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| Sluggish power after changing brake rotors (Page 2/4) |
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cvxjet
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MAY 23, 02:05 AM
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One thing I want to mention- My Fiero went out-of-tune a decade ago- burned up the Cat....so I had to replace it...when the guy removed the old cat-housing, he stated "It is empty- no honeycomb at all!"
Flash forward 9 years...suddenly the car started sounding kind of funny...after messing with a few things, I removed the exhaust system and shook it...rattle-rattle! I spent weeks shaking a large amount of debris out of it- actually did it twice...when I "finished" the first time, reinstalled it and ran and sounded better- but a few months later it started sounding funny again- removed it and rattle-rattle...shook it some more and actually banged a spot in the pipe where there is a constriction- more pieces came out.
Maybe your (Removed) cat disintegrated and pieces are lodged in the muffler and finally decided to get mean and clog your exhaust.
 [This message has been edited by cvxjet (edited 05-23-2024).]
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danahart
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MAY 23, 12:18 PM
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You called it, Patrick, I don't know crap about timing. The previous owner was a pretty experienced mechanic and owner of multiple Fieros. Also I'll note that it had power when I first purchased it and for the first week...only after maybe 100 miles of driving did I start to notice the drop in power. If you think I should check the timing, I can probably figure it out. Luckily this isn't my daily driver so I have all the time in the world.
| quote | Originally posted by Patrick:
Jason, I've got to totally disagree with you there. IMO, ignition timing is one of the most, if not the most basic thing to check when an engine (with a distributor) isn't running properly. So many new (younger) Fiero owners have never even seen a timing light, let alone used one. Odds are, the OP has never checked the ignition timing since he acquired the car. Who's to say the previous owner ever timed the ignition properly? I don't trust anyone.  It needs to be done. |
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danahart
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MAY 24, 04:29 PM
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New information!
So far I just added the LinquiMolly fuel additive with a new tank of gas. Today I ran out for a short errand and the Service Engine Soon light came on. I checked and it is throwing code 44: Lean exhaust indicated (Left side on dual oxygen modules). I looked through the forum and it seemed there were a bunch of possible causes for this but maybe someone has a suggestion on this code combined with my loss of pep.
| quote | Originally posted by danahart:
Hi all. Pretty new poster but have read a bunch on this forum. I just got a 1988 Formula a few weeks ago so am new to the Fiero world. Also pretty inexperienced mechanic skills but hoping to improve that now that I have a 30yr old car. Looking for advise on an issue I'm having.
Anyway, the car is a v6 manual and worked perfectly at time of purchase. I didn't drive it too much due to the very bad tires but enough to get an idea of how it felt. I finally got new wheels on it and went ahead and put new rotors on as well since the old ones were pretty rusty and the car came with a brand new extra set. I didn't change the brake pads as they looked fine. All good and I started driving it fairly regularly on short trips.
A few days later I noticed the car doesn't have as much power as I remembered. I don't think this happened at the same time as the brake/wheel work...I'm fairly sure it ran as normal for a few days before I noticed the lack of power. But it is somewhat subtle and if I'm not trying to quickly accelerate it can be easy to miss. I only mention the wheel/brake work as it is the only thing I've done to the car. Just to test to make sure there wasn't rubbing or locked up, while off I disengaged the ebrake and pushed the car back and forth on a flat driveway...it pushed very easily. I figured that if anything was rubbing I'd have heard or felt the resistance. Educate me if that is not a valid assumption.
Anyway, the car can get up to speed but it doesn't have the acceleration it used to. I almost have the accelerator touching the floor in first gear before I get moving enough to go to 2nd. Once moving it can maintain speed but again, just lacks power. I'll be in 4th on a slight hill going around 50 and have to have the pedal to the floor to maintain that speed in that gear. It is also struggling to get up my steep driveway in 1st a bit.
I haven't had a lot of time to investigate, the only thing I've done so far is to check the air filter to make sure there wasn't a blockage keeping air from getting in. All seemed ok there. I plan to pull the wheels and doublecheck the brakes again just to make sure I didn't mess something up...but again I figure that if I can freely spin the wheel then that should eliminate that possibility, right?
Any ideas on what the likely culprit is or the easiest things I could start to check first?
EDIT: No cat on the car.
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Jason88Notchie
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MAY 24, 05:20 PM
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This from 88 FSM.
 [This message has been edited by Jason88Notchie (edited 05-24-2024).]
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danahart
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MAY 24, 06:40 PM
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Thansks. What is the "Scan" that those pages refer to? For example, "Using the 'Scan', observe the block learn values..."
| quote | Originally posted by Jason88Notchie:
This from FSM.
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IMSA GT
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MAY 24, 08:20 PM
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Jason88Notchie
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MAY 24, 09:58 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by danahart:
Thansks. What is the "Scan" that those pages refer to? For example, "Using the 'Scan', observe the block learn values..."
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Scan is where you take telemetry from the ECM.
I will edit the above post that this is from the 88 FSM. Other years may differ.
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danahart
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MAY 24, 10:29 PM
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Makes sense. What ECM reader are you guys using for the Fiero? I see there is one on the Fierostore for about $100. Is that the only option to get the scan info?
| quote | Originally posted by Jason88Notchie:
Scan is where you take telemetry from the ECM.
I will edit the above post that this is from the 88 FSM. Other years may differ.
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Jason88Notchie
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MAY 24, 11:16 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by danahart:
Makes sense. What ECM reader are you guys using for the Fiero? I see there is one on the Fierostore for about $100. Is that the only option to get the scan info?
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The engine light will flash your codes among other things, but yeah. If you want to know what the engine is doing you have to have a scanner. Haven't seen the Fiero Store one for 100 bucks. But it must be able to scan OBD 1. I'm not a scanner expert. Others would be better than me in recommending a hand held. Here is what I'm using. I use this on my 2007 Buick too.
There is software you can run on your laptop. It's called WinALDL. Many people on this forum use this. I never have used it but look like a good option.[This message has been edited by Jason88Notchie (edited 05-24-2024).]
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cartercarbaficionado
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MAY 25, 07:51 AM
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| quote | Originally posted by danahart:
New information!
So far I just added the LinquiMolly fuel additive with a new tank of gas. Today I ran out for a short errand and the Service Engine Soon light came on. I checked and it is throwing code 44: Lean exhaust indicated (Left side on dual oxygen modules). I looked through the forum and it seemed there were a bunch of possible causes for this but maybe someone has a suggestion on this code combined with my loss of pep.
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similar symptoms to mine minus the code. I should see if my muffler is clogged since it sounds like a tractor at idle and also has 0 high end power and doesn't make anything til 3k to 3500 rpm
anyways more places for me to check and I wish you the best of luck
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