Power Loss: Any ideas? Please help.

[Protege_Speed]

As I was driving home yesterday, my car started to feel like it was struggling. If I press the gas more, the car would roar and sound like a tug boat but not accelerate in speed. Almost as if I was driving up a steep incline and the car was having a difficult time making it up the hill. This morning, I tried to drive to work but I turned back because my would not go over 40mph. I could only get it to faster going down a hill but once I reach an incline the speed goes down even though the gas is being floor. The gears would downshift (automatic) to try to increase the speed but no luck. The engine just sounds horrible. Any ideas? Anything I could check?

[peajay]

sounds like a major transmission issue, possibly your torque converter or worn friction material. thats about as far as i can aim you without really looking at the car.

[Protege_Speed]

I don't think that's the case but I could be wrong also. I have a manumatic and I am able to change the gears myself and I can definitely feel the gears catching.

One other thing I notice after taking it for another spin is that in 1st gear and the pedal floored, the rpm will only go as high as 3000rpm. In 2nd gear it on goes as high as 2500rpm. In 3rd, it goes as high as 2200rpm and 4th is below 2000rpm. All this even though the gas pedal is floored and the car sounds like a tug boat.

My friend suggested that the CAT might be clogged and I would be able to tell by pulling my plugs. If it is clogged then the plugs would be black. I just pulled the plugs and they look fine. They are tan/brown.

Any other ideas? I would really appreciate it.

Thanks.

[bhertel]

Injectors, maybe?

[Protege_Speed]

Could it be a Mass Air Flow? Does anyone know how the car runs when the MAF is busted?

[bhertel]

Could it be a Mass Air Flow? Does anyone know how the car runs when the MAF is busted?

Yeah, my MAF was bad last Fall, but I only had hesitation and a loss of power. Nothing compared to what he's describing, although I wouldn't rule it out...

[Protege_Speed]

I got another suggestion from a friend. Could it be a stuck open EGR?

I forgot to add that the car revs fine when in Park. Only under load does the rpms get limited.

[peajay]

if it was the egr you would be stalling at idle.

[amsgator]

if it was the egr you would be stalling at idle.

it will only stall if it is clogged, not stuck open. if it was stuck open you wouldnt notice anything at idle or fluctuating rpms

[red95_240sx]

Vacume leak...MAF goign bad or something. Does it idle right?

It shifts out at those low RPM u said above at WOT?

REset the ECU.

[red95_240sx]

it will only stall if it is clogged, not stuck open. if it was stuck open you wouldnt notice anything at idle or fluctuating rpms


isnt the EGR supposed to STFU at idle? or else choke the engine?

[Protege_Speed]

Yeah, it's fine at idle. It's not fluctuating either. If I drive the car and only keep the rpms around 1500, the car seems normal. It's only when I start going over 2000 that you notice the loud engine and power loss.

[amsgator]

Yeah, it's fine at idle. It's not fluctuating either. If I drive the car and only keep the rpms around 1500, the car seems normal. It's only when I start going over 2000 that you notice the loud engine and power loss.

pull your plugs and check them. make sure they are fine. i had a plug that was messed up on the electrode that was causing me some problems. not sure if that's what this is or not though. just an idea

[Protege_Speed]

Just an update. It seems that the car is getting worst. Before I said that when in neutral or park the car revs fine. I was wrong. The car doesn't rev past 2800 rpm when in park or neutral. Also, when I had the car running and opened the hood, I was standing in front of the engine and my eyes started to water from the strong smell of gas. My friend said that I must be running very rich. I put a MAF on order so I hope that fixes it.

[amsgator]

did you try cleaning the MAF first? they make MAF cleaner. :(

[red95_240sx]

sounds awful. try O2 sensors if dat doesnt fix it

[P-Funk!]

Check your air filter!

[Protege_Speed]

Well, I just replaced the MAF and changed my CAI back to the stock air box. None of that helped. I'm changing my oil now but whatever the problem is with my car is definitely getting worse. I used to be able to floor the gas in Park or neutral and get up to over 3000rpm but now I can barely get to 2000rpm. The more warmed up the car is or the more hotter the car is the worse the problem is. I have no more suggestions and I think I now have to bring it to the dealer to get fixed. I really hate to have them fix it cause I know it's probably going to cost me an arm and a leg.

Also, there is slight blue smoke coming from the tailpipe. It wasn't like that before.

Lastly, I had my wife floor the gas and it seems that there is a good amount of air flow coming out of the tailpipe so I don't think the exhaust system is clogged.

Does anyone else have any more suggestions?

[amsgator]

try o2 like redpro said. :( i hope it gets fixed. keep us updated

[red95_240sx]

Horribllllllllle

[Protege_Speed]

Well, I cleaned the EGR and changed the oil. Still no luck. I am beginning to think that it is what my friend originally thought it was. It may be that my exhaust is clogged somewhere. The reason I say that is because when the engine is running and I have the hood open, it feels like the fan is on in the engine bay but it is not. Both fans are not on and it feels like I am getting exhaust blow back from somewhere in the engine bay. I have the Wagner shorty header and downpipe with hi-flo cat and midpipe with hi-flo cat. It almost feels like I am getting the exhaust from the header area. Usually you can look in the engine bay while it is running but not mine. It feels like you are looking at the tailpipe straight in the face. Your eyes start to water. Also, when the hood is closed, the hood feels hotter than normal. Any of you guys have a aftermarket header? Do you feel a lot air blowing up from it when the car is running can you look closely at the engine and does your eyes begin to water?

