no idea what 2 fix

nttrain

Registered User
i bought a 90 ls cougar with an 89 xr7 motor and 5spd last month. so far ive replaced 2 motor mounts, 2 o2 sensors, 2 cats, tires, oil pan, alternator, spark plugs and wires and cleaned the injectors and the k&n cone. the car runs like junk still under heavy load. according 2 the boost gauge, im pushing around 14psi at 5000rpm but ive seen it hit 15psi when im in 3rd. this is my first charged car and im totally lost as 2 y its running so bad. if anybody has any ideas, plz let me no. i took it 2 the track and ran 17.5sec without missing a shift. it also doesnt stutter or ne thing. it runs great in first but seems sluggish in any other gear. when i do burnouts, it runs worse and the rpmz alternate btween 500 and 1200. i think its the computer but i figured id c if anybody could help me here b4 i got raped at a mechanic. thanx alot. nttrain
 
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Just a small list of what could be wrong. If it were me this is the order starting with the cheapest parts first. Clean maf wire, change gas filter, check for codes, fuel pump, fuel pressure regulator, harmonic balancer, Dis, coil, cam and crank sensor. All these are known to bad sooner or later and can cause the problems you describe but keep in mind that these are cars can be a challange if the applied parts are not correct your going to have problems that are hard to fix because in your mind that fix has been done. Some parts like the IAC and PCV better come from Ford. Your plugs mut be doubble plats and you dont want to use cheapo wires. One other thing is to tripple check your fireing order as some early books had it wrong. My best advice is to do a search on everything you want to change and dont be shy because even the simple things on these cars can dirve you crazy.
 
i put in iridum plugs and 8mm wires. the big reason i think its the computer is cuz if i do a .25 mi run, its slow. but if im messn around on the hiway, i stay even with gtps and an m3. i no the charger has an undersized pulley and that it has a posi rear end. the trans is rebuilt and the clutch is new. i had em check the flowmaster exhaust when i had em change the cats and they said its fine. ill start checkn stuff like u listed wen i get a chance. thank u 4 the help.
 
How much boost are you expecting to see? 14 psi. ain't bad and if you've done any mods to the exhaust, that will affect the amount of boost you have as well.
 
Converted LS right? Does it have dual exhaust out the rear? The single exhaust would bolt right up the the SC engine :eek: If it had single LS exhaust, it would explain the high boost numbers also.

I see the flowmaster exhaust post above, sorry.
 
well, i havnt checked on ne thing yet cuz im having problems with my grand am. grrr. and with gas at 3.50 a gal for prem, the cougar isnt moving much. i hate high gas prices. ill update wen i get a chance 2 look at the beast tho
 
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