No pickup help!

[lilsprite]

94 Astro
it has no pickup. i push on the gas and it bogs down until i get to about 40mph then it will kick into overdrive and take off what could it be?

[dewaynep]

Fuel filter?

[Blue Bowtie]

There are a lot of possibilities. Does it start and idle normally? Does it operate at normal temperatures or overheat? Is there any unusual exhaust noise or odor?

[lilsprite]

It starts but acts like it wants to die if i don't rev the engine a few times and i get a puff of blueish smoke when i start it first thime but is usually ok after that except it bogs down really bad and sometimes dies after i put it in gear. does not overheat but oil pressure drops to 0 sometimes

[Blue Bowtie]

Assuming the engine uses the CPI system, fuel pressure should be good. There may be a significant vacuum leak, excessive fuel condition, weak ignition, and multiplpe other possibilities. More information will make any rough diagnosis much easier. Can you get a vacuum reading at idle? Standing, running, and shutdown fuel pressures? Anything would help.

[lilsprite]

the exhaust was just done a year ago from the cat back and the cat can't be clogged it has no insides, don't know why. i was thinking idle air control valve. Could that be a possibility? unfortunately can't get a reading

[blindeyed]

Originally Posted by lilsprite

It starts but acts like it wants to die if i don't rev the engine a few times and i get a puff of blueish smoke when i start it first thime but is usually ok after that except it bogs down really bad and sometimes dies after i put it in gear. does not overheat but oil pressure drops to 0 sometimes

If your getting blueish smoke, than that's a sign that either one or both of your headgaskets are leaking. Coolant is mixing into the cylinders, which causes that blue smoke. I'd definately look into that and see about getting those replaced. I'm pretty sure they have a significant role to causing most of your problems, especially the low oil pressure you mentioned. Can't say for sure that replacing them will fix all of your problems, but they do need to be replaced as soon as you can.

Originally Posted by lilsprite

the exhaust was just done a year ago from the cat back and the cat can't be clogged it has no insides, don't know why. i was thinking idle air control valve. Could that be a possibility? unfortunately can't get a reading

Normally, when the IAC sensor goes out, your RPM's kind of go haywire.. They'll go up and down and so on while under normal driving conditions. I doubt that's what's causing your problem.

[krekles]

im pretty sure coolant makes white smoke. And burning oil makes blue smoke. And head gaskets usually dont have much to do with oil pressure except if your oil pans full of coolant. If your oil pressure goes to 0 Id check the sending unit if the motor isnt clicking and knocking. Then go from there.

[fuzzypuppy]

First advice I always give for a poorly running vehicle is check your spark plugs, their condition will usually tell you what you need to know, rich or lean, oil fouled, coolant in the combustion chamber etc, this leads you in the right direction.
Check your dipstick oil to see if it milky looking.
Check your coolant for this as well.
The puff of smoke at startup could just be valve seals, not that unusual or problematic unless excessively worn then you'd get much more smoke than just a puff.
post your results and I'll be glad to help further.