Had a plugged cat. to the point it was cherry red. Put new cat on, still crappie, changed plugs except for two back ones, they are seized to motor. Any suggestions on how to remove them? The car ran a little better when the new cat went on, and seemed to run a little bit better when the new plugs and wires went on. Somebody told me that some of the cat junk went to my mufflers and could of clogged them up?
Do you still have the original cross-x pipe? If you do, it's probably cracked and screwing up your O2 sensor readings.
While your at it..after you replace the x-over pipe, replace the 02 sensor.
Still have the original xover. I'm gonna replace the o2 sensor and try to get the other two plugs off, then I'm done. I really don't want to invest a lot of more money in this car, not unless GM has a recall on the xover? Thanks for the input, highly appreciated.
Don't waste the money on a new o2 unless you fix the X first. Your new o2 will be shot before you know what happened.
Spray some penetrating catalyst around the base of the spark plug let it soak overnight and do it again. then use a big ratchet and go for it.
Thanks for the info. How much does a new X-over cost?
I would have to say the consensus on this board is replacing your x-over with a Jeff M x-over. I am almost positive that it's cheaper that OEM replacement and it is fabricated to prevent the same problem from reoccuring (cracked flex joints).
Chris A has some info on his website...
http://aldridgec.home.att.net/TGP/Engine/crossover.htm
Also, if you want some more info, check out the w-body page... This has different types of fixes budget dependent...
http://www.w-body.com/service/engine-crossover.html
Hope it works.
Its far cheaper than oem. And Jeffs Pipe has a lot of value built into it.
Value and price are two things we tend to butt heads on around here. Some guys can't or don't want to spend money on certain things which is fine. That doesn't mean something isn't worth its price. So there are ways to do things to get the job done and we PROMOTE the PROPER way to do things. That is if you cut corners then it will end up costing you or someone else in the long run.
I don't mean just with the cost of a repair either. When something isn't fixed right because of an expensive part, and its fixed badly that reduces the value of your car. If you have an accident or sell it then it is now worth less than if it was done right. Even if the person doesn't know it, the bad repair may surface and over several different cars (since the same BAD repair technique may be applied to them) will start reducing the overall value of the model.
So with that said, there are several posts around here about economical alternatives to common problems depending on which way you want to go on everything from ABS to Headliners.
Chris
Try loosening the plugs when the engine is warm, but DO NOT TAKE THEM OUT. After the engine is cool they should come out rather easy.
if you pull the ecm fuse for a few mintues, by the drivers strut tower, and then disconnect the O2 sensor, you can eliminate the Xover as the main issue. If the car drives okay without getting into the boost, then Xover affecting O2 is main supsect, after changing plugs.if it still runs crappie. you got other problems.
When installing new plugs, use a dab of anti-seize on the threads. It helps threading in and out.
Quote from: redturbo90Try loosening the plugs when the engine is warm, but DO NOT TAKE THEM OUT. After the engine is cool they should come out rather easy.
Hell, no, get the car hot as you can, yank them plugs and then buy some new heads. Get them PNP'd, and you will be happy. (But poor, and maybe mad because you destroyed your perfectly good heads.)
Got the plugs out, still running crapie though. Just out of curiosity put a code scanner and it pulled a code of 45. The book said that the O2 is reading the exhaust is to rich. The car runs fine at idle, it's when you step on the gas it bogs down and starts to spit and sputter then clears out until it goes into overdrive then back to running crappie. To me, exhaust is rich, to much fuel is being dumped, or to much air, or a combo of both?
rich means too much fuel. How old is your air filter, ignition wires, coils? I'm pretty sure that if you unplug the O2 sensor, the computer has predetermined values to run from. So if it runs better then that's one problem.
Plugs are new, so are the wires, coil pack original, air filter old.
Disconnected the o2, still runs crappie. I should of said that I gutted the cat instaed of put a new one on. Sorry. I don't think that should of affected it, cause I thinkthat I read somewhere on this sit that somebody else gutted there cat and it still ran ok? Anyway, I'm trying to get the car straightened out so that I can sell it.
I would think it would run ok without the cat since there is no O2 behind it, and the turbo provides enough back pressure.
So I can eliminate the xover being the problem? Have any suggestions on what to check next? Or should I take to shop and have them put computer on it and road test it?
Check for leaky injectors.
Quote from: bmktrexproSo I can eliminate the xover being the problem?
There's only one way to elimate the crossover. Get a new one from Jeff M. What you're describing could very well be a crossover leak. It will cause the o2 sensor to read incorrectly/inaccurately. My TSTE is doing the same thing where there is a band of sluggish power, then suddenly BOOM - rocketship, then won't move again. All of this happening in a split second. It's gotten worse and worse to the point that I can't really drive it right now. I'm sure there's other contributing factors, but untill I get the crossover fixed, I'm holding off on the tune-up/upgrades, and even a new 02 sensor. Of course, my problem might be the computer itself since not a single code has been triggered in spite of its horrible running state.
Ok, I was hopeing to eliminate the xover cause I really don't want to put that much more money into the car, cause like I said I want to sell it.
did you ever check your FPR... i just changed my fuel rail and fpr assembly and it fixed alot of my bogging down / stalling / flooding problems.
Stock crossover is the single most problem causing part on the vehicle. I can understand the reasoning (financial) behind not replacing it but as a two time purchaser of this item (as well as two o2 sensors) from Jeff M., I must say that you will never know what these cars are supposed to run like without this fix. One thing that I don't see mentioned about the stock crossover/fouled o2 sensor is the fact that running rich for a long period of time will thin your oil out and reduce the lubricating qualities (not much to begin with any more thanks to the EPA) of your oil. That extra fuel in the combustion chambers over the long haul is going to mix with your oil if your rings/cylinder walls are not absolutely perfect. This has been explained to me by Jeff M. and at least 3 other engine builders in the past. Well you probably didn't need to hear all that so I'll shut up.
Well, I guess I'll get with my mechanic and cut the heat sheild off and check the xover out and go from there. Thanks for everybodys input, highly appreciated. Will keep in touch with progress.
Well, xover in excellent shape almost brand new, no rust or cracks anywere. Found two bolts that were missing off turbo were it mounts to xover and the flex tube that runs from the xover to the egr valve hand tight. Haven't put things back together. Found oil in throtle body? Any possibility that the egr valve is bad? Any other suggestions on what to try next?
Ok, here's the situation. I'm tired of fooling with this car and tired of looking at it in my driveway. Anybody interested in buying it for $1500 OBO?
Where are you located? Any way you could post some pictures or send them to me at mtruck@earthlink.net?