94 Cavalier performance problems

Thanks for taking the time to read my post I am praying that you can help my noobishness!

I am having a terrible time with my car!

Its a 1994 Cavalier 2.2 Auto w/AC

Didn't really notice until I took it on the Freeway recently, but basically whats happening is the car has no power anymore. When accelerating, the car seems to take forever to get up to the 80Km/h mark and if I hit any hills the car starts to lose speed!!! Also, to go above the 80KM/h (50MPH I think) is almost impossible! The car starts shifting strange and if I floor the pedal it shifts down and over-rev's :banghead: Also, sometimes the car almost seems to want to stall when idling at a light and when changing gears it seems to overrev and shift back and forth in gears at higher speeds.

Anyhow, I dont know a ton about cars, but I am learning! (Have to because I am not well off with the $$ situation and cannot afford expensive mechanic service - and also dont trust local mechanics)

What I have done is this:

Compression test on engine 130/150/150/140
Replaced all 4 spark plugs with Bosch Platinum +4
Replaced oil w/ Castrol GTX High Milege
Replaced Air Filter w/ K&N high flow
Replaced Fuel Filter
I fiddled with the TV cable and the adjuster, but didn't really know what I was doing.
Also ran a bottle of fuel injector cleaner through it

I am DESPERATE for any help and if you help me solve this problem I will be your slave forever in debt to you!!! :screwy: lol jk but if you can help me I would really appreciate it TONS!!! I will try anything that you can suggest!

Just a quick note, I left the battery unplugged (read through the forums for remedies) for about an hour to see if I could clear the ECM but still having same probs.

also reading through the forums and it kinda sounds like its a TCC solenoid problem, looked under the hood (under the air filter area) for it but I cant seem to locate it. Anybody have any pictures of this solenoid connector so I can disconnect it and see what happens?

lol, Im solving my own problems by this forum and answering my own questions. Well I found the TCC solenoid connector, I was just confused because everywhere I read they say its a 4 wire connector and this was only 2, but I unhooked it and the shifting and hesitation problem seems to be solved. Just got back from a test run. The car still performs terrible at top speed, especially travelling on a hill but the 'shifting' and 'jolting' problem isn't there anymore and the car seems to hold its speed. I was told before to try and straight pipe my exhaust and get rid of the catallitic convertor because it could be clogged and hampering my performance. Any comments?


BTW -- this forum is very good!!! So glad I found it, much help guys!!!

No power usually means either not enough something (air/fuel), but from the sound of it-you've seen to those two-the other thing ya might wanna check is for a partially plugged catalytic converter. All the "intake" in the world doesn't matter if it can't "exhaust". When the cat melts and collapses-the pieces blow downstream and plug up the muffler. Rap on the muffler with the side of your fist-if it rattles and sounds like it's full of rocks-that's because it is. That'll be the pieces of the catalyst.

A totally plugged exhaust will stop you dead in your tracks.

If the car performs worse as you drop the hammer-I'd suspect a plugged exhaust. Listen for a "hissing" soind when you accelerate up a hill.

Check also the oxygen sensor/MAP sensor (sometimes will set trouble codes, but not always.)
AS they are usually the cause of plugged converters.

Leaky injectors will cause overheating/melting of the cat due to too much raw fuel getting dumped thru the engine.

Ditto. and check the EGR valve. It is on the top of the motor, near the brake master cylinder. It has a small vacuum line going to it and is held on with two bolts. Disassemble and connect to a vacuum pump to check for movment. It should move. Also clean with carb cleaner. You may also want to check or replace the throttle position sensor $15. Think of it as a volume control for your motor. When they get old they generate a lot of static-like and old radio volume. this confuses the computer. Good Luck.

You guys are awesome! thanks a buch, on my way to investigate now. BTW, I was wondering if my friend was right in suggesting I straight pipe my exhast and forget about using a catalytic converter?

Yes, the straight pipe will work on this car. I believe the brand name is "Test Tube". It is made to bolt right in to replace the Cat.

Yeah, it's a test pipe. Just make sure ya got a cat on there before ya go thru any emissions testing if it's required in your area.