I have an '01 Alero, 2.5, 5 speed. Engine starts up, idles fine, but you when you attempt to drive the trouble starts... The engine can't rev passed 2,700 rpm's or so, and then it cuts out and sputters and drops back to 1500 rpm and will rev up to 300 and as soon as it hits 3k, dips to 1500.. i have no power and can't get the car passed 35 mph at best.. can't get up hills, nothing. i pulled the whole intake side off the engine and everything seems to be in order there.. I heard that the pcm's tend to fail a lot or go berserk. I'm looking for a way to test the pcm at home, or reset it. Or some other ideas as to whet the problem may be? some things to check? it was running perfect, drove it about 50 miles, and then, while driving, started to lose power.. i could only get it up to 50-55, then only 40, and once the engine gets hot, only about 20-25 mph. any help would be appreciated.

 

PCM problems usually result in random symptoms, not a specific problem like yours. You can try pulling the battery cables for about 10 minutes, but I don't think that will help.
It sounds like you may have a obstruction in the exhaust system. GM has been known to build bad catalytic convertors that disintegrate inside, blocking the exhaust and causing problems like yours.
You may also have a fuel delivery problem, starving the engine for fuel at higher RPMs. Pull the vacuum line off the top of the fuel pressure regulator and sniff, if you smell gas, you need a new one.

 

yeah.. after screwing around with it for aq few hours, i went ahead and deduced that it was the cat... cut it off, started it up, and now it runs fine, less the fact that i need a new cat..