[jmr454]

Hi All, I'm a new member and this is post #1,


I've had my mustang for about 8 years now. I'm a student and do all my basic maintenance and basic repairs. Its old, nothing fancy, and just gets me from A to B in one piece.

Recently, I've had some starting issues with my car and it seemed that my battery either wasn't charging or wasn't holding its charge. Starting the car was quite sluggish and seemed to drain a lot of power. If and when it does start, it runs great and gets good gas mileage; even has a little kick in the low gears (1 and 2).

I took the car in to a shop to get this issue it looked at. While I had it at the shop I thought it would be a good idea to get the timing belt changed, since I have never done it yet and its getting a little cracked. The shop phoned back and told me the issue was with the starter; battery and alternator were good. They said they could swap it out and change the timing belt for me, but once I heard about how much it would cost I told them to forget it and I'd do it myself.

I went and picked my car up from the shop, got the keys, and started it. It started great; quick, strong and painless. When the mechanics were checking the starter over, they must of cleaned it up a bit because I don't have that starting issue anymore!

However, now my car is gutless. It starts fine, engine runs fine, but I don't have NEARLY the acceleration and power I use to. The 1st and 2nd gear 'kick' I use to have is now non-existent. I can still make it up to highway speed. Also, when I decelerate, I hear this popping/sputtering sound coming from my exhaust... and the exhaust system in general seems a little louder too.

Recently (within the past 6 months) I have done the following work to my car:
new spark plugs, new spark plug wires, new distributor cap and rotor, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter.

I'm really clueless as to what this could be? Timing? O2 Sensor? Exhaust leak / lack of back pressure? I find it interesting how this ALL started once I got my car back from the shop; like they sabotaged my car hoping I'd go back to them.


Sorry for the long story. Anything would help!

Thanks!

[heavy metal]

Welcome to the site!!!! First thing i would do is replace that timing belt and tensioner.

[90Mustang2.3]

Are you losing any coolant? Not nessicarily on the driveway but from the rad

[jmr454]

90Mustang2.3 - Not sure if I am losing any coolant, but I just topped it up and made a reference point... I'll keep an eye on it.

heavy metal - Just got myself a Haynes Repair Manual. I shall attempt the replacement within the next few days. Wish me luck.



Thanks!!

[jmr454]

Hey heavy metal,

I just finished replacing the timing belt and the tensioner. Turns out that the timing was bang on, but I still replaced the belt/tensioner.

However, it still seems to be a little gutless. I drove my car around a bit to test out the new belt, and not much has changed... maybe a little better thou. But just for a test, I disconnected my O2 sensor wire from the wire harness, and the car ran EXACTLY the same. You'd think if the O2 sensor is working, disconnecting it would make it run differently... wouldn't you?

[93slowpony]

I heard if it was the o2 sensor it would throw a code. Mine has the same gutless problem, developed shortly after i got it, still a good car but no power. lol. that puttering is also another symptom, I was told its the o2 sensor, or at least could be. so I'ma go check to see if its overly dirty or something right now. I'll let you know.

[93slowpony]

In my case, the puttering in the exhaust with deceleration did not go away after replacing the old cat with a new one and no code, not sure. could be his cat if he hasn't replaced it :P

[heavy metal]

Ya,check to see if the O2 is bad.Also check the cat,see if it is stopped up or rattling.Do you have any codes?

[jmr454]

No I don't have any codes (don't have the equipment). How do you test if the cat and O2 are working properly?

[93slowpony]

the cat is just a ceramic like mineral that is in the metal. (I think it has metal in it to, not exactly sure what its made of) so you just have to see if you can get a good look in there and see if its blocked off. as for the o2 sensor I'm not sure the procedures to test it or if you can even test it. :/ if you find a way let me know :P

[jmr454]

Here is a way to check if the cat's are plugged (won't work if they are poisoned).... if you have the tools:

YouTube - How to check your vehicle's catalytic converter.

Info on cats:

All Catalytic Converters - How do I know if my catalytic converter is defective?
HowStuffWorks "How do I know if my catalytic converter has failed?"



And I found this out for the O2 sensors:

Oxygen Sensor



From the 'all-catalytic-converter' site... it states

"Many mechanics will remove the oxygen sensor and look for a change in the vehicles performance. If a performance change is noted, your converter needs to be replaced. You must be extremely careful if you run the engine with the oxygen sensor removed since there is a risk of fire and asphyxiation caused by escaping engine exhaust and exhaust gases."


Tomorrow, I'm going to try to remove my O2 sensor and test out that above procedure to check if my cat is plugged. If not, I guess it must be the O2 sensor.... I'll keep you updated.

[jmr454]

I just tested out my buddies O2 sensor from his car (which runs great) and tried it in my car..... and no change at all. So the O2 sensor isn't the problem.

Plugged cats seem to be the verdict

[dreamer1uk]

Hi,

Hows your Fuel Pressure? Check to see if the FPR is working correctly or not. Any black smoke coming from your car?

[jmr454]

No black smoke at all. Unsure of the fuel pressure... where abouts is the FPR?

My scenario is very similar to a previous post on here:

http://www.allfordmustangs.com/forum...-hot-need.html

[93stangfutr5.0]

FPR Fuel Pressure Regulator on the fuel rail that shinny canaster looking object with a tube coming out of it.