s13 KADE no power!! HELP!!

[Dream240]

I'm stumped. I have a 92' that I bought with a really bad power loss situation. Here's the breakdown.

I've changed:
spark plugs, wires, dist cap/rotor, checked ignition timing, new air filter, oil change, new fuel filter, engine temp is steady @ midpoint, installed new high flow cat, removed all heat shields, tightened up loose EGR tube-to-manifold plug.

Problem is the car has just no torque, no pull, no top end, no freeway power, really just drives like it's trying to pull and big rig behind it!! The only thing I haven't checked yet was fuel pressure to make sure the fuel pump isn't faulty. Some guy told me that it might be a clogged exhaust system, which was why I replaced the CAT, still no improvement.
Also the idle is rough and surges from 650 to 800 periodically. and when in neutral or park, the car shudders from the rough idle vibrations.
I know it needs new engine mounts, but it still shouldn't shudder like that. It seems to be running lean for some reason. And it tends to have a bit more power when it's cold, which is about only 5 minutes or so.

Any suggestions?

[A Spec Products]

I'm stumped. I have a 92' that I bought with a really bad power loss situation. Here's the breakdown.

I've changed:
spark plugs, wires, dist cap/rotor, checked ignition timing, new air filter, oil change, new fuel filter, engine temp is steady @ midpoint, installed new high flow cat, removed all heat shields, tightened up loose EGR tube-to-manifold plug.

Problem is the car has just no torque, no pull, no top end, no freeway power, really just drives like it's trying to pull and big rig behind it!! The only thing I haven't checked yet was fuel pressure to make sure the fuel pump isn't faulty. Some guy told me that it might be a clogged exhaust system, which was why I replaced the CAT, still no improvement.
Also the idle is rough and surges from 650 to 800 periodically. and when in neutral or park, the car shudders from the rough idle vibrations.
I know it needs new engine mounts, but it still shouldn't shudder like that. It seems to be running lean for some reason. And it tends to have a bit more power when it's cold, which is about only 5 minutes or so.

Any suggestions?

check coolant temp sensor, but if that was bad it technically should run rich, not lean

you check compression yet? check codes on ecu?

[aznpoopy]

check all four injectors and make sure they are firing

[beetlejuice]

Rough idle is more than likely a faulty IACV (Idle Air Control Valve).

Power loss could be either coolant temp sensor or TPS (Throttle Position Sensor).

My '91 hatch suffered some of the same symptoms as your car (bogging, power loss, rough idle). The TPS and IACV were the culprits.

[Dream240]

Oh yeah sorry, I did compression.

#1 - 190
#2 - 190
#3 - 190
#4 - 175

So there's some carbon build up in there for sure. Guess the previous owners didn't read the manual about using 91 octane for performance for oh say....the past 13 years!! So i've run fuel injector cleaner a couple times and run only 91 octane. I'm going to recheck the compression in about another 3000 miles to see if it's better.

I forgot to check for codes. Going to do that tomorrow, oh and pull the Temp sensor to see if it's corroded. Thanks guys for the input.

:)

[Dream240]

Okay I pulled the codes...nothing. got a 55. also I pulled the Temp sensor plug and that looks okay. Plus the sensor is part of the ODB-I diag code list and it's not throwing a code so that's not it.

Yesterday I removed my entire intake system and checked for clogging and found nothing. Also I double checked all the vacuum line routing to make sure they going the right way. All that was good. So next I have to check the fuel pressure. doing that today.

[240silvia]

did you ever figure it out?

[91rusty240sx]

check your timing also.

[Dream240]

Ah sorry for the late post. No i never figured out the problem. I gave up on it and sold it to a kid for 2 grand. Then a month later he gets involved in a hit and run and had the cops after him. Don't know what happened to the car since. My last option was to check to see if I had brake drag. Since I never checked the rear brakes, that could have been the problem. But oh well.
I still have my 91 hatch and it runs like a crackhead from the cops.

Oh and yes it wasn't the timing. Thanks guys for the replies.

Late...

[95Kouki]

did you think to try the 02 sensor? :squint:....oh well not your problem nemore!