Now what

[X-Lr8]

:stupid: 88 Lxi i just took it to the shop and had the transmission rebuild because i though it was slipping.. (the car revs up and dosent really go anywhere) more accuratly it takes the car a long time to get up to speed like the timing is retarded 20 degrees.. so when i picked up the car from the shop the guy said your car is very slow it has no power.. (note he said the trans was definatally showing its age 236k miles) and i do notice that is shifts beautifully now.. but the question now is whats wrong with it.. could my timing be off perhapse the timing belt slipped? (its was just replaced like 4 months ago) could my distributor or coil be messed up. mabye my cat is plugged up and not flowing well. is it something electrical. i have no clue aside from the car feeling sluggish like it has glue in it. it runs great. if that makes any sence. a friend of mine said that the engine tells the computer which tells the trans when to shift and stuff. and that if my engine was running crappy because of what ever reason it would make the trans run shitty to like holding a shift way way way too long thus the high rpm but lack of speed.

I need a miracle guys.. any ideas aside from scrap the car will be greatly appreciated.

X-Lr8 :dunno: :bow: :help:

[Blue Impact]

I can't understand a darn thing you said after you got the car from the shop...where in CA are you located?

[X-Lr8]

Hesperia, CA

what part dont you understand.
i took the car to the shop to get the tranny rebuilt it dident solve my problem
the problem with the car is that it feels like there is glue in it. it runs very sluggish. like it will rev up to about 4000 rpms and i will be going only about 25-30 mph and it takes quite a while for it to get up that high.

could it be any of the following:
could my timing be off?
perhapse the timing belt slipped? (its was just replaced like 4 months ago) could my distributor or coil be messed up?
mabye my cat is plugged up and not flowing well?
is it something electrical?

i apologise if my original post was difficult to understand sometimes i ramble.

X-Lr8

[Magny]

:stupid: 88 Lxi i just took it to the shop and had the transmission rebuild because i though it was slipping.. (the car revs up and dosent really go anywhere) more accuratly it takes the car a long time to get up to speed like the timing is retarded 20 degrees.. so when i picked up the car from the shop the guy said your car is very slow it has no power.. (note he said the trans was definatally showing its age 236k miles) and i do notice that is shifts beautifully now.. but the question now is whats wrong with it.. could my timing be off perhapse the timing belt slipped? (its was just replaced like 4 months ago) could my distributor or coil be messed up. mabye my cat is plugged up and not flowing well. is it something electrical. i have no clue aside from the car feeling sluggish like it has glue in it. it runs great. if that makes any sence. a friend of mine said that the engine tells the computer which tells the trans when to shift and stuff. and that if my engine was running crappy because of what ever reason it would make the trans run shitty to like holding a shift way way way too long thus the high rpm but lack of speed.

I need a miracle guys.. any ideas aside from scrap the car will be greatly appreciated.

X-Lr8 :dunno: :bow: :help:

1) if the catalytic converter is plugged completly, your car won't start, around 75% plugged will barely even run, doesn't have to do with the power band really, but a new one will suffice.

2) since i see that you replaced the timing belt, did you put the crank at TDC and the cam at TDC too??? if not, then that could be a big difference on timing for your intake/exhaust.

3) if your dist. is bad, you would have misfires, as for the coil, it may not be giving enough electrical charge to the spark plugs, if it is the original, its a good time to replace it.

those are the things I can tell you from the information that you have left for us to respond to, but IMO I would make sure your timing belt is alligned correctly and your ignition timing is around 0 degreez.

But yeah where in cali do you live, anywhere near sunyvale, if you are, I can help you out by looking at it for you.

[pixiesfan78]

im assuming you have dismissed the fuel delivery system. replaced your fuel filters checked your fuel pressure and such . as far as i know the auto trannys have a shift cable so thats not likely the problem i dont know much about the fuel injected computer system.but i dont think that would effect driving speed its more likely a sensor or something maybe timing my guess would be electrical thats why the carbed engines are the shit you can just take out all the exrta junk even the computer.

