ok I'm getting pissed at the car or my inability to deal with that LT1, lol

ok here's what I replaced

water pump (reman)
serpentine belt

ok now the more important stuff... I changed the following

air filter
ignition control module
coil
opti spark
4 plugs & 4 wires on the dr. side
PCV valve

I checked the TPS voltage and it's perfect

I checked the fuel pressure , 44psi when the key is on or when cranking. Doesn't drop after turning the key off either.

I checked the IAC and it's fine when the key is on , should I check it while the car is idling ??? if so , what should the value be ? still between 40-80ohms ?

the problem is that when I start the car up it runs ROUGH , misfireing and sometimes popping through the exhaust (probably 'cause it runs too rich). Then if I keep the rpms up for a bit (usually about 20seconds) it evens itself out and is fine after that until I shut it off and try to start it back up again.

I am going to try changing the fuel filter again but that fuel line is pretty rusted so I dunno if I can remove the current one.

once the car evens itself out it runs fine but I dumped $600 into this issue and got literary nowhere , lol (I'm a good sport about it and keep telling myself the car has 100k miles and could have used all those parts anyway , LOL).

btw it's a 1995 Pontiac Firebird Formula , LT1 , auto tranny

any ideas ???

before this we only had one issue with the car and that was that the EGR code would pop on every once in a while , like every other day , so we just shut the caro off for a sec and it would go away... so could a stuck EGR valve cause this ? (maybe it finally broke for good). But I just drove the car around for a good half an hour and there are still no codes (I have TTS datamaster & a laptop to monitor it).

 

also I found several cracked hoses and fixed those, and the intake elbow was cracked as well but that has been fixed as well. (didn't help any). I thought since there was a rip there that maybe the IAC was bad so I took that out of the throttle body and cleaned it , it moved in and out ok with some force applied to it , should it move very easily ? It was also black and dirty but I did attempt to clean it and put it back in... I'm leaning to the possibility that the IAC might be bad since the bad start up...

 

I just tried tapping the ECM and that did nothing either. I'm ready to take a sledgehammer to it and drop in a 350 SBC with a bigass demon carb on it

 

Since you were getting the EGR code, I would pull that and make sure it is not completely shot. It is pretty easy to get to and you can just spary it with some carb cleaner and use an old toothbruxh. Good luck,

Kyle

 

easy to get to ? isn't it all the way in the back of the manifold ?

maybe not , if not then I'll definitely take a look at it.

I'll go look it up in the chilton manual...

thanks for the suggestion

 

it is on the back of the manifold. its not bad though. i believe that there is two bolts holding it on. there is also a vacuum line connected. do a search for shoebox and click on his tech page. it shows the egr valve. once you see it in a picture you will be able to reach back there and feel the two bolts. i used an open-end wrench to get the bolts off. then just pop off the vacuum line. you can try to clean the egr valve with carb cleaner. a bad egr could give you a harsh idle. good luck

 

It may be your air pump.

 

You should not move the pintle on an IAC that has been in service. You can possibly ruin it. It can also be out of whack if you did not put it to the same position it was when it came out. IAC counts should be monitored with a scanner to see if it is operating properly.

What are you waiting for? Change your other plugs and wires.

 

I could be way of base here but would bad 02's cause your car to run rich just my opinion might want to try those

 

oops so I definitely messed up the IAC , lol , oh well I'll get a new one tomorrow and inspect the EGR valve as well...

thanks guys , keep them coming.

I'll post an update tomorrow night.

 

so what should the IAC counts be ? I'll monitor the car & record data on the way to work tomorrow morning.

 

lmfao , car left me stranded on the side of the road after shutting it off today , lol

turns out it is probably the ignition switch

if I start it up and let go of the key it immiediately dies

but if I start it up and move the key back like 3mm (just enough so the starter disengages) then it runs fine and stays running asl ong as you don't move the key back to what used to be "on" position 'cause that just shuts the car off

I can't ****ing beleive it's that simple

I Figured it out after putting ignition in the on position but nothing lit up, it lights up when you go to "crank"

basically I think the rod that moves the switch is fubar or the switch itself is fubar, I'll pull the column today and inspect it

 

The switch may have just come loose. The mounting is slotted so the rod position can be adjusted. Play with it and test your key operation while you have the column lowered. You might even consider replacing the switch while you have it exposed. They take a lot of abuse. There is a replacement guide on my Tech Page.

As for the IAC, you may not have damaged it. I was just saying that damage was possible by moving the pintle. An aged one gets hard to move and if you try to force it, you can strip the gear inside. Even a new one has some resistance, but not as much as an old one.

 

oh I relize that shoebox , thanks though for all the help and your site (already have your guide on the ignition switch printed out and ready).

I just don't like mess with stuff , the ignition switch was $20 from dal and will be here tomorrow so I'll replace it either way even if the old one just got lose.

it's not worth doing a half-assed job

hence why I don't mind spending the $$$ to throw parts at it as long as I know that sooner or later I would have to replace that particular part anyway.

thanks again I'll post a update tomorrow...

 

holy **** , that blue connector was EXTRA CRISPY !!! completely melted , lol.

so I think I found the cause of this , all this starting and shutting off in the past few days finally finished the switch off I just wish it would have died sooner before I changed the opti spark but the car needed that as well , lol