I bought my balt back at the beginning of this year, ever since then i feel as if the power is slowly diminishing away. I have replaced the plugs with NGK R's (one step colder) at a .035 gap. i also have replaced my intake filter(its a k&n cold air intake) with a brand new one and replaced the factory fuel filter, i also did a fuel pressure check and it was fine. My car seems to just be sluggish and it seems almost as if its "lagging" when i throttle down and feels like its just breaking up all the way from 2k on up to my red line which is at 7300. I just took my plugs out and saw they have a lot of carbon build up on the plug, so i cleaned it them, checked the gap and put them back in, still runs funny. Every time i take it to a mechanic they say its fine but its my car and i know something is up with it. At one point when i had it floored it would shutter like it wanted to cut off but it only did that a few times and stopped. The only other thing that i can add in is that i have to add about a half a cup of coolant ever 3 months or so(i haven't even gone thru a whole gallon) and i see no signs of coolant in my oil. So i really need somebody's advice on the next step i should take please!!! This is my baby

 

Did you check the IC Pump?

 

i haven't, would that make it run weird? my car isnt over heating either, fans cut on at 196 degrees then drops back into the 178 degree range.

 

Yea when I had my cobalt I was getting it tuned with the 2.8 and 60's at a local shop. The car only put down 197 whp. IC Pump was bad, replaced it and put down 245 whp.

The IC Pump going out on these cars is pretty common. Not saying its the issue with your car but could be.

 

What kind of gas do you use ?

 

93. and where can i find a new IC pump

 

Open the cap to the filler neck with the car running to see if coolant is cycling through. If not you need a new IC pump. You can get them from GM, probably most auto parts stores. I replaced mine with the Ford Racing one. Not sure of the part number though.

 

ok so its pretty easy to tell.if everything is good there, where should i look next. thanks

 

looked for a broken IC pump and i saw radiator fluid in the bottom of the TVS filler neck, im not sure how much liquid is sopposed to be flowing through at idle but it looked like the fluid was sitting there or moving slowly.. i couldnt tell suggestions???? please

 

post a video

 

ill have to do it tomorrow when its light out

 

To check for a operating IC pump, with your car not hot, take off the cap to the IC coolant system. The fluid level should be up to the small line on it. You may neeed a flashlight to find it. Take a flat blade screwdriver holding it by the very end of the handel and with the engine running place the tip down into the coolant with the flat edge of the blade to the sides. If the IC pump is working properly the screwdrive will pull to one side. Also ZZP sells the pumps for roughly 1/5 the cost of the dealership.

 

you can hear a small little whine almost when you turn your key to acc if your pump is working, just leave your door open and you'll hear it over the chimes, if you cant get under there and smack that bitch with a hammer, no im not joking :p, when i bought my car it didnt work, couple of people said smack it with a hammer, figured i got nothing to lose, tried it and my IC pump works fine now, worked for a couple months now

 

Yea sounds like you need a new one.

 

we'll its at the dealer now, ill get them to look at it. thanks for your help and i will keep you guys posted

 

Hopefully they don't rip you off. I would have got the part cheaper somewhere else and then maybe taken it to the stealership lol. Shouldn't take but about ten minutes to replace it. The clips that hold it in place can be tricky and you have to clamp the lines.

 

Those clamps are A pain in the ass. I replaced mine this weekend and it took like 30 minutes cause the damn clamps kept closing on me.

Btw, i bought mine from ZZP for $105.

 

Yea my patience is pretty short. Those clamps pissed me off

 

Same. I finally had to vicegrip them to keep them open while I pulled the hose. then forgot to clamp it and got some Dexcool in the face haha.

 

last week my car felt sluggish so i finally after driving it took plugs out there was carbon and then checked injectors and alot of build up on them. i used 93 at the pump. i called GM and they sent me a list and said that i have to find a new gas station and put what they called race full its just like 93 except they watch what else is added so less carbon build up. idk if they are bsing me or not never heard such a thing but idk. well thats my 2 cents!

 

Nice haha

 

well thanks for all you help and i have a warranty so it should be covered. If its not, then im gonna do it myself, i see a link on ebay from zzp's account and they are selling one for 88 dollars. so i might just go and do that

 

That's great if it is covered by warranty. Let us know.

 

stealership said they couldnt find anything wrong with the car, so i took a video off my phone, hope it helps. let me know if you can tell if the proper amount of fluid is being circulated. also i tried that screw driver trick and couldnt get that to do anything... any ways heres the video. thanks

TVS Filler neck - YouTube

 

Looks like you have a busted pump. Mine would work on and off, had to use that hammer trick (just tap on pump gently) but I got a new pump when I installed a front mount h/e since I was in there. For $100 it's worth it.