I have a 1986 Regal with a 307 Olds, 88,000 miles. The engine, overall, runs decent for a 23 year old car. It does not have any carb. related problems, that much seems fine (for now). Driving it around town below 50 MPH would make someone feel like there is nothing wrong with it at all; it just purrs without any issues. However, on actual daily commutes, it starts to have trouble. I drive about 10-15 miles on a 4-lane highway at about 55-70 MPH, depending on traffic conditions. The car loves to cruise as fast as I can get it to go safely (70-75 MPH). But if I get caught up in traffic and have to let off the accelerator, then get back into it to stay at a constant speed, things go awry. Detonation occurs, as well as smoking (anything from black, to blue, to a light brownish color). The "chattering" (which sounds a lot louder than a car I used to drive with a 350 SBC TBI) goes away when I stab the gas a little, but the brownish-yellow smoke puffs out. Seems like it's running lean, but who knows.
On the way home it's even worse. After the car sits for 2-6 hours (depending on which day it is) I let the oil get circulated for 1-2 minutes when I start it up. When I leave college and first accelerate out onto the road, a huge cloud of blue smoke usually comes out of the exhaust for about 1/4 mile, or until I'm up to speed (normal acceleration from a stop). Once I'm back on the main highway, a vibration occurs after about a mile or so. It feels like the front tires are out of round or out of balance, but I think it is the engine.
Basically, I have no idea what is wrong with the engine. It doesn't have that much mileage, and I don't think it was ever abused. I've been told it has a bad valve guide somewhere or a ring is stuck. I have two anti-fowlers on it; a front cylinder and one on the opposite side in the back cylinder. Those two spark plugs were oil fowled, but the rest stay fairly clean.
I've played with the exhaust many times, usually when inspection comes around. It's a single exhaust with a glasspack. The original cat converter got clogged about a year ago, and I hallowed it out. The car had a huge increase in power, and quit having most of its problems for a while. The only thing that went wrong since then was that some white corrosion built up around the anti-fowlers. A few weeks ago I had to get it inspected, so a barely used cat from my dad's Roadmaster went on it temporarily. It was a high-flow aftermarket unit. On the second try the car passed. There was a slight loss of power, but the week after that, it never put out any blue smoke or had any real problems, except the detonation came back, and its getting real bad.
I was thinking that if I get the exhaust "uncorked" some of this stuff will go away. The car runs better without a cat, but not the way it should be. I've been told before that dual exhaust won't help anything, but it just seems like it would. The way the factory crossover pipe is designed makes me wonder if it is the reason for many of the problems (it is amazing how the car can run at all with the way it looks).
So, my temporary solution would be to get the "Blackjack" headers by Dynomax, run true duals with glasspacks. It is A LOT cheaper than an engine rebuild or valve job, which I'm not sure the car even needs. I'm wondering about if anyone has used a similar setup before. Do these headers fit alright in the engine compartment of a 307 equiped g-body? What also worries me is the head design on the 85' and up 307 (swirl port/roller engines). Is the gasket/flange design compatible or require some sort of modification? I'm also concerned about how this will all effect the emissions equipment. I don't think that headers for 307's have places to put knock sensors, so I'm confused about that too.
Any help or suggestions on my hair-brained theory would be greatly appreciated. Please keep in mind that I know this won't "fix" the engine if there is something wrong. I just want it to run a little better without spending a lot of money. Thanks.
On the way home it's even worse. After the car sits for 2-6 hours (depending on which day it is) I let the oil get circulated for 1-2 minutes when I start it up. When I leave college and first accelerate out onto the road, a huge cloud of blue smoke usually comes out of the exhaust for about 1/4 mile, or until I'm up to speed (normal acceleration from a stop). Once I'm back on the main highway, a vibration occurs after about a mile or so. It feels like the front tires are out of round or out of balance, but I think it is the engine.
Basically, I have no idea what is wrong with the engine. It doesn't have that much mileage, and I don't think it was ever abused. I've been told it has a bad valve guide somewhere or a ring is stuck. I have two anti-fowlers on it; a front cylinder and one on the opposite side in the back cylinder. Those two spark plugs were oil fowled, but the rest stay fairly clean.
I've played with the exhaust many times, usually when inspection comes around. It's a single exhaust with a glasspack. The original cat converter got clogged about a year ago, and I hallowed it out. The car had a huge increase in power, and quit having most of its problems for a while. The only thing that went wrong since then was that some white corrosion built up around the anti-fowlers. A few weeks ago I had to get it inspected, so a barely used cat from my dad's Roadmaster went on it temporarily. It was a high-flow aftermarket unit. On the second try the car passed. There was a slight loss of power, but the week after that, it never put out any blue smoke or had any real problems, except the detonation came back, and its getting real bad.
I was thinking that if I get the exhaust "uncorked" some of this stuff will go away. The car runs better without a cat, but not the way it should be. I've been told before that dual exhaust won't help anything, but it just seems like it would. The way the factory crossover pipe is designed makes me wonder if it is the reason for many of the problems (it is amazing how the car can run at all with the way it looks).
So, my temporary solution would be to get the "Blackjack" headers by Dynomax, run true duals with glasspacks. It is A LOT cheaper than an engine rebuild or valve job, which I'm not sure the car even needs. I'm wondering about if anyone has used a similar setup before. Do these headers fit alright in the engine compartment of a 307 equiped g-body? What also worries me is the head design on the 85' and up 307 (swirl port/roller engines). Is the gasket/flange design compatible or require some sort of modification? I'm also concerned about how this will all effect the emissions equipment. I don't think that headers for 307's have places to put knock sensors, so I'm confused about that too.
Any help or suggestions on my hair-brained theory would be greatly appreciated. Please keep in mind that I know this won't "fix" the engine if there is something wrong. I just want it to run a little better without spending a lot of money. Thanks.