Any Mechanics want to lend a hand?

[NTD]

It's not the heat shield we have ruled that out.  As far as the EGR it seems most have concurred that the car runs too well otherwise for that to be the issue.  I'd like to do the codes but was Autozone correct that it won't display codes if the Check Engine Light isn't on?  I will clean the throttle body plate and let you know how that turns out.

The thing is from what I understand, most of the things that have been mentioned would cause much more consistant stalling, poor performance, idle issues, etc. 

[aero86]

dirty throttle plate wont cause poor performance, just stalling at idle, because the iac has a hard time controlling the air intake.

[El Destructo]

I still say that it's either the EGR Valve....or a blocked Catalytic Converter...jmo....

[Pappy]

The EGR will also act worse at idle,not running down the road,if it is hung open it won't idle good or die but other than a lean surge it will run ok on the road usually.     
   Pappy

[sailordad]

soRRy i been away fo a bit on this
ok now knowing its tbi
im with pappy as to check the egr system next
egr at cruise wont hurt anything
egr at idle will cause stalling
if the egr is just slightly hanging up and can cause a surge
if it hangs open it can cause a stall on decel or at idle
i still say if it was a converrtor issue it would cause a lack of power as the engine warms up and the exhuast gets hot.
thats when the plugging gets noticed.it could cause stalling but at that point the convertor will be glowing cherry red.
and it wont start and run decent untill its cooled off again

stalling on turns,are you just coasting(decelerating)thru the turns?
if so check he egr 

starting to sound repetative here 

[El Destructo]

EGR VALVE....gee I think I read that in the first post somewhere....

[NTD]

ok ok ok....I will trouble shoot the EGR tomorrow.  Thanks guys I really do appreciate it.

[Badger]

  After you egr if that doesn't do it check your throttle plate, it takes about 5 min and will act exactly as you describe. I do this for a living as do a few others on here. I have fixed several by just wiping it out with a rag. Just a thin film is enough to cause your problem. Steve

[aero86]

five pennies its nasty throttle plate..

[sailordad]

well i aint gonna say anything that will make me look silly later
after all i aint worked on nothing but FORDS (for the most part) in 15 yrs,thats why i couldnt remember if it was carb or tbi
i still say check the egr next.if you can pull it off and check it with a vacuum gun,that would be best.you can check it on the vehicle but alot of the times its hard to see if the diaphragm is moving its full range on the car.dont just go by "it holds vacuum it must be good".the diaphragm doesnt have to be bad for the egr to be bad  ;)this rattle that you isnt the heat shields,can you tell where the noised is coming from?engine area,under chassis,etc?it is possible the valley pan came loose



but as a side note: you said you bought the vehicle becuase of the reputation of the 3.8l engine
                           now if memory serves me right the tbi 3.8l is not the same engine as the mpi 3800 engine
                           not saying tht the 3.8l tbi isnt as trustworthy,but the 3800 mpi is the engine that has the great reputation.
                           if i remember right the 3.8l tbi was just a revamped 260 c.i. carb engine that they revamped and chopped the back two cyl's off of.
                           at the time they created that engine they need a 6 cyl that would have some performance and fuel economy to be competitive in the
                           market at that time, and was the predecessor for the infamous 3800 engine.now the 3800 has hade several versions to date each slightly better than
                           the last.i believe GM is on the third generation of the 3800 now.
i suppose this is enough of my early morning ramblings.  I NEED COFFEE 

[NTD]

it is a 3800.  But a 3800 IS a 3.8 liter engine  got me confused now.

[sailordad]

yes 3.8l and a 3800 are both 3.8l engines
however the designation of 38oo was given to new designed engine of that size ans was designed as a multi-port fuel injected engine
like i said the carburated version was a small block v-8 that they quickly enginered with the back 2 cyl's removed to be a v-6 engine.
after running the carb version for a few years GM then designed a whole new v-6 engine that was a true v-6 and not  a modified v-8.
this new engine was,like i said,given the designation 0f the "3800".they did this to keep them seperate since they realy were not the same engines.
the true "3800" is probably one of the best designed engines of all time,virtually indestructable.
they like to develop carbon on the valves and in the upper combustion chambers over time.
minor problem,this can seem much worse.can cause a very loud preignition on accel,lack of power not so much  stall really
if this is an issue get an "induction service" done.
i did this on an old temp with a v-6 that was so carboned up it couldnt get out of its own way.after the induction service that 3.0l v-6 could sit still and smoke the front tires 
anyhoo if ya got the 3800,excellent choice very good decision.

[NTD]

Okay thanks Tim.  Not confused anymore.   It is the "3800"   Taking the car over to Frank's place in a few to play with a few of the suggestions here.  I'll keep ya posted.

[NTD]

Cleaned the throttle plate.  And cleaned it very well.  And Aero ya owe me those five pennies Cause it didn't fix it.  Tried to check the EGR but the hose that goes to it is copper.  Not sure how I'm going to get that off and blow air through it.  Any other ideas on how to check the EGR?

[sailordad]

there should be a small rubber hose on the top side of the egr valve 
and you want to pull vacuum on the valve not blow air thru it 
the only pipe i have ever seen on egr valves is the one that connects it to the exhaust system.