1988 Sunbird 2.0 OHC Fuel problem???

Hi there,

I'm having a major problem with my 88 sunbird with a 2.0 engine. It starts and idles fine till i press on the accelerator, then it bogs down like its lacking fuel.

I just spent the day removing the fuel tank, blowing out the lines, cleaning the debris from the tank and testing the pump.

Pump seems to work ok. It puts out a steady stream of fuel and "bears down" under the load of my thumb covering the output line. Got a nice spray that way :)

I have changed the fuel filter and, as i said, blown out all the fuel lines. I removed and cleaned the fuel pump screen at the bottom of the tank. It was quite dirty. After all of this I drove 1 block and it seemed to improve. At the stop sign i started to take off again and the same problem. I had to idle it home as ANY movement of the accelerator caused it to bog down and even die a few times.

I have checked the TBI unit and it appears to have a nice spray pattern and, when i can get it to rev properly, raises its output as it should. Don't think its clogged or dirty.

Any ideas will be greatly appreciated.

Has the check engine light came on at all??? if so, what was the code?

Cheap and easy fix that could cause the problem might be the TPS... I got one for my 89 2.0 from DIsc Auto. for $30 if I rember correctly, and it only took like 10 min to swap out.

But if you have a trouble code from the ECM, that'll be the best place to start.

Has the check engine light came on at all??? if so, what was the code?

Cheap and easy fix that could cause the problem might be the TPS... I got one for my 89 2.0 from DIsc Auto. for $30 if I rember correctly, and it only took like 10 min to swap out.

But if you have a trouble code from the ECM, that'll be the best place to start.

Yes it has with code 44. Thats the lean exhaust code which leads me to think its fuel starved. Any check for the TPS?

And thank you for your responce. :)

You can check the TPS, I forget how and don't have my manuel in front of me... but I know you'll need a Mulit-Meter to do it. So, if you don't have the meter... you're better off just forking up the cash to replace it as a decent meter will run you in the $50's...LOL.

Double check all of your Vacume hoses to make sure none are cracked or off... as that could also cause a lean condition.

Could also be a bad Oxygen sensor... if it's telling the ECM that it's lean, the ECM could be compesating by putting way to much gas in... which would also cause your prob. But the code for the o2 sensor is 13, and you'd be able to see the extra fuel built up on the plugs and possibly the car blowing black smoke too.

My money is on the TPS though. I'll dig up my Haynes manuel and see if I can find the check for it.

Hi,

Shadow1966,

I can only hope you still have the same e-mail address.. Did you ever solve this problem? Your description is exactally the same as the problem I am experiencing with my 1990 Sunbird. The most recent post on this thread was to check/replace tps. I have measured my tps and it had "opens" issues above 1/3 throttle. I replaced the TPS, but it did not improve the situation one bit as far as I can tell.. Did you ever solve this issue??

I'd start a new thread in the proper forum, this is a year old.