Please Help!!!!!!

[94sixspeedz28]

Well guys my car isn't working so well and if I don't fix it I have to sell it and I just can't do that I got my dream car as my first car and I don't want to have to sell it.
Well heres what's going on: When I start the car and let it idle it idles perfectly but when I start driving it starts to backfire with a big loud popping noise from the exhaust and it has a huge loss in power but when i'm just cruising and I press the clutch all the way and rev it wont backfire. I don't know what to do and I just can't let this car go please help me out.

i'm thinking it could be:
opti?
tune up?
the temperature seems kind of funny also
msd?

[Underworld Defender]

has this just started all of a sudden?
what kind of gas have u put in it?

[popo8]

Is it throwing codes....? SES light?

I hate to say it, but I know everyone knows what the first GUESS is..........:shame:

[94sixspeedz28]

has this just started all of a sudden?
what kind of gas have u put in it?

well heres the whole story...when i first got it it didn't backfire but it still had the loss of power and it would bogg down when i tried to gun it off of a roll or just from a digg and when i bought it it had a check engine light that was on and the guy told me that it was an unplugged O2 sensor and i just forgot about that and drove it like that and one time when i gunned it my exhaust snapped off right before the cat and then i just drove it right off the y pipe for a while. then i was checking the fluid and it looked really low and the temp looked really high so i went and bought a gallon of dex-cool put some in and the temp looked better but the i just noticed some smoke coming from the from under the hood and i pulled over and let the car cool down and i notice a puddle of coolant coming from under the car so i let it cool down and then started it up and started 2 drive it back home and this really really loud popping started coming from the car and it was straight off the y so it was really loud. so then i decided to cut the cat off and just weld a 3inch pipe and the popping noise got kind of muffled but still very loud and i just drove it like that until now my parents are telling me to sell it but i just don't want to let it go

[94sixspeedz28]

has this just started all of a sudden?
what kind of gas have u put in it?

only shell gas and just regular unleaded

[quickkris2006]

bad gas? burnt spark plug wire? faulty plug? how many miles are on the car? how long have u owned it? it sounds like u just got it.. we need more info before we can help u out..

[94sixspeedz28]

Is it throwing codes....? SES light?

I hate to say it, but I know everyone knows what the first GUESS is..........:shame:

it was giving a SES light but i plugged the O2 sensor back in and it went away

[94sixspeedz28]

bad gas? burnt spark plug wire? faulty plug? how many miles are on the car? how long have u owned it? it sounds like u just got it.. we need more info before we can help u out..

120,XXX miles
i've owned it since late august last year
i've only put on about 470 miles on it because i hate driving it with the backfiring

[Underworld Defender]

well heres the whole story...when i first got it it didn't backfire but it still had the loss of power and it would bogg down when i tried to gun it off of a roll or just from a digg and when i bought it it had a check engine light that was on and the guy told me that it was an unplugged O2 sensor and i just forgot about that and drove it like that and one time when i gunned it my exhaust snapped off right before the cat and then i just drove it right off the y pipe for a while. then i was checking the fluid and it looked really low and the temp looked really high so i went and bought a gallon of dex-cool put some in and the temp looked better but the i just noticed some smoke coming from the from under the hood and i pulled over and let the car cool down and i notice a puddle of coolant coming from under the car so i let it cool down and then started it up and started 2 drive it back home and this really really loud popping started coming from the car and it was straight off the y so it was really loud. so then i decided to cut the cat off and just weld a 3inch pipe and the popping noise got kind of muffled but still very loud and i just drove it like that until now my parents are telling me to sell it but i just don't want to let it go

your waterpump may have shit the bed.

[popo8]

it was giving a SES light but i plugged the O2 sensor back in and it went away


good, mine was a first guess with minimal information.. I wouldnt count it out, but you can push it further down the check list now...

[94sixspeedz28]

your waterpump may have shit the bed.

what temp should i be at when its warmed up?

[94sixspeedz28]

good, mine was a first guess with minimal information.. I wouldnt count it out, but you can push it further down the check list now...

so do you think it has anything to do with the opti? what are other possibilities?

[94sixspeedz28]

anyone there?

[popo8]

so do you think it has anything to do with the opti? what are other possibilities?


Start by checking your fuel pressure... make sure its getting good fuel Pressure up front... first.... And it wont cost you much to do, or have done...

fuel, spark, air......

[94sixspeedz28]

Start by checking your fuel pressure... make sure its getting good fuel Pressure up front... first.... And it wont cost you much to do, or have done...

fuel, spark, air......

ok wait i just bought some plugs and wires for the car and what temp is the car supposed to be at when fully warm?

[popo8]

ok wait i just bought some plugs and wires for the car and what temp is the car supposed to be at when fully warm?


Good then do a tune up as well.....

as for temp, I have found that every car is different..... Its been a long time since I have had a STOCK Lt1.... my boosted stroker warms up to 180, even on the hotest days... but its got a 160 thermostat in it..... fans are tuned to turn on early, and compression is much LOWER than stock.....

[F.G.]

The hottest mine has gotten is 210. Since you have the wires and plugs already, put them on, also check your fuel pressure at the fuel rail. did your opti get wet when the coolant came out? My car didnt throw a code when my opti went out.

