kennycoulter

my car is extremely slow. my friends 2.0 gti was kicking the crap out of me (we were just rushing off the ramps onto the highway and stayed at 65-70). a couple times passing, i steppped on it a little, but it doesnt do much any speed. when i first got my car, it seemed liek it didnt have any power until around 2800, then it would finally climb decently fast. now it seems like i have to wait until about 4500 to get going anywhere. my plugs look good. i have all new tune up parts, and dont abuse the car. it seems to stumble somewhat at lower rpms, like coming from a stop. most vac hoses are new. my idle when warm is 900 or so, but when cold its around 700. new belts, just retensioned aboout 40 miles or so. feels to me like its getting too much gas, but the plugs dont match the theory. i never have luck with the vacuum leak tests.
also, i got new motor mounts about 15,000 or less ago. when idling, my pass. light vibrates. if i touch the gas, the light pattern straightens up. can my mounts really be bad that fast? for maybe 10,000 miles, i didnt have a balance shaft belt or power steering.......could this be my only problem? should i do away with this crap again?

robmeister951

Mate, there are so many things that could be causing this I don't know where to start. In my experience (i've had my 944 for 8 years) it's usually been a number of factors that contribute to allround slowness.

Ok, here are things that I have fixed on my '44 that have made a difference...in no particular order.

1. Clean injectors (Chevron techron Injector Cleaner) $10

2. Replace Spark plug leads if they are more than 10 years old (Magnecor KV85 Competition) $50-60

3. Make sure your Distributor cap and rotor are in servicable condition.

4. Clean out throttle body and air flow meter.

5. Replace engine temp sensor $20

Last but not least ... "Italian Tune-up"





Good Luck!


Rob

J Berk

OK...I'll bite...what's an "italian tune-up" ????

944Ecology

a PU term for "drive it like you stole it..."

gb

mgmarsh39

HHAHAHAHA

kennycoulter

the only thing from the list that i havent done is injector cleaning, and engine temp sensor. and all of my tune upparts were within 1600 miles ago. wouldnt my plugs reflect if the injectors were doing that bad?
also, with american cars, you have a vacuum tree. i have a handy vac or whatever its called that can read all different kinds of problems depending on where the needle fluctuates to......but where would i put the hoses on a car with no vacuum tree?
i will try another compression test (which read fine about 1600 miles ago), and try to see if my timing marks are lining up correctly.
any other suggestions?

pcarfan944

Basically, get the thing nice and warm then drive it in 3rd gear for 3-4 minutes between 6 & 7,000 rpm (<-- Ferrari engine) - it will de-coke the valves & clean everything out a bit.

I know many people who do with with their f-cars on a yearly basis and swear by it, but does it work with 944s?

robmeister951

kenny, the fuel injector cleaner is not only for the injectors. The one I use in Australia (Caltex Techron 5000) actually cleans the inlet valves, injectors and combustion chamber. If the car's been driven like a grocery cart before you purchased it (short trips and low revs for months on end) it may have a coked up combustion and a good hard run up a mountain pass or track will do it good. (put the injector cleaner before you head off). Not sure what else to suggest but try the cheap fixes first and do a lot of testing before replacing expensive components.

BTW- what makes you think it's getting too much gas? What do the plugs look like?

Cheers
Rob

kennycoulter

in my experience with carbed mustangs....run them rich at idle so they dont choke up high. but when first starting out, they stumble a little from the gas drowning the spark. thats what it seems that my 944 is doing. but like i said, the plugs show otherwise. i didnt get to do another vacuum leak test or compression test yet on account of my wicked flu....ill try to get it checked today. also, i have owned the car for about 4 years now. i used to put in 92-93 octane. for the last 2 years, ive only put in 87. i used to drive the car harder in my old country area in the mountains, but its impossible to do in this cty.

luckett

If it is running rich, you might have melted the cat. But that would make it worse at higher RPMs.

kennycoulter

okay well, the plugs dont look like its running rich, but when i was doing all of the tune up things, i dropped the exhaust and saw that i had a crack right before my cat. i had the crack rewelded, and i gutted the cat to prevent possible clogging(im assuming that is why the crack started[overheating from a clogged cat.]).

kennycoulter

compression test came up from 1-4: 165,170,170,170. came up with nothing with the soapy water spray bottle test. plugs this time were whitish, but i was removing vacuum hoses to check suction. i hear lots of injector or tappet ticking. and also, i hear lots of belt wine. i forgot to get my 3" extension from sears today to recheck the timing marks. i reset my belt at about 39-40 just maybe 40 miles ago.

kennycoulter

i seem to hear a different type of whine now at a low rev. i heard it yesterday while doing the tests, and i just wanted to check today. belt should be at 37? woud the fact that my balance belt was off for an unknown amount of time have caused my motor mounts to go bad faster? or is it just the lower idle that is making things shake at the passenger front? i raised the idle yesterday, but it seems to be back to around 650-700 again.

Peckster

How do you know it's down on power? Your friend's car might just be faster, you know.

Someone who tunes a lot of 944s would probably be able to tell, or do you have another 944 to compare it against?

kennycoulter

no no. ive had the car for almost 4 years now. it definitly acts different. thats what im comparing it to. i just used the lost to my friends gti to inflate my problem. his car is pretty slow, i know my car used to be faster.