Whats wrong with my car!?!?!

[Emc209i]

See the chain behind the belt.

[jordoug]

I have a Z34. What am I doing wrong?

[Emc209i]

Nothing Just trying to verify so that I can help you correctly. You will have a belt and a chain. The chain is fairly strong, it's one of those maintenance things that is a routine replacement say every 100k miles. The belt is not meant to last that long and it drives a lot of collateral. If the chain breaks, the car won't run. If the belt breaks while the motor is spinning fast you could bend valves. There are 24 of them and they aren’t cheap to replace or to have installed.

[85_305]

Which is why at this point you need to stop trying to help him because you clearly have no understanding of the motor at question. Have you ever considered that maybe we aren't talking about a 3400?

You don't have to be an expert but for God's sake cut all of the mag racing trash. He clearly stated that the motor has hesitation problems down low. At this point he is trying to find out what is wrong with the motor, not to prove or discredit 0-60 assumptions. "Please let me know if you have any ideas at all about what the problem could be!"

You sound like your gonna cry.. like not even joking.. if the monitor could snap a picture of you while you posted that, I would put fifty bucks up that you were tearing up.
But anyways I already told him that these cars are very crappy in first gear, and there isn't a whole lotta pull (torquey, yes. Pull, no.). The tranny's are just geared like that. So with that in mind, is there still something else wrong?
98k miles is hardly any, but I would first make sure there are no CEL's. Then, I would change the plugs, wires, and fuel filter. Check the oil, see what it looks like. Possibly change it (depending when it was last changed). Make sure your FP is putting out proper voltage. Do that, then check back in with the results. We can then work off of that.

[jordoug]

You sound like your gonna cry.. like not even joking.. if the monitor could snap a picture of you while you posted that, I would put fifty bucks up that you were tearing up.
But anyways I already told him that these cars are very crappy in first gear, and there isn't a whole lotta pull (torquey, yes. Pull, no.). The tranny's are just geared like that. So with that in mind, is there still something else wrong?
98k miles is hardly any, but I would first make sure there are no CEL's. Then, I would change the plugs, wires, and fuel filter. Check the oil, see what it looks like. Possibly change it (depending when it was last changed). Make sure your FP is putting out proper voltage. Do that, then check back in with the results. We can then work off of that.

Shut up! He has been very helpful so far and he really sounds like he knows what he is talking about. All you are doing is causing trouble. ALSO, my friend has the same car I do, his does a 7 to 8 second 0-60 with 135000 miles on it. ALSO, I had a complete electrical check of my car last month, there is nothing electrical wrong. I know what I ment.

[jordoug]

Here is a link to a video of my car at full throttle, hopefully this will help. I pull onto the highway at about 1:15 and I have to slow down at about 50 mph. You will notice how I had to play with the throttle just to get it to go as fast as it did.

Wow, I just watched that and realized it was even worse than I said!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7w5nxhbGrc

[85_305]

Shut up! He has been very helpful so far and he really sounds like he knows what he is talking about. All you are doing is causing trouble. ALSO, my friend has the same car I do, his does a 7 to 8 second 0-60 with 135000 miles on it. ALSO, I had a complete electrical check of my car last month, there is nothing electrical wrong. I know what I ment.

Fine if all I am doing is causing trouble, I wont tell you your car sounds like it's misfiring at the lower RPM's. Im outta here, and your on your own shithead.
Adios.

[jordoug]

Ok, I just dont appreciate people fighting whaen all I did was ask a question, if you had just answered there wouldn't of been a problem.

[Emc209i]

I never realized that the car in question was the car that you posted in that video. I laughed the first time I saw it (last month) because I can relate to driving and filming at the same time.

The sound is not in sinc with the video but at :39 seconds in I can hear it stumbling slightly. Mine is currently doing the exact same thing. Want to know why? A cam sensor. The engine does not throw a code unless the engine is affected in another way from the cam. It will not throw the code specifically to alert you to cam sensor failure. I have had my car on a computer while driving and I can see the cam signal go out ever time it stumbles. Below is a video of the same engine in a Fiero several months ago. I could never understand why the fuses were blasting out, but I now know that the cam sensor was shorting them when it was intermediate. You can see the car jerking like yours before the a fuse blows and the motor stops. The car stops because this sensor is run in a series with the injectors power. Since then I have replaced the fuses with much larger ones to prevent them from blowing out when the sensor does this. The car continues to run but the engine still trips at the same point as yours and I can watch the cam cut out when this happens.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrsdHIrLRBg

Just in the past few weeks the sensor has gone out completely (no signal at all). The car no longer jerks because it is not being tricked at all now (It just stays in safe mode all the time ) I have been babying it around town without the sensor. I have a new one at home waiting for me when I get out of school for the summer. I will of course inform you to the results asap.

It is impossible for me to tell you that the sensor is the problem with 100% certainty. The thing is that you haven't data logged the computer yet, and I have with the same symptoms. You really need to get your car hooked up to a reader. Not a "trouble code" reader, like the ones they will use at a parts store, but a streaming data logger from the ALDL port. The computer can even tell you if there is a misfire. If that isn't your problem, then you can resort to spending $$$ on guess work parts like a spark plug or spark plug wire.

You still need to get that timing belt replaced though.

-Paul

85_305: You misread my post. I wasn't trying to convey my emotion but steer this guy clear from your misunderstandings. I was extremely emotional though. Let me try to convey it to you more along my lines of thinking: "This fu@king moron keeps proffering information about the wrong motor to someone who needs help. He then tries to act big by jumping off on "mag racing" and then CORRECTS me when I put in my two cents. His correction to me is not only condescending in nature but is implicit proof that he is in the wrong ball field/ constellation."

The 3100/3400 section is in the pushrod forum. I wanted to break your neck not cry, rest assured.

I'm sure that your 3.1 sunbird would fly in forth gear though.

[85_305]

Edited by bszopi - If you feel the need to downrate other members, please do it via PMs.

[jordoug]

Thank you very much because I am 17 and I am tired of hearing these guys fight like babies!

[jordoug]

OK emc, so what you are saying is that I should get my timing chain/belt replaced and that I should get my cam timing looked at?

[Emc209i]

Correct. Also take it to a shop and have them "data log" the computer. I would definatly data log soon, it may save you some cash. Even if the belt is ok I would replace it. You have no idea how many times I've seen guys buy a Z34, swear the belt looks new, and then the next week snap the built and ruin the motor. The belt and all the assesories costs about $100 maybe $50 for labor. To get a head job, should it mess up at belt failure, costs about $300 for parts and labor (just on the heads) and about $500 to have a guy take your motor apart to get to them! I just rebuilt my motor, I know to spec prices. Guessing at labor, I'm sure it depends on who does it. Its just not something you want to dig into unexpectantly. Replacing the belt is CHEAP insurance.

[jordoug]

Hey, I just got an appointment scheduled for my car for Tuesday morning. I will let you know how it goes.

[Emc209i]

Sounds great!