[94sixspeedz28]

Good then do a tune up as well.....

as for temp, I have found that every car is different..... Its been a long time since I have had a STOCK Lt1.... my boosted stroker warms up to 180, even on the hotest days... but its got a 160 thermostat in it..... fans are tuned to turn on early, and compression is much LOWER than stock.....

well i just recently noticed that when the car heats up it starts backfiring a lot more and when its cold it does but very little. the temp was at like at 210 or more and i think i need a radiator also could the backfiring be because of the radiator i mean it sounds stupid but it doesn't backfire as much when its cool.

[94sixspeedz28]

The hottest mine has gotten is 210. Since you have the wires and plugs already, put them on, also check your fuel pressure at the fuel rail. did your opti get wet when the coolant came out? My car didnt throw a code when my opti went out.

the opti could have gotten wet from the coolant but then y does it only backfire when im driving and only when im in gear but if im in neutral or im holding the clutch it could hit the rev limiter and it wont backfire at all

[devonsZ28]

iv had 2 situations were my car back fired and lost alot of power the first time was an O2 sensor, the second time was when i forgot to tightin my air intake up and when i floored it my intake and maf fell off, i would get new O2s for it and if it doesnt run any better then i would just take them back since there pretty pricey, i personaly have never heard of a 4th gen with radiator problems so i would replace the water pump and see if that fixes the over heating issue, just my .02

[94sixspeedz28]

iv had 2 situations were my car back fired and lost alot of power the first time was an O2 sensor, the second time was when i forgot to tightin my air intake up and when i floored it my intake and maf fell off, i would get new O2s for it and if it doesnt run any better then i would just take them back since there pretty pricey, i personaly have never heard of a 4th gen with radiator problems so i would replace the water pump and see if that fixes the over heating issue, just my .02

well someone is coming to buy the SS hood this saturday for 300 and they're giving me they're stock hood with the deal so i'm just gonna sell their hood and put my old one back on and ill have some cash to play around with and go with all of these theories but you guys are so great with these ideas i don't know what i would do without all of your help man just an early thank you to everyone here and please any more ideas or opinions non the subject will be greatly appreciated

[popo8]

well someone is coming to buy the SS hood this saturday for 300 and they're giving me they're stock hood with the deal so i'm just gonna sell their hood and put my old one back on and ill have some cash to play around with and go with all of these theories but you guys are so great with these ideas i don't know what i would do without all of your help man just an early thank you to everyone here and please any more ideas or opinions non the subject will be greatly appreciated


Just go step by step...

Honestly, check your FP

if its good up front, move on to tune up.....

as for the heating issue, make sure your coolant system is bled of air... air in the system can def create misreading of the temp or even true overheating....

[F.G.]

What popo said. Also, when my opti went bad, it would act up more when it was at operating temp and wouldnt be too bad when cold. In neutral it would rev a bit more freely. With that said, I first checked fuel pressure, and it was good. then replaced plugs and wires, and nothing changed. Then I replaced the opti and voila good as new. Now I would like to add that I also replaced the waterpump since I was in there already. But remember to first check fp and do tune up.

[quickkris2006]

i think popo is right with the fuel pressure idea.. if its backfiring under pressure of the clutch ( when in gear) it could not be getting the right amount of fuel pressure.. which could explain y u can rev it witht the clutch in and nothing happends.. if u go as far as to changing the water pump just make sure that u dont let the opti get wet.. but before u go and change the pump make sure theres no air in the system.. i would hait to go threw all the work of changing the pump just to find out it was an air bubble..

[94sixspeedz28]

will do guys i'm doing the plugs and wires tomorrow at school and just out of curiosity will the plugs and wires i bought be ok...
i got the NGK Platinum single heads and the autolite wires

[94sixspeedz28]

well guys i got to put in plugs 1,3,5,7 today and i started the car and it has a more steady idle but tomorrow is gonna be hell with plugs 2,4,6,8. but i think it was the plugs and wires causing the backfiring but i'm keeping my fingers crossed until i'm completely done with all the plugs and wires and a new radiator

[popo8]

well guys i got to put in plugs 1,3,5,7 today and i started the car and it has a more steady idle but tomorrow is gonna be hell with plugs 2,4,6,8. but i think it was the plugs and wires causing the backfiring but i'm keeping my fingers crossed until i'm completely done with all the plugs and wires and a new radiator


post up pics of the ones coming out....

What color are they?

[94sixspeedz28]

post up pics of the ones coming out....

What color are they?

the pics i took don't look so good but it looks like they are all different plugs on the drivers side and the ones on the passenger side are older than me and the gap is huge...but anyway i put all new plugs and wires and a radiator but at first it was running ok but it seems like whenever the car warms up it just starts backfiring again my dad thinks that the backfiring has to do with timing and it looks like its burning oil now i just don't know whats wrong anymore

[speedracer2536]

Sounds like you blew a head gasket or two to me..

[94sixspeedz28]

Sounds like you blew a head gasket or two to me..

well i cant try anything until after i get the car running again cause i need a starter right now and i cant push start it cause its in the driveway forwards and im gonna need to fix my dads car first to be able to get mine out but i just did all of the plugs and wires and a new radiator and a thermostat but it looked like it was leaking coolant from the thermostat elbow so i made my own gasket along with the rubber o ring but if i dont fix it this guy is offering me his 89 TA autotragic and 305 the worst possible combo lol and hes gonna put some cash on top so im not sure what to do??