No Power, Plus Loud Ticking from engine?

[FullyAvenged]

Hey everyone. I have a 96 Grand Am GT 3.1 Liter. Today I hopped on to I-96 on my home from work when I started the car up I noticed a loud ticking almost like a lifter tick?? I went to hit the acclerator and no power is what I got just very slow accleration. I got on the e-way and it continued to tick and had no power still. I pulled over to check for maybe lose wires or sparking, anything out of the ordinary. Nothing looked wrong. Got back on the e-way and still had no power when suddenly it gained it's power back again and was fine. I noticed that this has happened before only like one other time.

Any ideas guys. I would like to figure out what is going wrong with this car?

Thanks in advance.

Nick

[FullyAvenged]

Anyone?

[xeroinfinity]

Hard to say, but it almost sounds like a clogged Cat. Converter. Might beat on it when its cold and see if anythings rattling inside. Could be your EGR pipe is clogged.

Try checking for trouble codes !

[FullyAvenged]

Does that sound like the best answer when it's cold and then it goes away when it warms up?

[FullyAvenged]

WHat would the best thing to do to unclog the EGR pipe? WHat type of cleaner? Carb Cleaner??

[x24]

My 99 grand am did the same thing. only it got worse as time went on. it ended up being the fuel pressure regulator. only way i found out was i had the car in for inspection and i told the mechanic of the problem. he pulled the line of the regulator and fuel poured out of it. he told me it should have air coming out. I replaced the regulator and the car has worked fine ever since. may not be your problem but it is worth checking into

[xeroinfinity]

Originally Posted by FullyAvenged

Does that sound like the best answer when it's cold and then it goes away when it warms up?

Humm... that sounds like it could be a lifter or piston slap.

Might try some seafoam in your oil/crankcase and see if it clears up the ticking before an oil change. It doesnt hurt to leave it in your oil, it will thin it down a little bit.

If it doesnt improve, probley piston slap and thiers not much you can do other then rebuild your motor.

Good Luck!

[J-Ri]

I'd check the ECT and IAT sensors. I was messing around with a fuel economy device on mine and adjusted it too far. It basically just lies to the computer and says the air and coolant is warmer than it is (runs leaner), it did exactly what yours did, then recovered and ran fine ever since.

Doesn't explain the ticking though, so I may be wrong or they may be unrelated.

[FullyAvenged]

Well dropped a pint of SeaFoam into my crankcase yesterday. Still getting that ticking occasionaly but sometimes it has perfromance but it just ticks.

What by the way is a piston slap?

Also, anyone recommened anything on how to clean out the crankcase better than what SeaFoam would do?

It's driving me nuts on why this ticking only happens some of the time!

[xeroinfinity]

I wouldnt run the seafoam in your oil to long a pint will thin it down and could cause other problems.

Piston slap is cylinder wear, though it only does it on start up, not all the time.
Your 96 might be early for GMs methods changed.

Probly a bad lifter, realy hard to say with out seeing and hearing...
Are you sure its coming from the engine and not the accesories ?