ok so I have a 1990 olds toronado.. series 1 vin c.. yada yada.. I got the car at the beginig of winter from the original owner.. great shape.. near perfect... well it has had general maint lately, h2o pump, harmonic/ crankshaft pully,all filters, plugs, (BOSCH) O2 sensor.. the car sat for 4 years untill I got it.. sat outside under a car port though so the exhaust is nasty looking and the cat is plugged. well here is my prob.

I was driven along and it was running outta gas.. well i think it was.. felt like it.. so I pulled into the station and put gas in it. when i went to restart it it did not want to start. Now earlier this week I got a code E044 (car tells you the codes with out reader on speedo display) o2 sensor circut -lean- so i look at the book and it says check o2 and exhaust. well the exhaust sux. it also said to disconnect the MAF and if the lean went away to replace the MAF. now the car runs better with the maf unplugged. is it just a coincidence that maybe I need a new MAF and the old exhaust is causing probs? or could the exhaust cuase all of these problems? rough running? poor and or no starting?

this sux :(

thanks from Mich!!
Ed

i would say it'* ur catty . whack that catty off and go with straight pipe, or a highflow cat and see what happens.
Good luck
Al

but wacking off the cat would make me loose low end tourqe right? so i would have less oomffh off the line ehh? is this correct??? cause I was going to do that but I was told that these little v6s' needed them.... but yeah.. would a crappy exhaus system cause all of the probs I have? spuuter then it all of a sudden rockets off, then today it just wont start afeter turning it off then when it does it runs like **** untill i unplugg the MAF like the book told me to do.. that allowed me the power that I needed to pull it onto my trailer to bring it home......may be the bosch o2, bad cat, and bad MAF??

bad o2 for surz ! alot of guys here including me, went with the (bosch) and experienced
problems galore! change ur o2 to a ac delco , cat to high flow or cherrybomb(like i did), and see what happens. it wouldn't hurt to do that since u have to! if it doesn't work then oh well! MAF :?
GOOD LUCK
Al

Hold on !!!!!! This is exactly what my Regal did 3 weeks ago. Same deal was low on gas did not run out but left the gas station badly. Disconnected the MAF and could drive it. I had low fuel pressure. Fuel pump was pumping fuel but not enough pressure to work with the MAF sending the correct signals to the ECM.

Get your fuel pressure checked it is critical to have proper fuel pressure.

All exhausts look bad shortly after sitting. It doesnt mean the cat is clogged.

If it runs fair with the MAF unpluged its not the O2. Its running lean because the injectors dont have the pressure to deliver. Thats my guess any how. Once again - Get your fuel pressure checked it is critical to have proper fuel pressure.

I drove mine 1 week with the MAF unpluged. Just dont let it sit and idle. It wont restart until it completely cools down again. Dont beat it and you'll be alright. Remember its a little lean so if you open the TB up it will be very lean and wont run well to lots of throttle movement anyhow.

BTW the Buick 3.8 or 3800 */1 or */2 is not a #^$^%@*!0-@ its one of the best engine ever built by an American manufacture.

DOH! That is true! i had that problem and thought i could never solve it! it was my fuel pump :o i changed almost everything untill i finally did a fuel pressure check and sure enough it was low(at WOT) . Get it checked.
good luck
Al

...how do I check my fuel pressure???? Do I have to take it somewhere or can I like rent the tools from murrays?

...

ok.. so if the fuel pressure is low.. do I change the fuel pump? but now when It ran good I would always smell gas from the engine area like when I would get off the expressway......nwhich would make me think that I neeD to replace the MAF cause it thinks its lean but it is really runnin rich.... see? bad pressure low gas .. but I have a gassey smell.... so?

again...

Try to set up an appointment at a shop that will do it while you wait. Say I need my fuel pressure checked. Then its either the regulater, filter or the pump. It was the pump in my case. I have someone that wont rip me off and allows me even in their shop. He has also giving me advise on some things I have fixed myself. So sometimes I just pay him to do these electric problems. My Regal fuel pump was 256.00 total inluding trouble shooting the problem tank removal, pump removal, replace. I worked all day and picked the car up ready to go after work. I didnt have to spend Saturday crawling around underneath fighting with the tank and strap bolts. Ive done this plenty and dont have the time now to spare on the weekends so I bit the bullet and paid the man. He probably didnt really have 3 hrs. labor into it but I would have had at least that.

You have no code for the MAF. You have a signal from the O2 thats saying lean condition. I would get the fuel pressure tested. Have you tried driving the car with the MAF unpluged. If you dont ask so much from the gas pedal, tease it around some, can it be driven ?

yes to the above. the exhaust is A ok.. took it to the shop and had it checked out. and the unplug bit and tease it.. right on.. thats how I got it home....

I bought a pressure tester from K tool for 18.19 and I tested it twice and got a reading around 20 psi or 1 bar "ish" All I did was put the gage together and screw it to the fitting and start the car.. sound right???

now it did jump aound to a few dashes over 20 psi but my buds at the dealership said that the series I should be around 35psi.. sound right?

now does this mean that I need a new fuel pump? and what was this talk about a REGULATOR? I have already replaced my fuel filter about 5 4 months ago so that is not an issue...

I just need to get to the bottom of this and FAST!!! I cant be bummin rides all summer :?

and If its the fuel filter than ill do it tonight but if its the MAF then I need to contact my friend who can get a GM discount and get it for me.....

its funny.. i was lookin up prices on MAFs and at the dealer ship its about 216ish? and i called autozone for the heck of it and they said that they would have to order it from Gm and it would be 400 bux!!!!! WTF? oh well
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