ok it had gotten really cold here in the 30's car would not start it has done this once before...only this time when i did get it started it backfired and poped like crazy...but it would really through the idle that much...i unlugged my iat sensor and let it run a lil bit and it seemed to clear itself up...so i went and bought a new iat sensor...on the way to the parts store...i heard an exhaust leak under normal acceleration, on the driverside up by the header..could all that poping have caused an exhaust leak or header-gasket to break it's seal??? and most of the exhaust poping seemed to come from the drivers side....i'm about 100% sure i need a new opti-spark but is this another sympton or is something else going on...i've kinda heard a lil about the egr getting hot and causing a leak also....grr.....i hat cars with sensors....should of bought a 1st gen with a 396 and be done with it

 

My frst question. Is the SES lite lit when the engine is running? It should be, if it runs as bad as you indicate. If the lite is lit, get the car scanned & see what the trouble code is, and it will give you a starting point in finding your trouble. Otherwise it could be an ignition problem, a bad sensor, fuel system trouble. If you plan to do your own trouble shooting on a modern car, you need to invest on a scan tool. It will save you time , money and aggravation.

 

that's my problem, no ses light ever....i've got a really good lap top so a scan tool would be a good idea....any suggestions on which programs and where to get the cables

 

Your car is a 94 and it works on OBD1. I am not aware of any scan tool programs for OBD1, but there are plenty for OBD2. I also own a 94 and wound up getting a hand held scan tool on EBay for around $200. This was a used OTC professional tool that went for over $1000 new. It seems that a lot of shops are upgrading their tools and selling out the old stuff. The other option is AUTO X_RAY which sell and OBD1 scanner for do it yourselfers. It is not capable of two way operation, such as sending signals to the various engine controllers, but does a good job of reading trouble codes and scanning data from sensors. Make sure you get a scan tool instead of just a code reader, otherwise you will limit yoursef to just reading trouble codes, which won't help in cases like yours.

Rereading your post, you may want to go ahead and replace the optispark, as they often break down without setting codes.

 

the opti-spark is a deff. i was thinking that maybe the popinng was excess fuel from all the trying to start and priminng of the pump...i don't have any cats so i already have crappy back pressure...i have to finnd that exhaust leak any ideas on where the weakest point could be that would start a leak

 

I supect the popping in the exhaust is the result of misfires caused by the bad opti. Unburnt fuel is getting lit off in the exhaust system and causing a racket. Don't let it get too bad as it can blow your muffler apart.
These engines do pop in the exhaust slightly when the throttle is slammed shut at high RPM, but the noise is usually masked by the muffler.
As far as exhaust leaks, any leak after the O2 sensors will not affect how the engine runs.

 

i think i may have located the exhaust leak before i started to remove the water pump....i think it was the stem for the for the air check valve on the header that was cause the leak....i spayed some penetrating lubricant on the threads and started the car (barelly) and it was bubbling around the threads and i'm about 80% sure that's where it was coming from....i was thinking about removing the a.i.r when i do the opti..do i need to remove the egr also or will it work w/out the a.i.r...if so i will leave the a.i.r system...while i'm down there i will do the timing chain, crank sensor, plugs and wires....water pump is already new so that can stay..should of done the opti when i did the water pump...just glad i have a second vehicle to drive while i do all this, plan to take my time and replace pretty much every sensor while i'm at it...

 

The AIR pump only works during engine warmup and shuts down when the engine goes in closed loop. Its only purpose is to get the cat to light up faster, and has no effect on performance or on how the car runs. It will cause noise if the plumbing has leaks.