my cars sick

has recently having trouble staying cranked once it has sat for a while after being warmed up, it starts and idles then starts to try dying then picks up, and keeps doing this for a while until i rev it up several times to get it goin, or else it will die. runs fine when engine is cool, its only once its hot, and has sat for 30 min or more. it has new fuel filter, and k&n air filter, less then 2000 miles on those 2. new pcv valve. does this sound like i just need a tune up/ new plugs, wires, cap & rotor, maybe a clogged cat. or icm?
the former owner said he put new plugs in before he sold it to me, about year ago. it also has new o2 sensor, and bigger exhaust 3" from cats to muffler & (2)2.5 inch 1 from flowmaster muffler 80 series. sounds 100% better then before, last owner just had the mufler on stock exhaust. its still stock cat. new egr valve.
if it sounds like the cat, what would be a good aftermarkey highflow, i know the magnaflow cats are arond 75-100+ depending on size & what not, which magna flow would i need to stay emmisions legal, dont know if i need it to be the one with air tap or not. but would like to keep it legal, with the way country going with pollution controls i would like to keep it legal.
if it could be needing tune-up, are those bosch platnum2 plugs any good, or should i stick with the regular plugs.. what type & brand of wires are good but still affordable, short on the $$.

Sounds like your IAC (idle air control) which causes it to die

where is the iac located at, and i will change that out, its the cheaper fix of the above

IS the SES light on? If so, probably would be a big help, let it tell you what ailes it.

no ses light, only after it dies will that cut on, but didnt think that would be a code

Woudn't hurt to check, some codes do not trigger the ses light to come on. So you may have soft code identifiers.

Oh also forgot to mention it sounds like its more your Ignition Control Module which is under the distributor cap, so i'd check that out, you can take it to autozone or O'rielly and they'll test it for free to see if it's working or not.

there are no codes stored, went to advance auto and had it scanned

Well go check out your ICM before you go into the IAC because its cheaper.

is the icm what the coil connects to under the cap, just getting to fixin it and wanted to know where exactly it was so it hopefully wouldnt take as long

is the icm what the coil connects to under the cap, just getting to fixin it and wanted to know where exactly it was so it hopefully wouldnt take as long


it looks like this:

http://www.megasquirt.info/ms2/ew8hei.gif

and yes, the wires from the coil go to it. there are two small bolts on either side that you must remove

took the icm to advanced, and it tested fine, went ahead and got cap & rotor, wired, & plugs, since wires cap & rotor had corrosion on them. since was all apart anyway, get those out of the way of being my problem. what could be some other causes for my problem if this does not help, i am in the process of putting these new parts on

took the icm to advanced, and it tested fine, went ahead and got cap & rotor, wired, & plugs, since wires cap & rotor had corrosion on them. since was all apart anyway, get those out of the way of being my problem. what could be some other causes for my problem if this does not help, i am in the process of putting these new parts on

did they run the test a few times? It may depend on the type of testing equipment that they use, but generally speaking, testing it once doesn't make it heat up enough to show that it's bad...

yes he tested it several times, and it got nice and hot, and with all that on there now, it makes it a full tune up, plugs & wires, cap & rotor, air & fuel filters... my dad said by the looks of the cap & rotor and wires, they looked stock, since all the wires were numbered.. plugs in it were semi-new, buy i got car from last year said he changed out all the plugs..but they are new ac plugs gapped to .035.... my dad said it might be the fuel pump trying starting to go out, thats what he thinks might be the problem if this doesnt fix it.

should i go ahead and replace the coil too, since it is most likely still stock/13 years old... and if so, should i just get a stock replacement, or go for a more stronger one like an accell super coil? havnt had to drive car after it had warmed up so i dont know if it helped the initial problem... but have noticed couple times when i 1st put it in gear 1st time its cranked that it does seem to try to die almost as if it was flooding like if it was carbed, it may sputter a little, then drive on as it should.. and i do smell gas from the exhaust when i crank. if that could be a sign of another problem?

car seems to be running quite nice now, its been starting right. cept for sometimes it seems like it hesitates when i put it in gear and try leaving in the mornings, or after a day of work, it seems as if its trying to flood itself... its getting gas, if the winds right, i can smell the gas from the exhaust when it does this.. if its a weak spark due to the coil maybe crappin out, it looks like a stock one on there... if i should replace it, should i put another plain one, or get one like an accell super coil with hotter spark
thanx for anyone's everyone's help

Did you check your ign. timing?

no havnt checked the timing, didnt think of that, cant go check tonight, got storms keepin me from that.. im not sure on which wire im supposed to unhook to check/change the timing... never done it before

There's a single wire, normally tan running along the top of the firewall on the passenger side. You'd need a timing light as well, or best case scinerio from the way it sounds, a buddy with a light and a little know how.

weather guys said no more rain after 1 storm moved thru, and several more moved thru. was going to look for that wire and retrofit my ac for the new stuff so i can be cool in this 100+degree temp... whats about the best degree of timing for these engines, or does each engine have a special sweet degree u have to find.

make sure there isn't any R12 left in the system, you do not want to mix it with 134a.

i believe that the factory setting is 0*, just make sure to disconnect the tan wire that wrightz28 mentioned before you try setting the timing.

It's on your emmissions information label, how to set your timing and curb idle and all that other fun stuff.

Usually is 0. For a little extra bang you can go to about 4 adv. on a stock setup.

got the ac done, no prob. love that nice cool air comming out now... havnt got to check the timing yet tho, maybe this weekend... ok back to the orig. problem, its still doing the same thing, the rpms will drop to about 500 then bounce to around 1000+ then drop and will keep doin it... was going to go ahead and replace the coil friday, whats best to get, a stock replacement or a stronger one like accel super coil?? and maybe get a highflow-cat but not sure on which i would need a single air tube or 2, and not sure if i should go with 2.5 inch or 3" my pipe behind car is now 3" with adapted on it to fit the stock cat thats still on there. was thinking of getting a magnaflow but the highflows i found dont have airtube.. and heard on news otherday we will be getting the sniffer test sometime soon, so trying to stay emissions legal.

one of my friends that used to own a similar car, little older firebird, said it sounded to him like the TPS was going bad, me not knowing much about these cars yet, but learning, would like to know where its at on the intake, and how easy is it to replace, and a good brand to replace, i looked online at the partstores and none seem to carry acdelco, have only seen wells(autozone), gp sorenson & neihoff at advanced auto, and i think bosch at oreilly... ranging in price from $20 gp & wells and neihoff being $27, thought neihoff was supposed to be a cheaper brand, from what i read from other places

ok i replaced the tps, no change... where is the iac at, i have only seen a pic off of a parts page, but not sure where its at on the tb? i will go ahead and change that out too if its easy to do, looks like it should be but these things look simple and turn out to be a PITA like changing sparkplug...