Looking at this 98...

[sVtVenom97]

Im looking at this 98' SHO right now, and the owner says it has some problems. He was saying that it was down on power and that the brakes werent boosting. Heres what he writes:

"The car runs but it has a bad miss to it. I don't know if it needs a tune-up or what. The car will start and move but there is no power because the miss in the engine. Another thing is the brakes feel like they have no boost. The problems both might be related because I found out the brake booster works on engine vacuum. If there is a vacuum leak or problem they might be causing both of these problems to occur. I don't have the time or the money to mess around with this car, so im offering it cheap."

Is any of this true for the 98's about running the booster off the engine vac? Is this an easy fix by the sound of things? Or is this a much larger problem? Any input is welcome!

 

[SASHO91]

Could be a coil pack or two....

 

[sVtVenom97]

oops! I guess this belongs in the General V8 discussion. Mods feel free to move this. Sorry

 

[sVtVenom97]

You think its worth a shot to buy it?

 

[SASHO91]

i would check it out first... make sure everything is decent. im sure the cams arent welded... so that would be the next place to look at. see if its making any sounds...
i wouldnt go off by what he puts in the add...

 

[sVtVenom97]

It doesnt sound like cams, but I will listen for the dreaded ticking sound. These symptoms dont seem like symptoms of cam failure do they?

 

[SASHO91]

no, but you want to look for them though.... im sure its just a bad coil pack or two....

 

[nik97]

Sounds like a massive vacuum leak and a miss most likely due to a coil. Having a spun sprocket is also a slight possibility as that would cause a miss or four and the motor may not be able to achieve the vacuum required to power the booster. Take some brake cleaner/starting fluid and try to locate a vacuum leak and pull the injector harnesses one by one and listen for one that makes no change in contribution. A single misfire is usually easy to detect and multiple misfres will shake the whole car -if it will run.