Severe Lack of Power - Troubleshooting

[Dennis]

I've got an '87 GL Wagon (EA82 carbed, 5-speed D/R swap) that, when I bought it, I thought it had a blown head gasket--it barely had power to move the car at any speed. I replaced the head gaskets, and did new timing belts and all other gaskets while I was at it, but the severe lack of power still persists after all that.

 

When at a standstill, in neutral, I stomp on the gas pedal, the RPMs will go up to about 4,000 and just hang there. When in first gear on level ground and I stomp on the gas, the car will barely get up to 10 MPH before leveling out--won't go any faster.

 

My question is, where do I start troubleshooting the problem? My first guesses were either something wrong with the carb, or bad coil/distributor/plug wires/etc. I can't afford to just start replacing things trying to find the problem, so what's a good starting point? I know next-to-nothing about what to test and how to do it.

[85Sub4WD]

double-check your timing - should be about 8 drgrees BTDC

there is a 50/50 chance it is a bad disty advance or carb

you can repair a disty advance easily - all you need is freash grease - take it apart and clean it - make sure it operates smoothly, grease and reassemble it

[Dennis]

I'd need a timing light to check the timing, right? I didn't remove the distributor when I pulled the camshaft carrier out--just left it on and realigned the timing marks on the cam sprockets when I installed the new timing belts. If I rotated the distributor either direction a little bit to see if it improves, would that be a good indication that it's the timing?

 

Considering that it ran just like this before I took anything apart, I don't think it was anything I introduced while replacing the timing belts and head gaskets.

 

I forgot to mention that the car idles perfectly, and seems ok until I really get into the gas. Even if I gently press the gas pedal and slowly increase it, it still maxes out at around 4,000 RPM. At lower RPMs, it *seems* normal, but at higher RPMs OR under any load at all, it fizzles out, but never dies.

[85Sub4WD]

I'd need a timing light to check the timing, right?

Yes, you will. - They are cheap and you will need if for your periodical tune-up anyway.

 

I forgot to mention that the car idles perfectly, and seems ok until I really get into the gas. Even if I gently press the gas pedal and slowly increase it, it still maxes out at around 4,000 RPM. At lower RPMs, it *seems* normal, but at higher RPMs OR under any load at all, it fizzles out, but never dies.

that sounds a lot like a bad carb to me - been there, done that :-\

don't suspect it though until you have ruled out timing

check plugs and wires too

[Dennis]

Thanks for the replies so far. =) The plugs are brand-new, but the wires are questionable. I just realized that I can try the plug wires off my dead '88 SPFI, which I know to be good. I'll try checking out the distributor, but I know very little about its operation and I'm not sure I'll be able to figure anything out.

[exister99]

If your fuel and spark (carb and disty) check out I would next make sure she is breathing OK. Your cat is about due for death. One way to test it is to take the air cleaner lid off and tug the accelerator cable. If you see a fuel mist blasting up through the carb it is a pretty sure bet your cat is clogged. I replaced mine with one off the Internet for $215.

 

Good luck.

[Ross]

If the distributor hasn'n been off since the car was running well, i would be inclined to rule out timing. It would have to be a long way off before it would cause such severe power loss, like off a couple of teeth.

When you are driving at full throttle, does the car jump around? This would be indicative of a bad ignition system.

If it just has no power but seems smooth enough, i would go for the carb or other aspiration probs. Are you sure you lined up the timing belts right?

[erik litchy]

umm on a carbed car you can properly set the timing with a vacuum guage.

[85Sub4WD]

umm on a carbed car you can properly set the timing with a vacuum guage.

I know you can on older V-8 cars, but I would not try it on a soob b/c there is a lot of fluctuation in any vacuum gague connected (only 4 cylinders)

 

besides, a timing light MUCH more direct and accurate - vacuum gagues are great for diagnosing issues - a bad carb will screw around with a vacuum guage - been there, done that

 

If the distributor hasn'n been off since the car was running well, i would be inclined to rule out timing.

 

He said the car was having trouble moving when he got it.

Besides, I had to adjust my timing monthly with a carb.

 

My suggestion on the timing was just to rule out the cheapest possibility first