So this is gonna be a lengthy one.... I greatly appreciate any help I can get.
This problem all started out with me truck (1992 pickup 3vze) making a lot of noise when under a load. The noise could be described as a erratic ticking/ clicking noise that would increase in noise and duration during acceleration. Talked to the neighbor mechanic and he said i could have some carbon build up and use some seafoam. I have used seafoam in the past and thought it would help. SO... put about a cup or so through the Brake booster let it sit for 10 mins started it up and watched the smoke show. after that took it for a test drive and after 3 miles it started to hesitate and nearly stall once idling. so limped it home and inspected the vac lines and pulled spark plugs. the sparkplugs had a dark red build up on them... so decided to replace them along with sparkplug wires while i was at it. also cleaned out the egr and checked timing. the timing was off by a bit so adjusted it to 10 btdc. so after all that it runs but not how it used to. it power surges to speed and feels hesitant. also i had to advance my timing slightly due to it barely running once at 10btdc (NOW AT 13 BTDC) I'm at a loss right now thinking on just taking it to a mechanic to see what the hell is wrong, but checking to see if anyone might know whats wrong before i do that. This has been going on for about a week with me working on it before and after work. i've done a lot of searching on this website with no avail.

 

Any codes?

 

haven't got any codes... i"m thinking maybe a vacc line but all seems well... is there a better way to check instead of just listing for a suction?

 

Spray brake cleaner/starting fluid/etc. around the vac lines and listen for idle up. Unlit propane torch works also.

 

O2 sensor is my guestimate

 

^^ agree especially with the power surge

 

kinda wondering about the o2 sensors as well..if there was a bunch of crap that was in there its probably caked up on the sensors. pull those out and see how they look. or maybe it clogged up your cat..just wondering how much if any power comes back if you unbolt the cat and drive it down the street to test out the power. also look at it and if you cant see through it at all then you might need a new cat. to much back pressure might be killing you

 

x2 on the O2 sensor. Also, suggest taking a look into the upper plenum for large carbon buildup that might have dissolved and broken loose during the treatment. After my first SeaFoam, I had horrible rough idle, and no power on accell. I pulled off one of the larger vacuum connectors in the pass side rear of the plenum, and all I could see inside was black chunks and sludge. Took the plenum off, removed all the vacuum ports, and shook out a ton of carbon chunks. Finally decided to get it done right, took everything off the plenum, and had it boiled at the radiator shop. Spotless, and after reinstall, no more idle problems or sputtering during acceleration.

 

Go smack the cat, too. It may be clogged or the insides broke.