Hi everybody, I have a question??? I have a 1982 cutlass with a V6 231 3.8L engine on it. I did an engine swap with a 1984 with the same engine and all the wiring is good and all but the problem is that I didn't pay attention that the new engine has a KNOCK SENSOR and my original wiring does not have a plug (wire) for it, So my engine has a KNOCK SENSOR with no wire lead going to it and I have noticed that my engine is kind of sluggish when I take off fast or enter the freeway. So my question is How do I wire one to it or what can I do to fix this problem????? I checked on line and found out that the 1981 and 1982 don't have a KNOCK SENSOR only 1983 through 1988 V6.
PLEASE !!!! Someone HELP!!!!!! Thanks in advanced, all info will be helpful

 

If your car doesn't have a wire for then it doesn't need it.

I would think it being sluggish is due to the size of the engine and how the car is geared and the age of the engine.

 

X2.
If you left your original computer and wiring, you should not need the knock sensor.
The V6 was only 110HP I think, and that is not very much to propel 3600 pounds to a high speed.

 

Andy is correct. If you put an 84 engine with a knock sensor into an 83 then you don't have to wire the knock sensor to the ECM unless you also swapped the ECM. Did you do a tune up on the engine when you put it in?

 

The engine was a rebuilt. and it's only sluggish when you first hit the gas after that it picks up fine It responds really good. Also I did the swap with the tranny all together

 

I did a tune up right after I did the swap, but what is bugging me is that when the engine was on the donor car it was running fine. When I drove the car home for about an hour through some big hills it didn't give up on me it responded really good.Now after the swap it feels like it losses power when I hit the gas to take off fast. I changed my coil thinking it was that but it didn't do nothing I also did the fuel filter, My timing is good,my vacuum hoses are good. The only thing that I'm thinking is maybe the carb but Why would it do it after the swap??. I was also told that maybe my accelerator pump but I checked the carb when I pull on the throttle manually; gas comes out.So I'm confused


ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS???

 

I'm thinking it might be your carburetor. If you swapped an 84 engine and carburetor into an 83 body, the jets or metering rods might be different in the carburetor. This would cause throttle problems. Did you swap the ECM?

 

I wonder if the donor car had different gear ratio in the rear end. That would have given it better take off. If you still have it you could check it out. Find out if they are different.

Did you check your timing after putting the engine in.

 

Manually sense the knock ...

Advance timing till you here a taste of knock on hard acceleration ...

Small block will really wake up with max timing ...

 

I did the swap with engine carb and tranny together into my 82 So I don't think it could be the jets because it was working fine on the donor car.As far as the ECM ;where would it be on an 82??? Thanks in advanced

 

Would the GEAR RATIO make it seem like it looses power on take off??? and sorry I can't check the donor car because it's at the junk yard by now if not CHINA. After the swap I did check the timing; and either way the timing on all V6 are the same from 81-87. Thanks

 

Help please!!!

 

Hmm... I don't think your gear ratio would be part of the equation. Especially if you didn't change the differential and swapped in an identical transmission.

If you don't know where the ECM is then apparently you didn't swap it. That means you are using an 84 engine and transmission in an 82 with an 82 ECM. I'm not sure how much computer control GM used in 82. It might just be a computer controlled distributor and carburetor.

I think Mugzilla has a good point. Try advancing the timing a little bit at a time. Running as much advance as you can will probably give you better performance as long as it doesn't ping.

 

My knock sensor are the two things on either side of my head.

 

The gear ratio can make a difference. If the donor car had a numerically higher ratio, it would feel peppier. It is possible your car has a numerically lower ratio making it feel more sluggish.

I assume you are not getting any error codes.

Timing ~might~ be the same on those years, but you can dial in a tad more performance by adding a little more advance.

And I bet the wifey knows just where they are!

 

There've been times, but it's not like I didn't ask for it!

 

I didn't think about that. I just assumed the gear ratios were the same. OOPS!

 

I will try advancing my timing and see what that does. Thanks

 

No I'm not getting any ERROR codes, but I will try advancing my timing. Thanks

 

Actually OLDS64. I did replace my ECM with an axact same one from the same year as my 82. It's just that I always call it the (computer) and I changed it with one from an 82,I thought that it might be burnt out,but the car still performed the same.

 

I'll advance the timing once it stops raining and I'll keep you guys posted. Thanks Everyone. Any more suggestions???

 

When you changed the ECM did you use ESD (electro static discharge) protection? I ask because if you didn't then you may have fried the ECM. This is highly unlikely but may have happened if you weren't careful.

 

No I didn't. What would be a way on finding out??? I get no codes on the computer;So how do I find out???

 

You should be able to short the A and B terminals of the ALDL together and get codes to flash. Even if there aren't any codes stored in the ECM it should flash 1-2 repeatedley. This is the code to let you know that the ECM is working properly. Then again, I don't know when they first started using the GM type I computer. If you have an ALDL it should be under the dashboard on the driver's side.

 

I actually have a actron code scanner for OBDI ECM's. and your right I only get code 12.

 

If you get code 12 then the ECM should be working correctly. Have you tried tinkering with the timing as Mugzilla suggested earlier?

 

That was gonna be my next move, How many degrees should I advance the timing???

 

Whatever the factory spec is. Do you have a sticker on your fan shroud? Usually it has tune up specs on it.

 

I do have one and it says to set it at 15 degrees, and it's already set at that. I went to my mechanic and he said that it could also be my timing chain it could be loose or a broken tooth. So I will be taking it this saturday so he can check it out and determine if it is the chain or a broken tooth or if he can find the problem. So I'll keep you posted

 

We look forward to the update.

 

Didn't make it to the shop this weekend. So I will take in this weekend. Wish me luck