97 5.7 sierra, poor acceleration, +15-20 fuel trims.

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

slazix54

Newbie
Joined
Dec 6, 2023
Messages
13
Reaction score
4
Location
Seattle
Been dealing with this issue for a while, really poor acceleration.
Happens in all gears, when stabbing the gas pedal the rpms don't rise out of proportion which has me thinking the trans isn't slipping? Looking to verify line pressures soon, thinking it could still be boost valve. Did pan drop and filter change, nothing noteworthy.
Did front, transfer, and rear fluids, dark but not horrible.

Truck runs pretty good with the gas pedal pushed less than 1/3, still slow but runs alright and builds speed about as expected at that level of throttle, Anything above that and expected power/acceleration drops off. Rpms get up and she sings but no power. With the truck off my temp gun reads 250f on the exaust headers just above each cylinder after pretty good driving.

Verified fuel pressure, 64 key on but it bleeds off pretty quickly, assuming it's probably leaking injectors, looking to do mfi when I can afford it.
52 at idle and 63 at WOT.
Idle pressure is alot lower than I'd like.
Fuel pressure doesn't bleed off if I run the truck for a bit and then shut it down, not sure why that is.

Symptoms don't change when unplugging maf.

Looking at egr as potential culprit.
I feel like it's got to be a large vacuum leak although I've sprayed a good amount of ether around the engine and never found anything. Ive also never seen a code for upstream o2 sensors and they seem to be switching properly but the high fuel trims is telling I think. No cats. Replaced fuel pump, fuel filter. New timing chain, water pump, lower and upper intake gaskets, aftermarket kinda crap distributor. All stuff it needed anyways.

Cmp is probably off, could that affect it this much without throwing a correlation code?

Really just stuck, browsed the forums for hours and can't seem to find a solid answer. Any guesses are appreciated. I apologize for the long post.
 

Schurkey

Supporting Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 14, 2018
Messages
11,241
Reaction score
14,238
Location
The Seasonally Frozen Wastelands
really poor acceleration.
Happens in all gears, when stabbing the gas pedal the rpms don't rise
Does the transmission kick-down? Release the torque converter clutch?

Truck runs pretty good with the gas pedal pushed less than 1/3, still slow but runs alright and builds speed about as expected at that level of throttle, Anything above that and expected power/acceleration drops off. Rpms get up and she sings but no power.
"Sings"? What does that mean?

Verified fuel pressure, 64 key on but it bleeds off pretty quickly, assuming it's probably leaking injectors, looking to do mfi when I can afford it.
52 at idle and 63 at WOT.
Idle pressure is alot lower than I'd like.
Fuel pressure doesn't bleed off if I run the truck for a bit and then shut it down, not sure why that is.
Idle pressure seems entirely appropriate to me, aside from the pressure bleeding-off "pretty quickly".

Looking at egr as potential culprit.
What EGR diagnosis have you done?

I feel like it's got to be a large vacuum leak although I've sprayed a good amount of ether around the engine and never found anything. Ive also never seen a code for upstream o2 sensors and they seem to be switching properly but the high fuel trims is telling I think.
As a rule, vacuum leaks affect idle more than open-throttle operation.

New timing chain,
Did you degree the cam? Or just installed "dot-to-dot"?

What is the cranking compression pressure?

aftermarket kinda crap distributor.
Details?

Cmp is probably off, could that affect it this much without throwing a correlation code?
Connect a scan tool and find out. This vehicle is crying out for a scan tool.

Have you verified the plug wires and spark plugs? Distributor cap problems are epidemic on Vortec V-6 and V-8s.
 

slazix54

Newbie
Joined
Dec 6, 2023
Messages
13
Reaction score
4
Location
Seattle
Does the transmission kick-down? Release the torque converter clutch?


"Sings"? What does that mean?


Idle pressure seems entirely appropriate to me, aside from the pressure bleeding-off "pretty quickly".


What EGR diagnosis have you done?


As a rule, vacuum leaks affect idle more than open-throttle operation.


Did you degree the cam? Or just installed "dot-to-dot"?

What is the cranking compression pressure?


Details?


Connect a scan tool and find out. This vehicle is crying out for a scan tool.

Have you verified the plug wires and spark plugs? Distributor cap problems are epidemic on Vortec V-6 and V-8s.
The transmission does kickdown.

By sings I meant the rpms dont limit out before they are supposed to, gets real loud but no power.

Good to know about the pressures, thank you.

I haven't don't much diagnosis on the egr yet, saw a few posts last night that sounded kinda similar to what I've been dealing with. Figured I'd look into it to be sure.

She idles ok so I suppose I will look into other stuff for now.

I did not degree the cam, followed a 1A auto video for the replacement, lined up the dots,

I went to do a compression test and ran out of time because I realized how much of a dog it was gonna be, did passenger front 2 got 152.

I've connected my scan tool a few times, but I don't have one that can read cmp. Been waiting till I can make it to my buddy's shop and borrow his. Looking to buy a tech 2 soon though.

Replaced the spark plugs 6-7 months ago, didnt really didn't know at that time that iridium isn't always better, looking to switch to oe asap. Replaced plug wires about 2 months ago. Also tried new caps a couple times.
 

phantom 309

OBS Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 17, 2018
Messages
62
Reaction score
40
Location
?
No cats,..O2's still there? unplug the egr, Fuel pressure and fuel volume are different measures,. just my on the couch thoughts,.
 
Top