i just fixed the exhaust on my car (88 gtu) and i thought it would fix the problem ive been having. slow acceleration and i basically have no power. i just bought the car and put a new clutch package in it. and ive only changed the oil, the the spark plugs (ngk) and wires. what else could be making this problem?

 

Car overheats?&nbsp Consistently goes over half way on the stock temp gauge?&nbsp Possible clogged cats...


-Ted

 

Vacuum leak, poor compression, lots of things. You will need to give us some symptoms!!

 

Perhaps your cats are all clogged up?

Reset the ECU. (search for threads on how to do this)

Fuel filter/pump

Intake leaks

Injectors clogged?

Get a Haynes manual and see what it says for those symtoms. You can also borrow the Factory Service Manual (FSM) from www.fc3s.org

 

i have removed rear cat and car does not overheat at all ever

 

Maybe you're just expecting too much. NA's are not the fastest cars on the street ya know. How bad is the acceleration? Like Geo slow? Or like Civic slow?

 

it dies occasionally when i shift into nuetral. and just has a bad overall accel. when i get into third gear the accel. just plain sucks.

 

and i have to be getting the crappiest gas mileage around...

 

the accel. is worse than geo. a geo could beat my car. ive been wanting to drive someone elses 2nd gen n/a to see what i can expect at peak performance.

 

How many miles on the motor? Are the plugs fouling? Is the timming correct?

 

well since you removed the main cat have you checked the pre cats? they could contribute some but have you checked your compression? that would be a major problem in the acceleration department. also have you tested or checked you 02 sensor also change your fuel filter mine was so cloged when i bought the car it was like night and day.

james

 

80.5 thousand on the motor. when i took the previous plugs out a couple didnt look so good but i didnt know what to expect so i didnt think anything of it. is my timing off if it backfires upon decel. it occasionally does this. i have a 85 gxl that would smoke it big time. i figured that a 13b would be faster than a 12a. maybe not in this case.

 

will any normal compression tester work? im pretty sure i need to change the air filter and i havent checked the fuel filter. *"newbie question"* what does it mean if the compression is bad? complete rebuild?

 

Ya, low compression would most likely mean a rebuild. I would pop in a new air filter just for ***** N giggles. I would think backfire could be timming related but im not sure ... alot of things can cause backfire.

 

Monkey fucked up timing???? Set the timing to the oringinal spec. Could be drasticaly retarded.

 

act like im a fourth grader and i dont know how to adjust the timing. i need steps here.

 

I'm gonna dig up this posts and mail it to you on your birthday.

 

Go get a Haynes manual. Tells you how to do most things (ie. rebuild or TIMING). CAN'T be more than $15.

Also look in the FSM @ www.fc3s.org

 

which is better the haynes manual or the fsm

 

Warm up the car to normal opporating temps.

Use a car powered timing light that gets juice from the car batter.

Hook up the sender on the bottom plug wire towards the front of the car.

Look down on the main pully which is the bottom one nearest the motor.

Shine the timing light on the pully.

See if the red mark lines up with the lil pin sticking off the motor.

Now shut off the car.

If the timing is out get a 10 mm wrench.

Loosen up the lil nut on the crank angle sensor which is in between the power steering pump and the motor. It will have about one inch of bolt sticking straight up in the air with about a 1/4 of an inch of adjustability on either side.

Now start the car back up and check the timing again; but this time when it's out, just bump the crank angle sensor untill it is right on the mark.

Turning it counter clockwise will make the mark on the pulley move to the right. Clockwise will do the opposite.

 

The Haynes is very cheap and informative But it's not as indepth as the FSM.

The FSM is probably out of production and you can only get it through MAZDA. Usually $150+. They are sometimes on Ebay, but those sometimes go over $200

www.fc3s.org has one ONLINE that you can look at. Sure beats buying one, but i'm not sure how legal that is... If you care about that sorta thing

 

www.mazdatrix.com has factory manual for some greenbacks. Close to a hundred bucks. A bit less. It is free online at http://iluvmyrx7.com or the www that is mentioned above. You can get a timing light at Pepboys for about 25 bucks. An extremely retarded timing can cause excessive temps and really poor and sluggish running. Gotta keep the monkeys away from the car. Rotating the crank angle sensor in a anti clockwise direction retards the timing. Turning the cas in a clockwise direction ........

 

ya make sure everything is with in specs and see if the performance changes. if everything is within spec and it still is not right then you might have something to worry about how did the plugs look when you replaced them? what color and shape and how long ago did you replace them? a darker color would usualy mean an execively rich condition. in which case you would lose a lot of power. as for the compression have some one test it for you if possible you will have much more accurate readings depending on how low the compression is if at all you could try the atf trick(do a search) that helped mine b4 i had about 70 comp. on rear rotor and it brought it back into spec. also take a look at your plugs now if they look the same then you will need to replace them also. all i can think of for now

james