95 sunfire engine prob

fixing up a friends sunfire for em and have a problem.

first off the engine has high millage on it, over 300,000kms but does not burn any oil.
it's got an automatic tranny too if this helps.

the prob is when starting it turns over alot, and backfires too. only when starting. also have a check engine light on.

the car has been sitting for over 3 months and has little gas in the tank, thinking perhaps bad gas and will try throwing in some fresh premium gas and see if it makes a difference.

also, when i drove the car to my place where i'm working on it, when i release the gas just to maintain my speed the engine speed bounces up and down, just like it wants to stall but then up to normal speed again. this happens quickly, every second or so.

seems to run ok when acelerating. also idles good too after you get it running.

if anyone has any suggestion feel free to shoot them out.

thanks guy's.

Welcome to AF!

One of the key issues here is to find out what codes you have in the computer. Scan it and post the codes and we will try to help you correct the problems. Depending on the size of engine you could have a timing belt or chain issue especially with that much mileage that is causing some of your problems. We await your posting of the codes.

thanks for the quick reply.

i will see if i can borrow a code reader and post my results. there is no other way of reading the error codes in this model is there? some car's had a function of turning the ignition key on and off a few times then flashing the check engine light.

the code scanner wont work unless you go to the dealer. 95 was the bastard year. regular code readers don't work, it HAS to be the dealer code reader. it MIGHT work with the 2.3L auto, but I dont think so.
the key turn doesnt work either, tried that and it doesnt work.

man!

this explains the trouble i was having trying to find a reader lol!
my understanding, 1996 was the year they switched over to OBDII, earlier years, like the 95's MIGHT have used just the OBDII connector.

my problem now is the car is not on the road and bringing it into the dealer is a bit risky..

any other suggestions?

haha!

This could be so many issues, but would start diagnosing with cheap solutions prior to code read.

1st, try some premium fuel ( gold) 1bout 5 litres should be wnough since tank emplty.

2nly replace fuel filter

3rd disconnect battery for 30 minutes then reconnect, as this resets settings and allows car to reprogram itself when driven

4th pull the spark plugs and check them out. If bad replace.

5thly try checking timing, maybe the timing chain is out of wack with that many km's on it.

6th check the air filter and clean it out if dirty

7th check the oil and make sure has enough in it and not to little.

If it still wants to stutter while driving check the catalitic converter.

These should be cheap steps that can cause issues you describe and may solve issue. If not would need to get codes read.

change the fuel filter, I bought a 95 2.3 that was dead. When I first fired it up it ran bad at idle, idled like it was missing on one cylinder (loped and shook real bad). changed the fuel filter and some fresh gas and it ran great.

hey guy's.

i added 10$ of premium to the tank. car started right up and ran much more smoothly. no more backfires and alot less rolling before starting..

guess the gas guage is a bit off.

has a little sputter when you rev it up a bit then release the gas.. but probably a spark plug problem.

i disconnected the battery overnight, reconnected it the next day and started it up. after 30 seconds or so the check engine light came back on. guess i will still need to get it read at the dealer. but that can wait till it's back on the road now that it's running alot better.