96' Monte Carlo problems...opinions and advice needed please!!!

[lil_erica]

Basically My 96' Monte carlo was bought used last year, ran good (except the check engine light was always on) up until last week. At first, it would not want to turn over when I would try to start it, so I put a new battery in it-assuming it was the cold wether.

That did not work. It drives, but it is VERY slow and sluggish, like it does not want to accelerate. I took it to a mechanic and he put a new fuel filter in it, said it was 99% blocked, he also replaced the spark plugs...Yeah, he did not fix the problem, it still drives awfully slow... It cant keep up to speed.

Could this be the Cadilac converter? The Mass Airflow Censor? Has anyone experienced this problem before with their 96' Monte Carlo?...ANY advice and Opinions would be great, because I need to get this fixed.

Thank you so much everyone!

[bamoeller]

If the check Engine light is still on I'd take it to AutoZone and have them get the code checked. They do it for free so that might point U in the right direction. Also as for the car not holding speed it could be a brake dragging maybe a simple pcv vavle. Good Luck.

[richtazz]

what engine is in your car? As Bamoeller suggested, get it scanned and post the findings. Don't trust what they say the codes mean, get a printout or write them down and post here.

['97ventureowner]

I agree on getting it scanned for codes and posting them here. That's something the mechanic should've done in the first place when you brought it in. There still seems to be too many mechanics out there that think replacing the fuel filter or plugs is a "cure all" for a vehicle's problems. This reminds me of a very good article Readers Digest ran many years ago,(I tried finding it on the web but had no luck, maybe it was too far back to be archived.) The article was about Readers Digest's automotive writer who had a Cutlass Ciera, and he pulled one plug wire off so the vehicle ran crappy. He then drove across the country to test garages to see how honest they were. He made about 30 stops on his trip. He ended up having the fuel filter and/or plugs replaced many times over the course of his trip, sometimes at a place just after the work was already performed at the place prior to that visit. He found about 5 or 6 places that were honest and diagnosed the problem almost immediately. The rest tried to sell parts/services that were unnecessary. He visited dealerships , chain repair centers, and independent garages. The article opened many eyes to warn consumers of some of the problems they can encounter while trying to have a problem with their vehicle diagnosed properly.

[chevydude76]

After getting the code/codes from autozone, I would check the EGR valve. Sometimes the membrane sticks closed or gets a hole in it. It can usually be fixed by pushing gently on the back of the membrane to dislodge it. If it has a hole in it remember to use a new gasket with the new valve.