I just bought an 87 FC last night, was working fine till about half way home. Then it just started losing power and wont rev past 4,000. What could be causing the problem?

The car needs coolant, could that have anything to do with it?
Also a friend of mine thinks fuel injector cleaner and throttle body cleaner would fix it also what do you think on that?

Thanks

 

If you have catalytic converters, one may be plugged. You should also check the fuel injector clips to be sure one hasn't come off. If you're able to free-rev the engine past 4000 RPM, the problem may be related to the secondary injectors, which are on the outside of the UIM. The primaries are underneath, and will be harder to check.

Injector cleaner? Doubtful. TB cleaner? No.

 

I just went out and double checked my clips. Then I turned the car on and let it idle for a minute then drove it around the block. Right now it is idling at about 1,200 and ran just fine.

Could a possible problem be that it was over heating? It was another theory my friend came up with last night. That my thermostat is bad and the car overheated from lack of coolant which caused it to drive that way?

 

You were asked to rev the car in neutral to see if the rpm increased properly or not. If it does then the the problem would shift focus to the secondary injectors as already suggested.

 

I did that it revved fine, which is why i drove it. It ran fine had all its power back.

I went out a second time a little later and then the car wouldnt start.

 

No, overheating cars drive fine until seals blow out and/or water jackets crack. The coolant temp gauge on your dash would be a giveaway if temperatures rose too high. Approx. 1/4 up the gauge is normal operating temp (~180*F) on the S4 gauge.

Your problem is most likely electrical. A loose connector somewhere maybe.

 

ok thank you, i talked to another friend of mine and he came up with electrical too. Were going to go thru it this weekend and see what we can find.
The car started again not too long ago and drove, so im eager to really get it looked at.

and its off topic but you know where i can find good deals on suspension parts?
the kid i bought the car from cut the springs so the suspension is messed up and its bouncing all over the place

 

maf sensor could be shot