Rough acceleration, lacking power

Hi all, I'm new to this forum. I need some help with an acceleration problem I'm having with my lumina. It is a 96 with 210K miles on a 3.1L. I just purchased it this passed summer. The car was in good shape and ran great with the exception of a bad blinker switch which I replaced.

Over the passed month or so I've been noticing a strange sort of vibration when I try to accelerate that's gotten progessively worse. The vibration could only be felt at first, but now can be heard (albeit not very loud). It's as if something is dragging on the engine or isn't getting enough air, it just isn't smooth at all. The car starts and idles fine with the exception of the typical cold valve train noise which goes away when warm. The engine has also been lacking power on acceleration which has also gotten progressively worse. Highway gas mileage seems to be as good as ever (about 27 mpg). The car seems to run smooth while just cruising.

The check engine light has always been on since I bought the car, but autozone pulled a code that translated to something with the steering pump, I don't remember what the actual code is. I haven't had them check it again since this problem started

Has anyone experienced anything like this? I'm on tight budget so I'm trying to change as little as possible. My first impulse is to change the plugs and wires. Can anyone suggest some possibilities?

Thanks,
Joe

Hi all, I'm new to this forum. I need some help with an acceleration problem I'm having with my lumina. It is a 96 with 210K miles on a 3.1L. I just purchased it this passed summer. The car was in good shape and ran great with the exception of a bad blinker switch which I replaced.

Over the passed month or so I've been noticing a strange sort of vibration when I try to accelerate that's gotten progessively worse. The vibration could only be felt at first, but now can be heard (albeit not very loud). It's as if something is dragging on the engine or isn't getting enough air, it just isn't smooth at all. The car starts and idles fine with the exception of the typical cold valve train noise which goes away when warm. The engine has also been lacking power on acceleration which has also gotten progressively worse. Highway gas mileage seems to be as good as ever (about 27 mpg). The car seems to run smooth while just cruising.

The check engine light has always been on since I bought the car, but autozone pulled a code that translated to something with the steering pump, I don't remember what the actual code is. I haven't had them check it again since this problem started

Has anyone experienced anything like this? I'm on tight budget so I'm trying to change as little as possible. My first impulse is to change the plugs and wires. Can anyone suggest some possibilities?

Thanks,
Joe
I think what your problem is is the EGR valve needs to be replaced. I just replaced my intake manifold gasket and have alot of lifter noise and Rocker arm noise. This is what a mechanic told me what I have to replace. The egr valve circulates the exhause gases into the intake manifold and can cause lifter noise and poor accelleration. I look to get a new one but the cost at advanced auto parts is $170.00 but you can get a used one on e-bay for $40.00
I hope that I have helped you out. I have not gotten a new egr valve to see if this is it on mine. Easy to replace just 2 screws to remove egr valve from hose going to exhaust. Make sure if you replace it get a new gasket for the egr valve too. If you replace yours before I get mine please send me an e-mail and let me know if this fixed your problem? I am not for sure if mine is bad or not I unhooked battery when I did my intake gasket replacement and I think you have to drive the car a few miles to see if check engine comes on or not.

I would have the codes pulled again and post the result, that way we can more accurately help you. The symptoms you describe could be an EGR, but many other things can cause the same thing (bad injector, bad plug wires, plugs etc..) Since you're on a limited budget, check the plugs and see how old they are. If they are old, the gap will be much larger than it's supposed to be due to gap erosion.

Thanks for the help guys. I went to autozone last night and checked the codes. There were three total, one was the O2 sensor. This is probably my problem. I bought a new one but haven't installed it yet. I will let you know if it solves the problem. If not, I will check the plugs next and after that the EGR.

By the way, this is the first car I've had that has two O2 sensors. The guy at autozone said the bad one was the one located behind the catalytic converter (bank 1 on the code) Is this correct?

One other thing, the other code was a psp input error I think (power steering pump I assume), the guy wasn't sure what exatly that meant, does anyone know? The steering seems to be fine.

Thanks,
Joe

Be sure to get a slotted socket or a good sturdy box end to remove the sensor.

If you have the code itself (P0401 for example) then we can better pinpoint the problem/source. If you have it anyhow.

You know, the guy wrote all the codes down for me and I walked off without it. I didn't realize it till I was home.

I'm sorry I can't remember the exact code. I remember the scanner itself read something about relay malfunction and then when the guy looked up the code in the store it was a psp error.

How much do those scanners cost anyway, it would be real handy to have one.

Thanks for the help!

Ok, I just did some research and these are the only possible psp problems:

P0550 Power Steering Pressure Sensor Circuit Malfunction
P0551 Power Steering Pressure Sensor Circuit Range/Performance
P0552 Power Steering Pressure Sensor Circuit Low Input
P0553 Power Steering Pressure Sensor Circuit High Input
P0554 Power Steering Pressure Sensor Circuit Intermittent

I'm failry certain it was one of the first three. After doing some research it seems like the sensor might be bad based on information I found here:

http://www.clubfte.com/users/screwy/0102.html

Has anyone ever dealt with this before? It seems like a problem that is just annoying cause my light is always on, but won't damage anything. Is that a correct assumption? Does anyone know what this part might cost and if it's difficult to replace?

Thanks