QuestionHi, I hope you can answer my ques. I got a 1988 Chevrolet Caprice 8 Cylinders 305 H 5.0L 4BL, recently bought it from a GMC dealership and I was having overheating problems but I replaced the radiator with a new aluminum one and the thermostat over the weekend and thankfully the overheating problems went away. I also changed air-filter, PCV valve, breather-filter, and oxygen sensor recently. Thank full everything is ok expect that when I go on a step hill, or on an incline on the freeway I feel the car loses power even though I am pushing on the pedal more and more but I feel it's lacking power. Now I have a feeling that it might be the catalic converter because I do smell that sulfur smell sometimes, but I also heard a light ticking noise as I was trying to accelerate on the inclines what do you think is causing this problem. Any help you give me would be much appreciated.
AnswerWell...The "ticking" noise is probably a condition called "pinging"(detonation, knocking), which can be fatal to the engine. Many computer vehicles have a "knock" sensor, in which retards the timing when pinging exsist,to basic timing or less, therefore loss of power. And yes, a plugged cat. could cause much of this problem. Also, some loss of power can/could be the 'ol EGR valve, a delightful little smog devise that raises havoc with power, that causes hesitations, etc. The 'ol 305 is known to be a "pinger", and needs careful attention to the tune up specs. Hope you put the correct thermo. in, as this could cause many problems. You should check to see if the thermatic air cleaner is working properly, as when warmed to temp. the cold air baffle should be open. Also, it just might need a dose of GM's "Top engine cleaner", which would clean the valves and combustion chambers, if determined to be "loaded up", a condition caused by alot of stop and go traffic, town traffic, use of oil, too cold a thermo., defective emission devises, and poor tune. Good Luck!
