My 1990 Grand Am

HELP
I have recently purchased a 1990 grand am 2.3 dohc, for the first few days or so the car drove ok, but then I noticed a loss of power upon taking off but would level out at 40 or so...So I was told by a friend it was due to the catalytic converter being stopped up...so today I took it in and had it replaced....now it runs smooth in starting but is still sluggish when ya put any stress on the engine....it takes it forever to gain enough speed to shift the auto tran in gear and all ya smell is raw gas.....and thats because it is flooding out tryin to keep it running....ya have to push the peddle halfway to the floor just to get it to move....If anyone has any information that could help me i would appreciate it...I'm a single mom and I'm trying to do this by myself with less expense......Thanks! :confused:

This sounds to me like being a major misfiring problem.....one or more cylinders are not firing. or lack of compression in one or more cylinders, which could be a sign of bad piston rings. Now, back to a possible misfiring problem.......check all four of your spark plug wires. Be sure that they are securely fastened to the spark plugs. While you are checking that, be certain that all four spark plugs are tightened snuggly into the engine block. If you are certain that all spark plugs are snug, and wires are securely fastened, and in the correct firing order and the car is still having problems, consider replacing plugs and wires, and possibly your coil pack. There are so many different things that could cause this problem. Could be as simple as clogged fuel injectors, which consists of purchasing a bottle of injector cleaner ( less than 5 or 6 bucks ) and dumping it in a tank of gas, or just bad plugs and/or wires, or something as bad as fried piston rings.......How many miles are on this car?? If i were you, i would try the injector cleaner ( won't hurt one bit, costs little ), check and possibly replace the plugs and wires, and see where things go from there. Good luck Starfish.......Be sure to post again, and let me know if any of this works, or if there are any new developments.

This sounds to me like being a major misfiring problem.....one or more cylinders are not firing. or lack of compression in one or more cylinders, which could be a sign of bad piston rings. Now, back to a possible misfiring problem.......check all four of your spark plug wires. Be sure that they are securely fastened to the spark plugs. While you are checking that, be certain that all four spark plugs are tightened snuggly into the engine block. If you are certain that all spark plugs are snug, and wires are securely fastened, and in the correct firing order and the car is still having problems, consider replacing plugs and wires, and possibly your coil pack. There are so many different things that could cause this problem. Could be as simple as clogged fuel injectors, which consists of purchasing a bottle of injector cleaner ( less than 5 or 6 bucks ) and dumping it in a tank of gas, or just bad plugs and/or wires, or something as bad as fried piston rings.......How many miles are on this car?? If i were you, i would try the injector cleaner ( won't hurt one bit, costs little ), check and possibly replace the plugs and wires, and see where things go from there. Good luck Starfish.......Be sure to post again, and let me know if any of this works, or if there are any new developments.


it has 145,000 miles on it

sounds like it may be a faulty O2 sensor, it may be reporting a lean condition to the ecm thus the ecm flooding the engine with gas and also why the original cat went bad. If the car drives good when it's first driven right away when cold and not warmed up then the O2 sensor is most likely the problem. If not and it idles correctly it may be a leaky injector. If it doesn't right good when cold nor does it idle smooth then see GNXdreamin's post. Of all the possibilities from the symptoms you describe and the mileage of the car I'd lean towards the O2 sensor as the culprit.

Hey, Thanks for the reply.. all the sensors in the car are new, matter a fact it has new plugs wires and timing setup all new belts and hoses too the car was taken care of....I did add a bottle of fuel injector cleaner to the tank...and it runs somewhat better but still ya half to help peddle the gas to get it to move....on idling it runs smooth....it just acts like it's staving for gas....like if i come up to a stop light..i have to put it in neutral to keep it from cutting off..it dosen't back fire that much anymore..
but I did think of something that happened
when these problems started We had a bad rain here and i kinda drove thru the water after that...the car has been like it is now...could the water have messed something up? it was ankle deep but like i said thats when all the sputtering and rough running started....

