PDA

View Full Version : 1990 Chevy Lumina Emergency


Mako Ruu
05-31-2009, 02:09 PM
I've recently purchaesd a 1990 Chevy Lumina four door Sedan used from an auto mechanic friend in the area. It has a 120 horse power v6 3.1 liter engine.

It ran fine with a small exhaust leak and only made a whistling noise as it was went up hill.(coming from the rear passenger seat) The gas mileage was fine, the lights worked, everything ran well until recently.

Today (The 31st of May) it started up and was running a little rough, I got down the hill and around the corner onto the high way and it backfired loudly. The car began to sputter and put, continuously backfiring, and even floored, wouldn't break 25 miles an hour. (I barely made it up the hill to my house.) It was locked in gear because the engine had no power, and the breaks went because the master cylinder was losing compression.

Now when the car turns on, it backfires loudly and wheezes and sputters, still has no power or breaks. We seem to think it might be the catalytic converter, when the engine was rebuilt they '' shoved a broom through it'' to clear it out. (redneck remedies.. I know.) But we are completely uncertain. (We being me, my brother, who spent four years as a mechanic in Los Angeles, another mechanic from the area, and my father. Who builds and works on his own cars.) The other mechanic seems to think it might be a bad coil pack.

This car is our only option to getting around, so it's imparitive that we fix it. But we simply don't have the money to take it to be pofessionally inspected or repaired. We have the means to do so ourselves if we can only diagnos the problem. - Any help is greatly appretiated.

Thank you for your time.

Mako Ruu
05-31-2009, 02:12 PM
I forgot to mention that the motor had been rebuilt by the previous owner. The alternator had been replaced, new spark plugs, and various other things in the engine during our purchase agreement. However, the mileage is just slightly over 192k miles. I would be concerned if not having been rebuilt and 99% of the major parts replaced.

Edited: Also, the rear passenger floor became extremely heated after only a mile or so back to my house from the break down point.

Related Links
.