Hello all... well, after Bill Buttermore'* great write up on the R & R, I installed my first front wheel drive transaxle, and without his help, it would have been a PITA! BUT---

Now I have a problem of backfiring, poor idle, and no power at all... my boost gauge will go to full boost but if it pops through the intake then the needle will jump until i lift off the pedal. I can generally feather the pedal and it will be OK but if i give it full throttle, it sputters chokes and backfires. Overall, the thing is running like a dog.

OK-- before Wilren jumps in, I have replaced the plugs, wires, ICM, and Coils with working ones... I measured Ohms on all 6 coils that I now own, and they are all pretty much the same resistance. TB has been cleaned... IAC pintle is good. The car is running pretty hot, around 210-220 and stays in this range.

I do have an Actron scantool, but I am not sure about some of the stuff that is on there.... the one that I am not sure what it is measuring is the ESC counter this number has been in the 100'*.... I have seen only a few posts regarding the ESC counter and they appear to all be at zero. KS is at zero. My advance is around 20 at idle. Any ideas, let me know what more info you need from me!!

Thanks.

When did the backfiring etc begin?....I would like a little more background as to what was done before the problem started.

First thing is to double check the firing order and plug routing. No plug wires should be stretched or tight against other metal (especially sharp) pieces. The plug wires should not touch the O2 sensor wires.

Ensure the ICM connector is clean and connected well, with the bolt snugly tightened.

With a recent TB cleaning, ensure all sensor connectors are clean and securely connected.

Bill,
I replaced the front head gasket (bank 1-3-5) it broke the gasket on the number 3 Cyl. That was about 2 years ago, replaced the gasket... it was fine, in the process I obviously changed the SC gasket and replaced the nosecone oil and got the nifty green coupler. I also had to later replace the CPS as my belt slung off and got wrapped behind the balancer and shredded the sensor. It also bent a tang on the ring on the balancer... I had to straighten it back out too.

As for the firing order... all is good. Double/Triple checked. I don't like the routing though... under the nosecone? they are all sorta jammed under there and it isn't a "neat" path like on my 72 Camaro. As for the O2 sensor wires... I don't think it is touching, but I will double check. What effect would the O2 wire have with the plug wires?

I am confident that the connections on the TB are good and I did the carb cleaner check for vac leaks. Consistent engine idle (as crappy as it may be... it didn't race or stall)

The connections to the ICM are tight and clean from numerous switches from my other ICM and coil packs.

If you know anything about this ESC (Electroonic Spark Control) counter I think this is where I am having some issues. I am not too sure what is the deal with it.