[X-Lr8]

thanks for the replys keep them comming
im going to replace the fuel filter on friday. (my day off)
and check some other things.

the timing belt i had replaced at a shop about hmm 4-5 months ago and its been running fine up until about 1 week ago. so i would asume they did it correctly.

btw. i live in Hesperia thats in the High desert. socal..
man i wish i lived further up north heh..
sunnyvale is about 400 miles from hesperia

X-Lr8

[shepherd79]

go to autoparts store and get comression testing tool. test the compressions in the cylinders. it sounds like one cylinder is leaking.

[X-Lr8]

i brought my car to the mechanics at work and had a few drive my car they are all saying its gutless. it has no get up and go.. and each of them said that its a timing issue they were talking about 2 different timing points on the car they said either the cam timing is off like the timing belt jumped or that the distributor timing was off. how would i check these things and are they difficult to fix.

thanks for you help guys

X-Lr8

[A20A1]

The computer doesn't controll the trans... look for the TV cable and adjust it if you need to change the shift points.

[Gregg86DX]

I'll repeat some of the earlier stuff: check/replace all filters (fuel, air, pcv, etc...), spark plugs, cap, rotor, wires, coil. Check timing, (if you need help with this, you are better off investing in a Chiltons manual than having someone here explain it to you.) check compression, check cam timing, adjust valves. If you are ambitious, unbolt the down-pipe from the cat.

Let us know the results.

[Magny]

i brought my car to the mechanics at work and had a few drive my car they are all saying its gutless. it has no get up and go.. and each of them said that its a timing issue they were talking about 2 different timing points on the car they said either the cam timing is off like the timing belt jumped or that the distributor timing was off. how would i check these things and are they difficult to fix.

thanks for you help guys

X-Lr8

if it is the timing, like the guys say, then you need to adjust your timing at the dist. its an easy fix, found out mine was 20 degreez off, had to adjust it with a timing light. As for it being at the timing belt. just gonna have to take the belt off and put the crank at TDC for cylinder #1, but make sure you disconnect the battery first before you do this otherwise the motor may start if you crank it while it is connected,so safety first. once you get the #1 cylinder to TDC, take the VC off and adjust the camshaft to where the #1 cylinder lifters are where it should be. (Does anyone know which way the camshaft has to face for the #1 cylinder or a how-to??? post it to help me out with this description) Do the dist. timing first to see if it is way off, then work your way over to the cam timing if the dist is at 0 degrees.

[X-Lr8]

:thumbup: excellent thanks for all the input i will be changing a few things this weekend its probabally due for a tune up anyways heh looks like i get to learn how to do a timing belt :) i allready printed up the How-to on timing belts heres to hoping it works.

Gregg86DX - i removed my exhaust this afternoon hoping it was just a plugged cat. or muffler the only things i left on were the header and flex pipe i have to say it was quite easy to do that looks like when i get it running i will be gettin a cat-back system..

again much thanks you guys rock i will keep u posted..

X-Lr8

[X-Lr8]

sorry to bring back a dead thread but i just wanted to thank you for you input it turns out that my Exhaust system was plugged up both the cat and muffler were replaced it cost me $161 and now its running great.

again thanks for the help

X-Lr8

[X-Lr8]

OK finally turns out the last post i made about the muffler and cat was incorrect the f*****g mechanic lied. i replaced the cat and muffler and there was no difference so i finally got ahold of my grandfather he we looked over my car for a while we then came to the conclusion that it was my distributor what had happened is something on the inside of it (he said the weights) broke off and were eating away at the inside of the dist. and all the metal shavings (there were tons) made my vacume advance stick inplace so i cleaned it up and adjusted the timing the best i could and i got it home WOOHOO!!! now off to the junkyard tomorrow morning to see if i can find another one that isnt eaten up..

so the verdict is if your car seems to be running fine but its just slow and has no power at all but revs fine and idles fine check the distributor if the vacume advance dosent move.. that could be your problem


Thanks again for all the help 3Geez Rox...


X-Lr8 :rockon: