2nd Generation Specific (1986-1992) 1986-1992 Discussion including performance modifications and technical support sections.

lack of power...very confused

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Old Jul 12, 2005 | 01:29 PM
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im nodnarb's Avatar
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lack of power...very confused

okay here's the deal. i was driving down the freeway the other day and i was bored so i downshifted to third and floored it and not a whole lot happened. it took forever to get the car above 95. i used to be able to do 115 without a problem. also, i noticed that i'd been hearing a pretty loud popping coming from my exhaust when id push in the clutch to shift or if i just let off the gas. so i took the car over to my local muffler shop and we found that the gasket coming from the exhaust flange to the first pre cat was blown. so we changed it and the car sounds tons better now--no popping. but i drove it home and i dont have any power now. the car feels like i lost 30 horsepower or something. it runs quiet and sounds fine, but it just wont go. the motor only has about 6k on a rebuild. i've got just a cone filter and the guy that had it before me put two megan racing mufflers on it, but other than that its bone stock. any suggestions???
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Old Jul 12, 2005 | 02:10 PM
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The most common cause for this are clogged cats.
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Old Jul 12, 2005 | 02:24 PM
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that was my guess...but i'm no mechanic by any means so its good to hear a second opinion
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Old Jul 12, 2005 | 02:27 PM
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You can prove this with an exhaust backpressure test. Though finding a shop equipped for such a thing might be difficult. Removing the cats for a visual inspection is likely easier.
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Old Jul 12, 2005 | 03:18 PM
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Thumbs up

get a RB header and a highflow cat, probly have to get it put on by a shop if you dont have a welder, i like to weld you will like the power over the stock parts
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Old Jul 12, 2005 | 09:47 PM
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so i just drove my car home from work a little bit ago and it was ten times worse. it felt good till about 2500 rpms and then its like i hit a wall and the car started shuddering pretty badly. it did this through all gears. i could barely get above 50. i didnt have a problem downshifting and getting the car above 2500rpms but it still had no go. argh. this car. lol
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Old Jul 12, 2005 | 10:05 PM
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clogged cats is my guess too
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Old Jul 12, 2005 | 10:32 PM
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i Have the popping to but never the loss of power. But hey my car shoots the occasional flame.
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Old Jul 12, 2005 | 10:42 PM
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well it doesnt pop anymore after i got the gasket replaced coming off the exhaust pipe. just no power lol. i wish i could at least get a flame haha
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Old Jul 12, 2005 | 11:16 PM
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I have the same exact problem but not due to the clogged cats you probably have . When I floor the throttle nothing happens. But of course, this is the case because I live at 7,000 ft altitude and on average a normally aspirated engine loses 3% of its power for every 1,000 gain in altitude. So, we are talking about a 21% power loss. I love it when I drive down to Texas closer to sea level and it feels so much different and more powerful.
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Old Jul 12, 2005 | 11:31 PM
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From: Shawnee, Oklahoma
yeah...its not due to altitude here in OK. lol. i just made a mcdonalds run and i could barely coax the car over 40 mph. and at a very very small hill, i could barely make it up it. maybe i'll put a for sale sign on it hahaha
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Old Jun 7, 2007 | 10:33 PM
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I had the same prob dude.

[QUOTE=im nodnarb;4555240]so i just drove my car home from work a little bit ago and it was ten times worse. it felt good till about 2500 rpms and then its like i hit a wall and the car started shuddering pretty badly. it did this through all gears. i could barely get above 50. i didnt have a problem downshifting and getting the car above 2500rpms but it still had no go. argh. this car. lol[/

I had the same problem dude. All it was...the mass air flow sensor under the air box. The wires in it that were soddered came unsoddered. I soddered them and she runs good again. Later guy.
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Old Jun 7, 2007 | 10:38 PM
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not going above about 3 grand?

Simple dude. The mass air flow senser wires became un soddered. cut the top off. Sodder it up and silicone the top back on that you cut off. wait twenty min. or so and put it back on. You should be good to go. Hope I helped. Later.
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Old Jun 7, 2007 | 10:41 PM
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I'm not sure that it is just clogged cats that have you limited to 40 mph and 2500rpm.

I guess you could check your plugs, your fuel filter, etc. I really don't know what it is, but I doubt that it is a clogged cat at that level of power loss.
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Old Jun 7, 2007 | 11:01 PM
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Originally Posted by 87Rx78488
Simple dude. The mass air flow senser wires became un soddered. cut the top off. Sodder it up and silicone the top back on that you cut off. wait twenty min. or so and put it back on. You should be good to go. Hope I helped. Later.
what do you mean by soddered?
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Old Jun 7, 2007 | 11:07 PM
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that's a more phonetic way of saying 'soldered', but misspelled.
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Old Jun 7, 2007 | 11:09 PM
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Originally Posted by SpeedOfLife
that's a more phonetic way of saying 'soldered', but misspelled.
oh. im still confused though what is that. how do i do it?
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Old Jun 7, 2007 | 11:25 PM
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Soldering is the process of melting lead (Pb) in order to join metals, usually for the purpose of completing an electrical circuit. This should be decent to get you familiar with the process, maybe even started on it:
http://www.streettech.com/archives_D...eringTips.html

I just googled "solder diy" and came up with that ^^ and plenty of others. Soldering is often quite important for the mechanic and otherwise do it yourself type of person, and it's not very hard to do if you can learn how to do it right.
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Old Jun 7, 2007 | 11:33 PM
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Originally Posted by SpeedOfLife
Soldering is the process of melting lead (Pb) in order to join metals, usually for the purpose of completing an electrical circuit. This should be decent to get you familiar with the process, maybe even started on it:
http://www.streettech.com/archives_D...eringTips.html

I just googled "solder diy" and came up with that ^^ and plenty of others. Soldering is often quite important for the mechanic and otherwise do it yourself type of person, and it's not very hard to do if you can learn how to do it right.
awesome thanks.
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Old Jun 8, 2007 | 11:17 AM
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Here's a real soldering tutorial:

http://www.aaroncake.net/electronics/solder.htm
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Old Jun 8, 2007 | 01:17 PM
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Aaron Cake ftw again! I really should just browse you whole site sometime...
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