ok, i was driving my car for about an hour the other day. later that day i go to start it up and it fires right up, then dies. did this several times and when i tried to give it gas it still died. was eventually able to keep it running by getting it to warm up a bit and keeping the throttle open slightly, but as soon as i would let off it either drops to really low rpms or dies completely. checked all vacuum connections, plugs, wires, fuses, and no fuel leaks. messed with the throttle stop screw yesterday and thought i had it taken care of but then today i started it up and it was doing the same thing. i really doubt the screw could have moved back out on its own. have noticed i have a hairline crack about four inches long on one of the runners of my header and there is quite a bit of air coming from it when i open the throttle. could an exhaust leak cause my car to idle poorly/die?

 

bump

 

Is it throwing CEL's?

 

no CEL's as of yet. havent really driven it more than 20 miles since the "rebuild" and ive reset the ecu several times as well.

 

Well, it might not be getting enough backpressure then, since the crack is so large?

 

well i know it can cause valve problems down the road, but would it be enouge to make it idle like **** or die?

 

I would think it's something alse.

 

Can you put some JB weld on it? and then you might have an idea...

 

Hmm, are you using a piggyback or anything? It sounds like what my car used to do when I ran the V.1 piggyback from RRM.

 

no piggyback, but i know what youre talking about Z. mine did the same thing back when i had the piggy a few years ago. but its not quite like that now. and i was thinking JB weld or even the silver solder i use on the job, but i dont know if they would hold up temperature wise.

 

Your problem has nothing to do with your exhaust leak.
My guess would be an intake leak but you already checked that. Don't know how well enough you cheked it though.
My other guess would be your IAC. Idle air control.
It's probably sticking close and not allowing air to get pass the throttle plate so it dies at idle but runs when you give it gas.
Clean out your IAC with some kind of throttle /car cleaner.

 

Yeah, I've ran with 3 exhaust leaks before and the car never died on me. It definitely sounds like an intake problem. Is the MAF clean/connected/okay?

 

ok, so once the car warms up the idle seems stable. well, i was able to stabalize it tongith anyway, but im sure if i start it up tomorrow when its cold itll wanna die. checked the hoses again and it seems the two on top of the throttle body were dry and cracking on the inside so they werent exactly "sealed" to where they were supposed to be. took care of that for now and it seemed to help slightly. more tests tomorrow.

 

also noticed that when i shut it off before this problem it had a nice healthy sucking sound as it went off. it does not do that now. anyone know what im talking about?

 

so just as i suspected. on a cold start the car will die right after it starts up or idle right around 200-300. taking care of exhaust leak right now. any ideas?