ok, so where is the coolant temperature sensor?
 

so it has been suggested my coolant temp sensor in my firebird is no good. i bought a new one but i cant figure out where it goes. i was told it was on the passenger side of the water outlet, but there is something else there, that i understand is called a ported vacuum switch. it currently isnt hooked up to anything, i think it is broken. it looks like this, except it is missing the middle port, it looks like there was one but it broke off

http://www.partsamerica.com/PartDeta...pe=285&PTSet=A

on the other side of the water outlet is another one that looks just like this one

http://www.partsamerica.com/PartDeta...pe=285&PTSet=A

is the coolant temp sensor supposed to be on the water outlet? could it be different because my car is a canadian model? if so, where could i find out where the sensor goes on canadian model firebirds? i cant find anywhere for hte sensor to go, and i cant find what it is supposed to wire into. and while we're at it, what is that ported vacuum switch supposed to hook up to? the one that is intact, on the drivers side of the water outlet, hooks up to the distributor. i dont know what the other one is for.

Check on the driver's side head between the #1 and #3 cylinders. I know on later years, this is the fan switch location, but I believe the temp sensor was there in '85.

Also, I wanna say the other vacuum switch operates the EGR, but don't quote me on that.

The switch for the EGR is on the intake manifold, next to the water outlet on the passenger side. I have noted the switch on the side of the drivers side head, but it has a different connector, it kind of slides on sideways while the new coolant sensor i have should have something that plugs into it. could it be just a different style connector or something, and i can therefor get a new pigtail for it or something?

EDIT: it has been suggested that perhaps my car is not computer controlled. how would i know? it has been suggested it is not since where all these sensors and switchs are in different places, so icould actually not even have a coolant sensor. my car is from canada so i dont know if that makes a difference or not. i would think that switch or sensor on the side of the head would not be for any fan, because i dont have electric fan(s).

ok, well I've done some looking around and I'm going to assume it doesnt have a computer. theres no oxygen sensor, I cant find a coolant sensor so it probably doesnt have one, and it has a vacuum advance distributor. That being said, what could be causing my problems then if it's not a coolant sensor? They are:

1: excessive hydrocarbons when emissions tested
2: the exhaust does smell
3: when i step on the gas the car hesitates
4: worse yet, after not being driven for a couple weeks, I would step on the gas and the engine wouldnt rev up at all, you could hear it get louder but it just sat there firing, sounded like a lawnmower. the rpms would start to drop and the engine would stall. it seems better now that ive been driving it for a few days
5: I can hear a bit of a pop in the exhaust, like when I'm sitting at a stop light every few seconds the car will raise up about a hundred rpm, so if im not holding the brake that hard the car moves a little

I'll add more symptoms when I think of them/ they crop up. does anyone have any ideas?

You're correct. Canadian LG4 carbed cars were not computer controlled. You can tell by the lack of various sensors like the O2, MAP and Baro sensor on the firewall, and the lack of the wire harness. No CHECK ENGINE light warning with the key in ON with the engine off. Not sure what you're looking at? Just unscrew the plastic panel under the passenger side of the dash and look up. If you have an ECM it will be obvious.

First thing to check would be the ignition. How old are your plugs/wires/cap/rotor? I would bet your problem is ignition related. Sounds like a misfire. Timing set to spec?

If everything ignition related is OK, check for vacuum leaks. No vacuum leaks present? It might be time for that carb to be rebuilt.

I don't know how you got stuck on the CTS thing, but if you've been reading about the CTS causing problems it was probably a TPI car. Disregard that...

well, the previous owner told me that it was all new, that he put new plugs and wires (they are aftermarket, the wires are accels or something, i forget the spark plug brand). I dunno about the cap and rotor, i think he said they were new. he barely drove the car though, he said it pretty much sat all winter after he bought it late last year. when i bought it though he told me the timing was off, so i have played around with it quite a bit. If I turn the timing more advanced it starts to knock, if i retard it then the car has trouble running and hesitates a whole lot. I havent actually taken any of hte spark plugs out to see what they look like. but my hydrocarbons are way off, like the ratings it was sposed to be was like 2 and i got 15 the first time i took my car in, and 24 the second. in between i replaced pretty much all the vacuum hose, but i broke the tvs that i think is for the EFE. the EFE is broken off. could i get a new tvs and then just plug up the vacuum ports for it? as i understand, the EFE is not critical to passing emissions. then would any sort of ignition problem result in the rest of the bad pollution?

ttt

could the cat be burning?