87 T2 Fuel Issue?
 

Hello!

I have a 1987 Turbo II with 133,000 original miles.

Besides refreshing the suspension and brakes, the car has the following mods:

3" downpipe with cats deleted

Borla catback

Fuel cut defender

Magnacor spark plug wires

ABS Delete

Other than that, the car is stock. I live in Maine, and the car is used as a weekend toy/second car during the summer.


The other night, following some spirited driving, the car began to run terribly. The motor barely idles, its slow to rev, and it will not go past 4500 rpm.

I have checked both sets of coils and the CPS for resistance, and both seem to be alright, although my multimeter isn't the most precise instrument in the world. I checked spark via a timing a light, and I have had positive results from all four wires.

I do not see any obvious problems with the vacuum lines, and all of my hose clamps are tight. I unplugged the airflow meter to see if it made a difference and the car refused to run, so I think it is safe to assume that the meter is not faulty. This afternoon I sprayed some carb cleaner around the vacuum lines to see if there were any changes, but I did not find anything obvious.

The car has a new fuel filter and lines from the hardlines under the car to the hardlines on the motor. Last winter I put new seals in the fuel injectors and replaced that little b*stard of a coolant line under the throttlebody. I would have liked to put new injectors in, but I was a poor college student at the time. I have not tested fuel pressure at the rail. The secondary injectors don't seem to be functioning since the motor struggles to rev past 4-4500rpm.

I have not done a compression test, but the car starts fine, usually after only one or two cranks. Prior to this happening the car was running better than it ever had, so I'm not inclined to think that I blew an apex seal, and there is no apparent contamination in the oil/coolant. Of course, given the car's mileage I would not be surprised if the motor has finally given up the ghost.

Would a failing fuel pump produce these symptoms? Could the pump be providing some pressure, but not enough to make the motor run consistently? At this point I think that its a fueling issue, but I don't feel like ripping the intake manifold apart again, so I'm still hoping for some other obvious problem that I haven't come across yet :)

I would appreciate any input or ideas, as I'm currently still trying to fix the problem in my driveway before paying to have the car towed to the shop that I do my work in.

Thanks, Gents!

Go ahead and check the fuel pressure first. Also check the engine to chassis ground. That could cause it I think

Thanks, I think I am going to try and get a fuel pressure gauge set up tomorrow.

I added some extra grounds when I had the intake manifold off last year. When I got the car I was having an issue with the secondaries and adding the additional grounds seems to have helped, but I will definitely double check everything tomorrow.

I forgot to mention that the car is running stock boost as well.

do a compression check as I am gonna guess that you blew it up..sorry.
Hmmm..check your intake piping too..Maybe something popped off.