Oh God what now!!?

[firefighter7128]

So im driving to the local Midas to have a new tip welded on and my cars started stalling out at a stop light. It did start again and does stay running with foot on the gas. I was able to get it to the Midas and told the guy to go ahead and checkout what the issue may be. He had $ signs in his eyes and a nice big smile.
i glanced under the hood. Didnt see any tubes or hoses off. no water leak. Started up again and stalled out. ideas?

[SolReaver]

Not a whole lot to go on there...Big vacuum leak comes to mind, but you checked the hoses and such...Check again mayby a tube fell out of a plenum or something. Sometimes the big rubber tubes crack and it acts just like that. Smoke test the running engine (requires a smoker)

[many944s]

When it does run, is it running rough? I had a similar problem when one of my injectors got clogged up. It would start, then stall. But If I held the gas, it would run on 3 cylinders. I ended up replacing the injectors, but in the process found TONS of crap in the fuel rail. A full flush, and a new fuel filter later, no problems.

Hope it helps!
-Nick

[firefighter7128]

well it has always ran a bit rough, but yes now rougher. no warning at all. i did notice lastnight that it had less power in 2nd gear when i was..... driving along like a little old lady along side a 82' vett. this morning i drove over to the car was and rinsed it off then went about 6 miles. that last 10th of a mile was when it started poopin out.

[hpservertech]

Dis you power wash the engine too? Or just the outside?

Sounds like you have a vac. leak and have had one for some time. And now that you washed it, water has gotten in and worked it's way into the fuel. Can give it a day to let it evaporate out on it's own, or just run the car for about an hour and see if it helps.

But I bet one of your big hoses is cracked, broken or not hooked up.

[firefighter7128]

no just rinsed off the exterior. what is this big hose that i keep hearing about?

[earlr85944]

check the j boot and afm conncetor very well.
get a friend to keep it running and spray starter fluid at suspected connections to see if you have any leaks

next throw a pressure gauge on the fuel rail to see if all is well there

[hpservertech]

Open the hood and start looking. not hard to miss the hoses.

I wouldn't have a muffler shop do anything with it though, just asking for trouble there.

[firefighter7128]

ok, i went back to the shop with your suggestions. they said it was "building up" fuel and was getting some bad black smoke. smells very rich. injectors were clicking. they spayed some crap all around the engine looking for vac leaks and didnt see anything. then i told them where i got gas last and everyone in the shop went "ooooooh". apperently with all our rain they have been getting customers who have been towed from that same station last week. 1 lady had 1/4 take of water. they put some crap in my fuel and the car runs better but still have alot of smoke. he told me to drive that last 1/8 of a tank out and to never go there again. did say i need all exaust from the header to the tip.

[hpservertech]

Well of course they did! they are an exhaust shop.

I dont think you need emission tests though on yours so I wouldn't worry about it till there is a big gaping hole in it

[firefighter7128]

Originally Posted by hpservertech

Well of course they did! they are an exhaust shop.

I dont think you need emission tests though on yours so I wouldn't worry about it till there is a big gaping hole in it

Oh these folks are cool. 3 of the guys are also Firefighters on my dept.
I also say "Midas" alot on the radio. They spent 2 or 3 hours on my car today and didnt charge me a penny.

[Rasta Monsta]

I thought 944 exhausts were SS??

[ERAU944]

Originally Posted by Rasta Monsta

I thought 944 exhausts were SS??

the catback pipe is, as is the cat itself, and i believe the exhaust manifolds are (at least on the late cars. early were cast iron). the cat pipe tubing (from flanges to cat, and cat to catback pipe are not stainless.

other than the cat section of the pipe, and possibly a new muffler (old one clogged/restrictive), i'm not certain what exactly you would need replaced.

[earlr85944]

the 944 muffler is also stainless

[hpservertech]

Exhaust isn't SS. If it was it wouldn't rust. Have you ever seen a muffler or cat that wasn't rusted on these cars.

[earlr85944]

check again, if it wasnt stainless I wouldnt have the original exhaust on my 23 year old car

[zedsn]

The exhaust is stainless. There are different stainless grades. That is why you see a little rust on the system.

[earlr85944]

yes, what you are seeing is surface contamination

[firefighter7128]

if it helps, they said my pipe was ok. muffler was "smashed" as if the car bottomed out on something at one time. the cat could be ok, but said it wouldnt hurt to replaceas well. the worst was were the pipe connects and also the gaskets at the header could use a replacing.

[hpservertech]

Do you need emission tests?

If not, just remove the cat and go with a straight pipe to the muffler.

You can do the gaskets yourself, they are easy as long as they aren't rusted on.