[amsgator]

Well, I cleaned the EGR and changed the oil. Still no luck. I am beginning to think that it is what my friend originally thought it was. It may be that my exhaust is clogged somewhere. The reason I say that is because when the engine is running and I have the hood open, it feels like the fan is on in the engine bay but it is not. Both fans are not on and it feels like I am getting exhaust blow back from somewhere in the engine bay. I have the Wagner shorty header and downpipe with hi-flo cat and midpipe with hi-flo cat. It almost feels like I am getting the exhaust from the header area. Usually you can look in the engine bay while it is running but not mine. It feels like you are looking at the tailpipe straight in the face. Your eyes start to water. Also, when the hood is closed, the hood feels hotter than normal. Any of you guys have a aftermarket header? Do you feel a lot air blowing up from it when the car is running can you look closely at the engine and does your eyes begin to water?

i have the obx header and mine doesnt. seafoam the engine through the brake booster (there is a how to on this). when you restart the car and the "smoke" starts coming out, you will be able to see everywhere exhaust is coming out of the car (which should only be the tail pipe), but in this instance where your leak is if that is the problem. it will also help clear out any carbon buildup.... and if you get none coming out of the tail pipe, or very little, there is a clog. the car SHOULD blow a shit load of white smoke out the tail pipe and if you drive w/ it the people behind you wont be able to see. go to youtube and type in seafoam treatment and you will see what it should do. hope this helps :(

[red95_240sx]

i have the obx header and mine doesnt. seafoam the engine through the brake booster (there is a how to on this). when you restart the car and the "smoke" starts coming out, you will be able to see everywhere exhaust is coming out of the car (which should only be the tail pipe), but in this instance where your leak is if that is the problem. it will also help clear out any carbon buildup.... and if you get none coming out of the tail pipe, or very little, there is a clog. the car SHOULD blow a shit load of white smoke out the tail pipe and if you drive w/ it the people behind you wont be able to see. go to youtube and type in seafoam treatment and you will see what it should do. hope this helps :(


Good idea on finding a leak. My car didnt smoke no more than a minute while i seafoamed.

[GoProtege]

i have the obx header and mine doesnt. seafoam the engine through the brake booster (there is a how to on this). when you restart the car and the "smoke" starts coming out, you will be able to see everywhere exhaust is coming out of the car (which should only be the tail pipe), but in this instance where your leak is if that is the problem. it will also help clear out any carbon buildup.... and if you get none coming out of the tail pipe, or very little, there is a clog. the car SHOULD blow a shit load of white smoke out the tail pipe and if you drive w/ it the people behind you wont be able to see. go to youtube and type in seafoam treatment and you will see what it should do. hope this helps :(


Agrees with ^.
Seafoam is a great and safe way to find exhaust leaks. I used the stuff today. Follow the writeup on it, its on the forums somewhere. There's a good chance that there will be ALOT of smoke being put out for a few minutes, that's normal. In fact, I've decided that I'm binging a camera every time I seafoam a car.

[GoProtege]

Do you have an OBD2 reader? If you do, plug it in and watch the data. If an 02 sensor is failing, or if there is a timing issue or a/f issue, then that will help tell you.

[Protege_Speed]

I was wondering of a way to figure out how to determine the leak/clog without having to remove the exhaust. I will have to try this. I just hate to do it in my driveway since I live in a townhouse community. I'm going to have to find a empty parking lot somewhere.

[amsgator]

Good idea on finding a leak. My car didnt smoke no more than a minute while i seafoamed.

yea i even found a leak on my o2 sensor, had to tighten it some more. lol. :) i hope this helps. you may want to pull out the o2 sensors and cap it off, supposedly it isnt good for them. i took mine out but it's your choice

[Protege_Speed]

Well, it seems that there may be an issue with my valves or springs or something like that. My friend asked me to remove the oil cap while the engine was running and see if I am getting air coming out of there. He said that if it was strong enough to blow a piece of paper off of it, than I may be having a problem with my valves or springs. . I tried it and I am getting a really strong flow of air puffing out of there. Has anyone heard of this type of test before? I guess it's worse than I hoped it would be.

[peajay]

Do you have a vac gauge on the car?
it would really help to know your readings, everything you are describing sounds like a plugged cat to me.
dont let it go much longer regardless...

[80sGuy]

Have you done or replace anything to the car recently?

[Protege_Speed]

Well I took apart my wagner downpipe and my wagner midpipe. The hi-flo cat in the downpipe completely broke apart and clogged my midpipe hi-flo cat. I cleared out the debris and gutted the midpipe cat. I haven't had the chance to put it back together yet but I will let you guys know how it goes. I may need to do a non-fouler setup to the o2 sensor to prevent a CEL. We'll see.

[red95_240sx]

peajay was right