is it missing or what?

[88mustangGT]

basically this is saying my car has a bad idel and loss of power.

from the start of things my car was detonating due to the increase in climate here in az. of course i didn’t realize that and thought it was the fuel pump so theres a new 255 in there now. then i tried a higher octane and presto no more detonation. However my car still isnt running right, it has a rough idle and a lose in power. the car idles smooth for about 20-30 sec after start up then started sputtering and kind like surging but only 20-100 rpm not much at all it almost sound like there is a cam in it (i donor if you can get the pic but ya).i put a new cap and rotor new wires. still nothing. my tps sensor my be in the fritz but im not 100% sure and i dont think that would contribute to it. do you? basically i dono what to try here without going out and buying a million things. any help would be appreciated.

 

[88mustangGT]

oh and it has a ticking sound from the passanger side of the motor. and the exhaust note is a lil worse on that side as well

 

[HISSIN50]

as a fellow AZ stanger, i know what you man about detonation. in winter i run at 15* base timing, and now im at 10* (always 87 octane).

have you cleaned your IAC? that is where i would start. then pull codes. you will need a 25 dollar code reader or a test light, since our CEL's dont work.

good luck.

 

[88mustangGT]

a friend has a code scaner ill pull them as soon as i can. i ran a bottle of carb cleaner threw the part withe the butterflys in it.

 

[HISSIN50]

the IAC (idle air controller, or IAB - idle air bypass) is the cylinder lookin deal on the front of the TB. two fasteners, IIRC, and it comes off. clean it up - make sure the pintle moves freely.

good call on pulling codes - just in case there is something in there that leads to a cause.
good luck.

 

[88mustangGT]

its clean and moves freely. what would cause it to run fine for a few sec then go into like a limp mode?

 

[_jb_]

Kinda the reverse of what you have, but in the winter my truck will run like crap. It has killed on me quite a few times when I would let off the gas and coast. Other times it would sputter at about 200 RPMs, and of course everything in the cab dims down beacuse the alternator can't support the power draw at those RPMs. I have even installed a block heater, but it will still do it. Replaced the cap and roater, which was all dirty and such, but no fix.

 

[88mustangGT]

is there a way its like a bad fuel injector?

 

[HISSIN50]

really need to pull codes at this point. when you do it, run a balance test. this will test the injectors - if the initial test fails, it will retest (up to two more times, IIRC) with different criteria, to ensure that the injectors are working.

good luck.

 

[88mustangGT]

how do you run the ballance test?

 

[HISSIN50]

balance test is part of the code scanning process. your friend should have a manual for his code reader, and the test should be outlined in the manual. if not, Jrichker's code links and the manual should also outline the test. neat little test. good luck.