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1992 deville low torque and horsepower

1557 Views 15 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  mc_marto
Ok i replaced wires, spark plugs, fuel filter, o2 sensor, tps sensor and cracked vacuum hoses. My gas mileage went from a average 8.9 mpg to 12.7 in a month of driving still bad gas mileage i guess?? But my car is running smooth and not putting and back firing anymore which is good. But that power i used to feel still isnt there even tho it gotten better. I used to can burnout from a red light (i dont do it on purpose..... Sometime ?) now it just have this drag and the front end raise up like i have weights in the trunk and i definitely miss the response and get up n' go torque i used to get when on the freeway when i needed to get over on the freeway felt good to hear her scream from 60 to 80 Now it get this low moan and doesn't really pick up speed. I ran codes and gotten this distributor signal interrupted code maybe i need to change my cap and rotor?
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That code will cause stalling, misfiring, and usually a no start.

Have you had the catalytic converter checked?
I'd second a clogged or partially clogged CAT.
Ok it did get red hot and smokey when my pcm failed and i was trying to drive it in limp mode. But i took it to a muffler shop and he said if it was clogged it wouldnt have any pressure come out the tail pipe. I dont know if he was being sarcastic or what.
And as for the Distributor i guess thats when i crank up the car sounds like a tractor on a cold start then it'll smooth out.
The only way there will be zero "pressure" (exhaust flow) from the tail pipe is if the engine is off. A clogged cat will create excess pressure in the exhaust between itself and the engine. It's diagnosed by either measuring that pressure, or visually inspecting it.
Ok thanks cabbage your always a help. So i will be checking on that. Im putting my flow master series 80 back on what do you think about the magnaflow cat with that or there no difference between regular cat for my car
You're very welcome. :thumbsup:

If you're talking about differences in power, it won't make any difference.

The newer cars will complain with higher flow cats because they're just not as efficient as the OEM/OEM style cats. That isn't an issue with the 4.9, so if you want to get a little more noise out of it, a high flow cat will usually do that for you. You might notice a bit of a surfer smell when you first start the car though.
Hey edd I've got that magnaflow cat and it's great. Added a more little sound and a little less restriction in the higher RPMs. You can feed the car pull itself in the higher rpms. I'm gonna dyno it soon for fun.

I had the Flowmaster 40 series and stock cat. Then put on the magnaflow cat. Then changed to a flowmasters 10 series (with the magnaflow high flow cat)

It screams.
Ok im thinking about getting that to then im no expert but with the series 80 i did notice more hp i dont know how much but i defiantly noticed more power on my other 92
Hey let me know your out come on it.
Most people will say there's no power gain and then there will be all kinds of people that will say that flowmasters don't flow. Or whatever.

I love the way it sounds. And it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy that I think the car feels like it pulls when cruising thru higher rpms.

That's why I want to dyno it =)
Most people will say there's no power gain and then there will be all kinds of people that will say that flowmasters don't flow. Or whatever.
I'm with you. It's the same argument over the oiled air filters (Spectre, K&N, etc.) versus standard paper filters. There are people who will swear both ways, and enough data online to keep you reading until we're all driving hovercars.

I say that if it makes you feel happy and doesn't break anything, go for it! That "warm and fuzzy" feeling is worth the price of admission!

I have a Spectre air filter (drop-in) and I plan on adding a Thrush Turbo muffler before too long. Will it improve performance? I'm sure somewhere in the power band it will raise the numbers, and elsewhere it'll lower them. So who knows. Fact is, I needed a new air filter, and I paid $21 for one that made me smile. Could've got a paper one for under $10, but it didn't some with smile. I've got rust damage to my muffler (the only rust on the car), and I'm SAVING money getting the Thrush over several other options of OE-style mufflers. If it makes you happy or helps you sleep at night, go for it!!!

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Sorry, I just realized how off-topic I am.
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Worth while, none the less.

Thinking next time maybe try out an old walker glasspack. See what kinda tone is to be had =)

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Also those thrush turbos are classic
Magnaflow cat and high-quality spark wires are the two things that have given me the best butt-dyno on multiple cars

As for your code, you should definitely replace the cap and rotor and see if that fixes it, but I suspect you will need a new distributor--you probably lost the cam sensor in there
You E53 code is your problem. You ICM could be bad (take it to a parts store to test it for free - make sure the tests are run a few times until the module gets hot), the wiring inside your distributor could be bad, the cam position sensor (AKA hall-effect switch) could be bad, or your crankshaft position sensor (AKA pickup coil) could be bad. Any of these things will set the code and focusing on this code is what will solve your issues. There is a specific test for the hall effect switch in the FSM, and well as resistance checks for the pickup coil and wiring in the distributor.
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