Engine is Doggin it.

[Markgase2000]

I get a nice whack of power when I push my grand am but as of late I get one or two good runs with it and it starts doggin it. The fluid temps stay reasonable but the air temp in engine bay is very high for very long periods of time. Also threw a code , idles rough put in reverse and turn wheel it clunks here and there when I hit 50mph it lulls for half a sec then goes nuts again. Its costing me my patience cus I went from a 14.5 average (90-96mph) 1/4 mile to high 15's at mid 80's mph. I hate it and need a good solution. I cant put it on a machine right away cus I have the jet hooked up and it affects the codes(But doesnt affect factory codes). I gotta feeling the mas is gunked again and the air temp sensor may have a broken or loose connection , will this make it behave as such? Also got a manifold vaccume hose cracked (the little white hose about 2mm wide) put a patch on the hose lil rubber seal link. Would be cool if I got some help , Thanks.

[Pvt_Murphy]

out of all of those; a vacume leak would be the 1st suspect; check all your vacume hoses.

[fluffybunny]

you got an auto or manual? if your eauto, do you have an aftermarket trans oil cooler? and what do you mean by lulls? like boggs down, or no apparent acceleration for a sec..kindal like its having trouble getting past 50?

[Markgase2000]

Originally Posted by fluffybunny

you got an auto or manual? if your eauto, do you have an aftermarket trans oil cooler? and what do you mean by lulls? like boggs down, or no apparent acceleration for a sec..kindal like its having trouble getting past 50?

auto , no trans cooler , boggs down no acceleration for half a sec and it just hesitates then goes like a molested primate. It sucks what do you figure?

[Markgase2000]

Its my stupid o2 simulator , connection is loose and causing the code to trip , its on tight now and does the exact opposite of the lull now , back to normal till the harness on that sensor gets loose again , im gonna have to solder the wires together and eliminate the harness altogether. Thanks for the help fluffy , do the trans coolers help or have negative affects? Or does it just depend on how well its set up? I got 147,000 miles on my tranny and never had troubles with it (nothing serious neway) but have noticed it throws severe amounts of heat into the engine bay , will a trans cooler help cut down on radiant heat?

[fluffybunny]

cool you found it id have never guessed that........haha ... well ive found that all stock auto trans dont allow for sufficient heat dissipation so since im a fan of autos ive started installing the aftermarket coolers to extend the life of the missions. it just blows ass to have a tranny rebuild every 100k. im quite surprized youve got 147 on yours..... u do regular maintance?? if not id suggest not installing a trans cooler. just hate disturbing high milage trans with no probs.know what i mean.... ive never had negative effects lest they r old and abused. you hav emore fluid and less heat some kits even come with trans temp sensors so you can monitor the temps. and they r easy to install.

[Markgase2000]

Thanks fluffy , good to know. I have done regular maintenance on the tranny , fluid and filter new gaskets yadda yadda. In the owners manual , on certain service maintenence it suggested under harsh conditions to service it. I did it any ways only 160 bucks each time to save me poosably 1600 or so. I really like the cooler idea. Thought of changing the torque converter , but I need to learn a lil more on the guts of a tranny first.

[fluffybunny]

well, i dont htink you have to mess with any of the internals to change the torque converter. but if youre looking to ensure that the internals can handle the extra power, i dont blame you. obviously stock internals were not made to handle anything other than stock components, but im sure they are made for a little abuse. i had my tranny rebuilt at around 125000 cause i lost 4th gear and since then i get a really hard shift from 1st to 2nd, but the car is strong. any idea on the gear ratios ?

[Markgase2000]

I guess 3.29 , but I dont fully understand how that works. All I know is the shifting speeds , 1st-2nd ^ 55mph 2nd-3rd^ 95mph 3rd-4th^ not goin there , been trying not to pass 80mph mark since the cops are on zero tolerance as of late.
One thing I also noticed is that on rainy days my engine seems to behave lots better than warmer days and that goes for the tranny too. I think the tranny is radiating heat in there like crazy.