with my car, it run very bad....in fact, I don't know where is the problem....the ECM or the rust distributor.....

Then I got a 1989 ECM, the car is better but not perfect, it still run bad in the high speed....some people said the rust distributor should be fine, some said it may be the problem.....

I still have problem to find a oil pressure sensor, the gas pump won't inject the gas when the car turn on, the oil pressure sensor seem doesn't do the work, the engine service light turn on when start, when I add a switch to force the pump inject gas then the light turn off. I check many car but they don't have the sensor in the engine....maybe GM makes a change in the 1989...

My car run bad in the high speed, the tranny is slow and weak in the high speed too, it also dead when car in the slack(no speed), where is the problem?? it is killing me, I just replace the tranny 3 years ago, I am so afraid if the tranny go down again, the oil pressure sensor and new distributor is very hard to find in Taiwan and I don't even sure where is the problem.

Pls help or I have to throw the car to the junkyard.

Joe

 

Wow..firebirds made it to Taiwan?.I thought all they had there was imports?.It does sound like you have some issues with your bird?.I dont know how much we can be of some help ,but I can give you some suggestions maybe you havent covered yet,and someone else can throw some more at you?.Your starting problem first..you have a few other areas to check..a fuel pump relay,a fuel pump fuse,an engine ground,and lastly the ECM (which grounds the relay)it could be any of those things.On my engine I have two grounds attached to both of the back of my cylinder heads,see if you have them and make sure they are tight.Basically you need to be good at checking wiring and grounds and power.Otherwise you are just going to throw parts at it and hope something happens.
As far as your high speed problem goes I wouldnt worry about that until you get the first problem solved cause it might be related to your first problem?
You should be able to pull codes or get a flashing engine light when you check for codes or ground the ALDL port if you dont get that then I would say your problem is possibly in the ECM?.have you tried pulling codes yet?

 

Thank you.

My friend fix the car for me. He said that the broken oil pressure sensor (on the engine) caused the dead car problem, the car usually dead in standby speed, the fuel pump should inject fuel when the key turn on but it doesn't, my friend add a switch to force the fuel inject and the engine light go off but .....the car still dead sometime.

He said that the parts control the standby speed may be bad, I will need a new one.

How about the rust distributor?? they are old and rust, my friend said that it may be work bad in the high speed, the steel parts are all rust...but some people said it should be fine....

We tried to pull code, it shows the fuel pump problem....the fuel pump should be fine or the car won't run, I don't know about fuel pump relay, fuse and ground, I will ask my friend to check.

How should I know the ECM is fine?

 

The broken oil pressure sensor will have an affect on fuel pump operation..if it doesnt see a few lbs of pressure it wont let the pump prime or turn on once you turn the key to crank/start position.Its a safety feature if the oil pressure drops it turns off the fuel pump ,which in turn will shut down the engine saving you from costly repairs or a new engine.If you think the distributor is in need of a rebuild or replacement then do it.My most important question to you!!!.. is why did the distributor break?.You do know the oil pump and distributor work together?Do you have oil pressure on your gauge( on the dash) when its running ??.If the oil pump is seized or binding..reason you broke a distributor and have no oil pressure??..I would think you might have a bad oil pump.As far as it affecting your high speed issues I cannot say that is the problem.Try and fix one thing at a time..if you dont have good oil pressure in the engine your not going to do much high speed driving??.Tell your mechanic to hook a remote oil pressure gauge up to the port where the sensor goes and crank the engine around and see if you have pressure??If you have none then you will need to drop the oil pan and see whats going on..The sign of a good ECM is the "service engine soon" light comes on when you turn the key and should go off when you start the car and when you pull codes it will flash a code "12".thats a good sign if it does that.Could still be bad though ..but its a good sign if it does that.Hope that helps..

 

Oh one more thing..why the picture of the Cat ??..is that your pet or tonights dinner???HAHa

 

Ouch, I'd be careful with that joke.

joekickass- don't try to force the engine to operate. If the old sensor was defective replace it, if the oil pressure is low find the cause and fix it. Forcing something to operate will cost you more later. Don't assume the fuel pump is fine because the car is running, hook a fuel pressure guage up to the schrader port on the fuel rail and see what your pressure is. Should be close to 45psi. I'd try to find a distributor in better condition as well. What do you mean by standby speed? Idle?

 

jstrdn90rs, in Taiwan, an American made Firebird IS an import (to them).

 

[quote=88RS19;3823651]jstrdn90rs, in Taiwan, an American made Firebird IS an import (to them).

I didnt know that?..learn something new everyday.]