My car is a 1998 3.8L V6 Chevy Camaro.

Ok my first question is about a "screen" type piece that is in the enterance to the throttlebody. When I was taking my air tubing off to clean my MAF sensor I noticed a "screen" in the throttlebody. I have never seen anything like this before and I was wondering if this is a Stock part or if it was installed as part of the SLP CAI system (put on by previous owner). Also, What is the purpose of this part? It seems to me that all it would do is restrict air-flow. I'm sure it probably has a good purpose but if nobody tells me what it is, I am going to remove it for some "tests".

Now for my real problem, My car seems to have lost alot of power. I have checked most of the basic's in the fuel/ignition systems. There is however a known problem. The hose for my EGR valve was broken during the installation of the headers. I am, however convinced that this alone would not cause the type of decrease in power i am experianceing. Do you think the EGR system is significant enough to cause this or should I continue troubleshooting while I am waiting on the EGR parts to be delivered? I already know the PCM is programmed to run with some exhaust gas and all that but would it REALLY matter that much?

I also think I remember having days where it would run better than others even bofore the EGR trouble. Is there anything else that would do this before finally staying bad like it has now? The car runs and drives but it just feels like you are driving a very slow, slow car.

A check engine light would be GREAT but it isnt on and the guy at Autozone refuses to check for codes if my light is not on. Is there any codes that could be stored without turning my light on?

Thanks
Jeremy

 

the screen is on all of our cars and leave it in.