My 1985 V-6 GT had idle problems, and then failed smog-- later found the EGR valve was loose. I tightened it up thinking it was the problem, and it failed smog again! Emissions however were better, the hydrocarbons dropped to 2.56 and the max allowed was 2.4. All other areas of smog it passed. I bought a new EGR valve, replaced the idle air control valve, cleaned out the EGR tube that was found to have a clog in it, and did a tune up with new plugs, cap, rotor and checked codes: it said it needed an O2 sensor also. After replacing that also and setting the timing, the car started fine and now idles much better. Now there is NO POWER! What should I check before dragging it off to the shop......
part-throttle response is better without EGR, IMHO...perhaps that's what you perceive as "no power".... I typically eliminate EGR on all my cars eventually...
I have had different EGRs off the shelf affect mileage and feel of power differently. But timing haveing been changed I would think could be the issue here, what was it set at, and is it set at now?
If you moved the distributor, you changed the timing. You could have cracked the EGR tube moving it around, but you would probably have a high idle. If you have the right plugs (gapped correctly), the right firing order (and all wires connected good) and the cap and rotor are good...it shouldnt have affected performance.
My Fiero is a 1985 manual 4-speed V-6, 136,000 miles on it. Before doing anything, I checked the codes and got #13,23,24,33, and 35 codes. I jumped the A and B terminals before setting timing. I gapped all new plugs to .045, and am running AC #1 Rapidfires, with a new MSD cap and rotor and MSD wires, and an MSD Blaster coil. It has a new AC Delco brand EGR valve (no washers were put in the opening to change the diameter- the instructions did not specify my model as needing one, and there was no old washer there to change the orifice opening when I removed the old EGR valve). I cleaned and re-oiled the K&N air filter, and replaced the O2 sensor with a Bosch brand one. I also installed a new idle air control valve and the car is idling much better than before. I don't think the EGR tube cracked when I put it back in with new gaskets (when I first removed it, the top of the tube was clogged by the gasket about 75%. I cleaned it, and put in new gaskets and was careful not to crack the tube). Timing was way off from when I set it about 1 year ago, and I had to turn the distributor clockwise quite a bit. I'm guessing it was around 15 degrees or more before I adjusted it. When I finished setting timing, the #1 spark plug was at 9 degrees and the #4 was at 11 degrees. This was the problem: There was no power. I put it back close to where it originally was before setting the timing, and the power came back. Open to all ideas here, thanks.
Originally posted by dreale: When I finished setting timing, the #1 spark plug was at 9 degrees and the #4 was at 11 degrees. This was the problem: There was no power. I put it back close to where it originally was before setting the timing, and the power came back. Open to all ideas here, thanks.
Possibly your harmonic balancer has slipped and the timing mark is no longer accurate.
From where the ignition timing ended up after the new chain was installed, the cam was retarded somewhere around 6-8 degrees because of the stretched chain.
[This message has been edited by carbon (edited 03-25-2014).]
