85 GT hard start and sporadic idle (Page 1/1) PontiacLT1 DEC 16, 01:37 PM I bought a 1985 Fiero GT about 2 months ago. It has, I would assume, a stock 2.8 with the 4 speed trans. The car sat for at least a year, most likely more, as I had purchased it basically from an estate, not running. Turned out the slave cylinder was literally rusted shut. We dropped the tank as it smelled like varnish, emptied it, and replaced the fuel pump. When ever I try to start it, the car will shoot up to 3,000-3,500 RPMs, then stalls. It can take up to about 9+ times just for it to start idling without stalling. Even when its idling, it will constantly idle between 2,500 and 1,000 RPMs. Also it seems the computer tries to lower the idle to 1000 rpm, but then it sounds like a cammed v8, and stinks. At one point I had the engine running for about 10 minutes when I started to notice the exhaust manifolds glowing, which is a sign of lean condition. I do not have it licensed as its hard to put it under load, so I want to have it running smooth before driving. Throttle pedal also doesn't seem to have much control. When I try to hit the pedal to stop it from stalling it doesn't respond right away, but a tad bit later. Any Ideas? I fixed a vacuum leak (the egr tube) and could not find any others, should I keep searching in this direction of a vacuum leak. Or should I go the fuel route. possibly clogged injectors, or bad pump? I replaced the IAC But it seems it has something to do with something in open circuit, since the issues are right away. Any suggestions are appreciated, just trying to get this back on the street. PhatMax DEC 16, 03:26 PM Look at the coil under the distributor cap... could be Done as the plastic disintegrates.. Patrick DEC 16, 03:44 PM Eliminate one variable. Put your thumb over the IAC port in the throttle body while the engine is idling. The engine should stall. If not, this would indicate a vacuum leak. Hopefully the idle set screw hasn't been tampered with, as it's adjusted at the factory and a plug is installed to cover its head. Gall757 DEC 16, 04:19 PM If the car sat for 2 years or more it probably has stuck/clogged injectors. The cold start injector is not working, and the others may be barely working. If you shoot some starting fluid in the throttle body and the idle smooths out, that would tell you the injectors need to be cleaned. PontiacLT1 DEC 18, 02:04 PM quote Originally posted by Patrick: Eliminate one variable. Put your thumb over the IAC port in the throttle body while the engine is idling. The engine should stall. If not, this would indicate a vacuum leak. Hopefully the idle set screw hasn't been tampered with, as it's adjusted at the factory and a plug is installed to cover its head. I appreciate the response! When I tried this, it stalled the motor right away. I did look at the idle screw, and there is not a plug as I could see the screw head. Hopefully someone wasn't messing with that, but I might just see if I can either clean or replace the injectors to see if that changes anything. Patrick DEC 18, 03:48 PM quote Originally posted by PontiacLT1: When I tried this, it stalled the motor right away. Well, that's good. You can now rule out a vacuum leak. quote Originally posted by PontiacLT1: Throttle pedal also doesn't seem to have much control. The throttle position sensor (TPS) is something that's easily checked. Using a multimeter, it needs to show smooth continuity when moved from closed to wide open. You don't want to see any "dead" spots. armos DEC 20, 08:40 AM You might also have late ignition timing. Check it with the A-B pins on the ALDL connector shorted. Sometimes people forget that part and end up with very late timing - the previous owner could have made that mistake.