Reduced performance after emissions test. 1988 Chevrolet Nova

PaddyOFurniture
Mon, 16 Jun 2025 22:58:58 +0000
Maintenance/Repairs

My car has been behaving oddly since an emissions test. Any ideas what caused worse performance than normal, and a one-off failure of the car to start? The car is a 1988 Chevrolet Nova with engine 4A-LC, 1.6L, carbureted, single overhead cam.

Sequence of events:

Car ran fine with normal performance for a long time.

3/22/2025. Oil change.

3/26/2025. Drove 110 miles. Normal performance

3/28/2025. Emissions test. Passed. Drove home, 8 miles. Performance was reduced: less power, lugging.

Did not drive until:

4/4/2025. Car would not start after having been parked for one week. Roadside assistance technician’s battery test indicated battery was functioning okay. He added some gas. Car started.

Did not drive until:

4/10/2025. Gas station, less than one mile away. Filled gas tank, topping it off. Based on the gas tank capacity and the amount purchased, there had been around 4 gallons in the tank before filling up. The roadside assistance technician probably added less than 3 gallons. So when the car would not start there had probably been more than one gallon in the tank.

Since that time, the car has not failed to start again. However, performance is still noticeably worse than usual.

44 posts - 16 participants