drive along at 30mph and all of a sudden car starts making noises like i bent a valve. exhaust gets real loud and car goes into low power mode and i can only limp home at 20mph. i was only amile away from home. anyway i figured i broke a spring, i checked the springs and i doesnt look like any are broke. any ideas welcome

 

It could be anything really. Bad MAF will induce limp mode. Have you done an preliminary testing? I know you've checked the springs but how about compression test? Does it start and run okay at idle with no load? Does it sound like it's mis-firing or does the car just bog when you step on the gas?

 

Check your exhaust system for a leak. 1st thought would be header gasket. 2nd o2 sensor or header collector connection.

 

Did you check all your plugs, wires? Maybe a wire came disconnected.

 

it idles but it still sounds like i bent a valve sound. i checked the exhaust and plug wires-there ok. MAF looks good-its got the resistors in there. threres plenty of oil in the car. does it sound like a spun bearing??? christ i was babying the thing when it happened. how do i check the o2 senors for problems? could it be a bad lifter?