Also...engine hard start.

[rhinton]

Okay, here is another issue...as usual. Maybe one day I can help you guys out.

I have changed my starter (because it cracked), changed my plugs, wires, injectors, and thats pretty much it with the fuel and injection.

But my car is still having trouble firing up. This morning it took me 3 times to start it. I may just buy a new battery too, but I was wondering about carbon build up.
When I first had this trouble, when one of the injectors were bad, I looked into the throttle body and there was a lot of carbon inside there. I tried to clean some of it up.
But now I'm thinking...what if there is carbon buildup inside the engine? Would that give me problems with start up right away?
Is there anything I can do to get rid of the buildup without having to rebuild an engine?
Does that Techron stuff work? (haven't tried yet)

Last night it was also idling rough, kinda like a knocking sound. But I can't tell where it is coming from.

Also, there is a slight flutter in the engine when I'm accelerating at a slow constant speed.

Just curious, I'm tired of these problems and I don't want another cracked starter one day if I can't crank it again.

[CreepingDeath94]

The Techron does work but I don't think it cleans already existing carbon, it does run clean though. If there is a lot of carbon buildup in the throttle body you might need to clean it out thoroughly as the IAC might have gunk around it giving it problems. Make sure when you clean out the throttlebody you remove any sensors that could be damaged from the cleaning solution. I'm not 100% sure about how you go about this service on a Firebird but when I worked at Jeep, we pulled the throttlebody off the engine, removed the sensor, and cleaned it with this special cleaning solution (spraycan). The Firebird may be more difficult to remove the throttlebody so somebody may have an easier way to do this. Also, sometimes on the Jeeps, we used this top end cleaner that we sprayed into the intake. Let it sit for about 20 minutes, then started the engine and sprayed the rest of the can in while it was running. This cleaned out the carbon in the engine and smoked like hell as you did it, but often times it would cure the problems that you seem to be describing. I have just never done these services on the Firebird so I'm not sure exactly how similar the procedure is.

[rhinton]

Maybe thats what I should do. I've been reading about something called Sea Foam too.
Is this relible information? Has anyone done the Sea Foam procedure?

http://members.nuvox.net/~on.roz/cars/z28/seafoam.html

I'll clean the sensor on the throttle body tonight to see if it helps. What kind of cleaner is good for that?

This knocking/fluttering noise was also a performance issue before my injector went bad. Now that all of them are replaced...I don't understand what it could be.

[CreepingDeath94]

Originally Posted by rhinton

Maybe thats what I should do. I've been reading about something called Sea Foam too.
Is this relible information? Has anyone done the Sea Foam procedure?

http://members.nuvox.net/~on.roz/cars/z28/seafoam.html

I'll clean the sensor on the throttle body tonight to see if it helps. What kind of cleaner is good for that?

This knocking/fluttering noise was also a performance issue before my injector went bad. Now that all of them are replaced...I don't understand what it could be.

Don't clean the actual sensor. If you use too harsh of a cleaner it could damage it. That sea foam stuff looks similar to what we used at the dealership at Jeep...we just didnt use that procedure or put it in the oil and fuel system. It looks to be an alright cleaner. If its not too expensive I think I would give that a try.

[rhinton]

Ya, I'm not going to put it in the oil...forget that idea. That might cause another issue.

I'm just going to do the TB and the fuel and see if that works. And the valve, sucking , procedure.

[hotrod_chevyz]

trickle water into the intake as its running at about 2000 to 3000 rpm's.Do it for about twenty minutes.It may sound ideotic,but if youve ever pulled the head off of a car with a bad head gasket,the cylander that was getting the water is always squeaky clean.It essentially steam cleans the combustion chambers,converter/exhaust.It works like a charm,believe it or not.meter the water tho,dont just pour it in.