finally got my 3.4 up and running today. I drove it up the road and around the block nice and easy. It has been down for awhile, it is so nice to have it running again. There are some issues still however. Got a new master cylinder and still doesn't want to shift sometimes, and there was an intermittent squeal that has me worried my new water pump might have gone bad from sitting so long. I'll look at that tomorrow. Right know my concerns are the performance issues. Starts and idles fine, but has horrible throttle response and no where near the smooth power it should. Keep in mine I took it easy never going over 3000 rpm's in it, but the 2.8 had crisp quick throttle and a lot more power when it was running. A little about the car. It is an 88 GT with 5speed. I bought a remanufactured 3.4 block and had the heads ported and polished and had a mild cam but in. Plugs, wires, coil, cap and rotor and pick-up coil are pretty new from the 2.8. A got rebuilt 17# injectors in there and fiero store headers and y-pipe. So one of my concerns is I didn't get all the grounds hooked up right, and was hoping to get information on where the best places I should make sure that I have a good ground. It sorted feels like a plugged cat. But I know it isn't. It is the same one I used to smog my duke a few months ago. It is larger than a stock cat however, it is out of my rx7. Maybe it is to restrictive, got to leave it in until I get it smogged though. If thereare anything you guys can think of that maybe you had problems with after your 3.4 swap let me know. Also worried maybe the stock computer isn't running it right with the extra accesories that I added with 3.4.

Sorry for the long post, I know you guys like pics not reading. I will be posting pics as soon as I figure out how. I just wanted to add a couple of things. One is there is no engine light coming on, so its not throwing any codes. And I went and drove it again to go pick up some grub and it seems to bog down when you first start accelerating, and then kicks in. I swear I've had this same issue before. Now to remember what it was, I think it was when my cat. was plugged up. Maybe this cat is to restrictive, but I had no problems with it in my old duke. Also I don't think the water pump is the one making the noise. It seems to do it when accelerating so I think maybe I'll try a new belt first.

Yeah a know, too long. If I could at least get some info on what I should have good grounds on.

for ground straps just try an amp wiring kit and use the 10 ga cable
im probably goin to try it soon and heard it works just as good as real straps

what kind of plugs and coil are you runnin?
because if your plugs are those wierd three prong or four
maybe a higher voltage coil and some new plug wiring kit could help
let us know how the DOHC motor runs after you like it
remember there is only about a 50-70 hp increase from stock v6

Sorry this isn't the DOHC. just the 3.4 pushrod form the camaro and firebird. The wries that I have are the split fire wires and the plugs are the same. the coil is a msd blaster coil. I do know I need a new ditributer, it is pretty rusted. I sanded the pick up areas on it before I installed it, but I don't believe that is the problem. I did some searching on grounds and got some good info so after I make it to the store to get some good wire I'll let you know how it works out.

Maybe bad gas?

When you set the timing, did you short the A and B pins in the ALDL connector?
Sorry if that's a dumb question, but I don't know your experience with the car.
If the pins are not shorted when the timing is set, the timing will be hugely retarded, and the engine will run horribly.

Even if you *did* short the pins, it's possible that the timing mark on the balancer is in the wrong place. (3.4s have the stock timing mark on the left side of the engine.)
Even if you used the Fiero balancer, the outer ring could have shifted. Yours would NOT have been the first one.

The stock computer and chip, using 17# injectors on a 3.4, ought to be really close.

The main places where grounds are connected are on the front head.
There are two black wires (IIRC) that connect to the flat end of the driver's side head.
There is also a braided ground strap that goes between the right side hinge box and the front corner head bolt (actually a stud.)
The negative battery cable usually connect there, as well.
If you've just got a bolt there, you can run the braid to any bolt in the area. I've seen them run to the bolts that hold the A/C bracket on.

Just make sure that the ground connections are clean, and are bolted to bare metal (not painted) or that you use a star washer.

Edit - There is also a small ground that comes from the negative battery connector, which is held to the frame between the battery tray and the shock tower by a hex screw. That one gets overlooked a lot.

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Raydar
88 4.9 Formula IMSA Fasback..........................88 3.4 coupe -soon to be something other than red

Read Nealz Nuze! Praise the Lowered!

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 06-15-2008).]

Yeah I had A and B shorted and went back and forth from 1 and 4. Speaking of which I didn't see any change when doing so. Gas probably isn't the best, been sitting a year had almost a full tank when I parked it. Gas prices here locally are at 5 dollars a gallon, a little higher than the national average, so I'm reluctant to waste gas

quote Originally posted by fierofinder: Yeah I had A and B shorted and went back and forth from 1 and 4. Speaking of which I didn't see any change when doing so...

That's okay. Sometimes you won't notice any difference.
In a perfect world, you wouldn't.

Obviously you did the timing correctly. Do you remember which balancer you used?

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 06-15-2008).]

yeah I used the one from the 2.8. Not sure if it has slipped at all but the timing seems alright. Didn't do any grounds today, gonna have to go to an electrical store tomorrow, I believe they sell the braided line on spools there and can buy by the foot.

When mine sat for a while I had to replace a sensor or two.
One was the engine temperature sensor... Replacing the MAP sensor wouldn't hurt either... How's your O2 sensor?

Thought about the sensors. The oxygen sensor is fairly new. Would think the map and CTS would throw a code. Any how, I bought three 1 inch braided ground straps and installed them and the car runs much better. Short on time, I'll be sure to start a thread and show pics. Thank you.

Year old gas? That's a big part of the problem. Throw a can of injector cleaner into it at least, and keep adding fresh gas as you can.

Do you have any stored trouble codes?

JazzMan

Hey Jazzman how you feeling? Hope everything is well. I added some fuel stabilizer and topped it off with four gallons of 91 octane yesterday. The three ground wires I added made a big difference, only drove it around the block though, noticed yesterday that my thermostat housing is leaking through the old gasket. Oh, and no there isn't any stored trouble codes.

[This message has been edited by fierofinder (edited 06-17-2008).]

So I decided to check the timing and found that it was way off, it must have moved on me last time I tightened down. So fixed that and my idle of course went up. It was now idling at 1500 and the last time
I had that happen the coolant temperature sensor was bad so I went to check that and a just touched it and the idle dropped down to where it should be. So I believe I have a loose connection on the sensor. After all that I took it on the road again and it drove great, had plenty of power. The only thing is it bogs down around corners, and when I gas out of it it has little response until the car straightens out. I have know idea what is causing this. Any ideas on that?