Hey, Thanks for the reply.. all the sensors in the car are new, matter a fact it has new plugs wires and timing setup all new belts and hoses too the car was taken care of....I did add a bottle of fuel injector cleaner to the tank...and it runs somewhat better but still ya half to help peddle the gas to get it to move....on idling it runs smooth....it just acts like it's staving for gas....like if i come up to a stop light..i have to put it in neutral to keep it from cutting off..it dosen't back fire that much anymore..
but I did think of something that happened
when these problems started We had a bad rain here and i kinda drove thru the water after that...the car has been like it is now...could the water have messed something up? it was ankle deep but like i said thats when all the sputtering and rough running started....

This is an update I took the car to a tune up plus place, the manager had me raise the hood saw he #1 wire had been cut by the alternator and told me i needed replacement plugs and wires soo..$130.00 later 4 bosch platiumn plugs and wires and wa la they said my car was fixed...

I paid the damages and drove out of the parking lot only prob is I can still run faster than the car can run...I ask and it's on the ticket for DIAGNOSTICS to be run on it..it never made it to the machine....they had a car in the bay preventing them from getting me to it....

also the wires aren't even on right, #1 is under the alternator right? the last plug on the left facing the car...

they have #1 on the #4 plug and i have no idea how to fix it... as far as plugs part i can, but not the back part....any advice?


this is so disgusting guys....i also learned something new just cuz things look new don't mean they are the plugs and wire looked new but they wern't.....i watched them fall apart as they took them off my car....

Thanks guys

Is this a 2.3L Quad4 engine? Power loss or smelling raw fuel is usually an indication of ignition not firing properly.

Quad 4 engine has a high failure rate of its Ignition Coil Housing $60.

Is this a 2.3L Quad4 engine? Power loss or smelling raw fuel is usually an indication of ignition not firing properly.

Quad 4 engine has a high failure rate of its Ignition Coil Housing $60.

No it's a 2.5 tbi

okay, this may sound a little far-fetched, but i'm just trying to throw out some ideas.............Are you getting any water or any other liquid coming out of your exhaust pipe?? You mentioned something about driving through water......i had a friend who had a little cavalier, and he had water leaking out of his exhaust pipe, and the car ran like crap, kind of like your description. Water leaking out of the exhaust is a sign of a warped head. A warped head allows water to get into the engine block. Plus, a warped head causes bad compression, which could explain the car running so rough. Here's another question: When you pull out your oil dipsick, what doe the oil look like?? Is it really thin, or does it have a sort of milky look to it?? Both of those two things could be problems. Check it out, and be sure to post back..........I'm pretty stumped at this point, and i'm anxious to get to the bottom of this, Starfish. Please post back with any new developments!!! Good luck!

no water....in oil or.... running out tail pipe...oil change is fresh and I was told everything looked good..it just won't run....like a granny car hehe...but anyway....I'm taking it back to the tuneup place tomorrow...I went in today and told them My car was suppose to be fixed and it wasn't and spammit I want it fixed....he said Yes Mam...I was like there ya go......:) I will let ya know what happens but I don't hold a lot of hope for it....but thanks for listening to me wine..and didn't even offer any cheese......... lol......... bye!

oh btw it's a 2.5 tbi not the 2.3 I was told originally

I'm not sure if there is such a thing as ignition wires that you can replace, but on my 88 it would have a similiar problem, after it rained the car would not want to start or would run real rough, and if i recall correctly they said the ignition wires were corroded causing this... I don't recall that well though since this was many years ago. These 2.5 can be very finicky and run really nasty... you may want to check the spark plugs/wires, if you haven't already, the Throttle Body, Fuel injector, the fuel filter, these are just to name a few that can make the car run rough. Make sure there isn't oil leaking into your plugs from the Valve cover, since these eninges are prone to valve cover leaks, easy and cheap to fix but go bad faster then you can replace them.

Update!!!
Tuneup plus made the work on my car right!!!! Yay...I now have a passing gear rofl....but in fixing it another prob arose now the battery light flickers on and off and yesterday when i went to work the car started great ...went out to do an errand for my boss and wa la no start..it turns over once or twice then clicks....so I'm gonna get an alternator since i can't move the car...can't afford a darn wreckers they're so expensive....but anyway least it's something i can do myself.....Thanks everyone for all your help....ya'll have been great!!