Car is running like poo..need help.

[Zeppelin03]

ok, so i got an 88' cavalier z24 for free from my step brother for my first car...It needed a timing chain so i got one , installed it and had my dad do the timing because hes been workin on cars for years and theres no doubt that the timing is on. Once it was back together i double and tripple checked everything, nothing was loose or left unplugged but when it starts it runs realy rough and shakes. we've tried a number of things and this car is a real pita. So any ideas of what might be wrong and ill try to answer any questions to better your predictions..thanks to anyone can help me

[700bRad]

Does it cut out real bad when you give it gas? If it is just the motor that is shaking, even while idling It might be your mass air flow sensor going bad. Sometimes when its going bad it will get confused about how much air should be pulled in with the fuel. I had this happen to me and it shook and rattled the motor really bad even when idling, I couldnt drive it cause the mixture was screwed up. If the whole vehicle is shaking while your driving it, it could be a u joint on the drive shaft going bad, or a broken motor mount. Just some things to think about. But my guess would be the o2 mass air flow sensor.

[Blue250X]

is it shaking like missing?? i worked on an f-150 that had bad plug wires and caps and it would miss and the engine kinda shook...something to look into

[Blue250X]

Originally posted by Blue250X
is it shaking like missing?? i worked on an f-150 that had bad plug wires and caps and it would miss and the engine kinda shook...something to look into

and when i say shake, we were leaning on the truck and sprayed winshield washer fluid on the wires and they would short and we could feel it

[Castor-426ex]

the car is an 88 right? which engine is in it 2.8?
when u say timing chain replacement was it a belt instead of a chain? and why did you have to replace it...if it broke while the engine was runnin it might have damaged parts of the valvetrain ie valves, head ect...is a check engine or service engine light on?
also if the engine runs hot...that can be a sign of head warpage or other problems...check everything electrical in the ignition, and every sensor connection...it can be a lot of things from a vacuum hose to a pcv valve

[NorCalRacer]

If it ran before the timing belt I would make sure the belt isn't a tooth off. Also, do a compression check.

[Zeppelin03]

its a 2.8 and it had a timing chain and was replaced with another one..Its timed right . We thought it might be a coil pack problem but were gettin spark on all 6 and theyre all going to the right cylinder. I talked to the guy at the auto parts store and he said check all of the censors and especialy the knock censor which i still have to find

[700bRad]

Mass air flow sensor, check it out.

[Zeppelin03]

well..today she finaly ran right..after checking dang near every little thing we eliminated all the posibilities of it being a fuel or censor problem so we took off the valve covers. At first everything seemed fine but after rotating the engine a few times we realized one of the valve springs had snapped in half. So that was causing it to run rough but with a replacement it runs fine. I got plates today and it should be set once we replace the CV joints..thanks for any help u guys gave me because it did help just didnt turn out to be the fill cause of the problem