i have ALMOST everything fixed on my car now... new **** all around, full tune-up... new plugs, wires, rotor and cap... blah blah...

get the car back, and it's still having problems. the SES light still blinks occassionally... and when the car first starts, it seems to be really sluggish in the lower RPM's. it hesitates, pulls back... at idle, sometimes i get a surge... when i get higher up into the RPM's, the car goes like a bat out of hell... and usually after it runs for a bit, it seems to smooth itself out and runs great again.

i'm having a hard time pin-pointing the problem. it seems like it's just not getting enuff fuel because it feels like it wants to die. i was thinking along the lines of the fuel filter or maybe my front O2's aren't working properly. i don't have the rear O2's anymore... along with the EGR, AIR, smog crap... they were all pulled when we did the header install.

anybody got any kind of clue here? after all this work, i'm ****ing stumped. thanx in advance.

- jay

 

Have you checked your fuel pressure? Could be a dying fuel pump. Also, when you replace the opti, you should replace the whole thing. A cap/rotor replacement doesn't replace the optical eye, which can get shrouded by dirt and buildup. How about the coil?

 

I'm confused, did someone work on the car and didn't fix the problem. If so there is one good solution for that. Either they fix it or you get your money back.

Like RamAir said check fuel pressure but also be sure to check it when the car is shut off and see how long it holds. Check your vacuum level. Check the IAC counts.

 

You might want to start by adding basic info about your car.... like what year is it? What mod's? You mention rear O2 sensors, so we can guess its a 96/97. How did you have the EGR, AIR and rear sensors programmed out of the PCM? Were any other changes made at the same time?

You say "cap and rotor" was replaced. Does this mean it wasn't a COMPLETE Opti replacement? You indicate SES light still flashes. That is typically the misfire indication. What does the PCM scan show with regard to misfire count, by cylinder. Is it random, or are they all related to one or two cylinders?

 

okay. the car is a 1996 Pontiac Trans Am. automatic... if that even matters.

it wasn't a complete opti replacement because the opti isn't bad. the reason the cap and rotor had to be replaced is because i have a blown power steering pump that decided to leak all over my cap and rotor. other than that, all that was replaced was the spark plugs and spark plug wires. the majority of the amount i paid was for labor, unfortunately...

now then... the AIR, EGR, smog pump... rear O2 sensors... all removed, and i haven't done anything to program them out of the computer or delete the codes or whatever... i wasn't under the impression that that was necessary.

the hesitation or sluggish start seems to have evened itself out a good bit, i haven't really had many problems with that today. i think maybe once or twice it felt sluggish, but other than those incidents, i haven't felt that problem today. the SES light has still been blinking occassionally tho...

i have another NEW problem now tho... the car seems to enjoy overheating. it's done it twice today where we've had to pull over to the side of the road and let the steam out and the car cool down for an hour or so. i'm pretty sure the second time it did it was because it spewed all of the coolant out the first time. i'm planning on adding water to the radiator and a small amount of coolant in a little bit after the car has cooled off. i think it overheated because the guy that worked on it at the shop last night only put coolant back in it after he drained it.

the work they did was done right. the rest of the problems don't have anything to do with what they fixed. but supposedly, they pulled all of my codes, and i'm certain that all of the misfires have been fixed. i'm just not sure what else is wrong with it...

- jay