Well, in reply to my previous problem, everything seems to be alright, except for a few small things.

We put in some injector cleaner, and replaced the fuel filter again, now the car doesn't stall out instantly like it did, but it's still got a weird idle when cold. When it's cold and you give it gas, between 1k and 2k, no matter how much gas you give it the car seems to just sit there, than finally it'll backfire and the rpm's will go up on it. After it gets warm, it idles at about 750rpms, but you can hear it bogging down a bit.

Also, when you drive down the road, you can feel the car shaking alot and sputtering, and it has NO power what so ever. It almost feels like it's missing or something. It drives like a v6 engine, except that it's a 5.0. Also, when driving, when you let off the gas and the rpms start coming down, you can hear it bog a little bit. We are thinking maybe the catalytic convertor is plugged up, but we have no way of checking, nor do we know how to get the o2 sensors checked. If anyone has any insight, please feel free to share it with me, as I really really want this car back to it's full power.

 

if you think its the cats, and have "no way" to check.

why not unbolt the SOB's and look?
or run the car with open headers?

idk, that may be a redneck way of checking, but you can do it yourself instead of taking it to an exhaust shop.


have you cleaned the MAF, and the IAC?

 

did you try cleaning the MAF.. and or run a koeo/koer test??

 

Many time's when cats are clogged they will glow from excessive heat.

 

if the cats are restricted...pull the o/2 's out and drive a short distance and see if prob is curred or loosen down pipe as to create a exhaust leak..this is a quick Harry home owner way to verify plugged cats

 

How am i supposed to unbolt them... they are welded onto the exhaust pipe... As far as cleaning the iac and maf, yes I have cleaned and tested both, and both check fine. (I use a digital ohm meter to check resistance). Also, I have noticed a difference when disconnecting either in performance, and it's much worse, so I can tell that they are both working just by keeping them both plugged in.

I can't think of what else the problem is. I could possibly unbolt the exhaust flange or loosen it up, but that's a big risk to take considering the car is 14 years old, and sat for a year in the backyard of my dad's house. The bolts are most likely going to break off, and if that's not the problem it's going to take some money to fix it if that happens. With a baby on the way, and a wedding I have to pay for, spending a lot of money 'guessing' what the problem is isn't really possible. I'm going to have to find a way to diagnosis a positive way to find out what's wrong with it.

I should point out that when it's cold it runs rought and idles really rough, only when it gets warmer does it straighten out alot more (but still not in spec)

 

mine did the SAME thing dude. my 5.0. Took FOREVER to find out the problem. I replaced the distributor, cap, wires, and rotor and it was all fine. Turns out the distributor was froze in place and the timing was all messed up. If your timing is off you know the problem.

 

suppose I also should have mentioned that the distributor cap, rotor, and spark plugs were all replaced recently. Only thing in the setup that wasn't replaced was wires, but i've heard from many many people that those are unlikely to go out. Hell, I still have the stock wires in my 89 taurus that haven't been rerplaced yet, after 200+k miles.