Loss of power, maybe a little sputtering from the engine?

DLo · Nov 27, 2005

I have a 94 GT with 140k miles on it. Did a tuneup this past summer, ran even better than when I got the car (gained a little power/kick back). Then my harmonic balancer went out, we replaced that, and it felt even better yet again. All of a sudden last week, the car feels a little gutless. I *think* I have a little bit of popping coming from under the hood, but it's really slight. Not too sure if I'm imagining it. I checked my spark plug wires and none of them burnt through like they did last time. Could this be a fuel filter problem? I only really notice the loss of power when I'm at full throttle. Otherwise, driving normally, I don't seem to notice a difference, other than the occasional hesitation. I had a Jeep before where one of the injectors went out, but the problems seemed to be much worse (popping felt in gas pedal, loud poppin from engine compartment, etc etc.) Could it be an injector that's not firing correctly? Would appreciate any pointers and help. TIA!

CManT1914 · Nov 27, 2005

Pull the codes first. Even if the CEL (check engine light) is not on, it can still retain codes. It could be an electrical problem with a sensor, like the maf. That is an extremely common problem for us. Autozone will pull codes for free.

DLo · Dec 2, 2005

I tried to pull the codes. Nothing came through, so I'm not sure what's going on. I noticed that the idle is sometimes a little rough, and that when I accelerate, the tach needle doesn't move at a constant rate. It'll move fine, then sort of jerk a little, then keep going. Any ideas?

urban96 · Dec 2, 2005

pip sensor thingy inside the distributor

CManT1914 · Dec 2, 2005

The jumpy tach makes me think it's either the dizzy, or the coil. When my coil went south, the tach would "stick" in places, and I had zero power above 3500 rpms or so. Unfortunately, I don't know if you can test a coil. A parts store might be able to. I just bought an MSD and was done with it, since I had intended on upgrading anyway.

DLo · Dec 2, 2005

Are you fairly certain with that? You don't think it's anything to do with the fuel filter, or the MAF? At the shop, the guy told me that my check engine light only came on every once in a while because I have 2 of my cats removed from my stock h-pipe. He said that if the light was on every now and then, it was emissions related. He also told me that I should check my O2 sensors.

Thanks for your help, I appreciate it.

CManT1914 · Dec 2, 2005

Just removing cats is not gonna set a CEL. Besides, the O2's are ignored at WOT, so if it runs poopy at WOT, but okay during normal driving, then that would be more likely the maf. FWIW, it can be going bad and not throw a code. Mine did that, took me a while to figure it out. The only reason I said coil is because of your tach problem.

mo_dingo · Dec 2, 2005

popping = pinging possibly???

DLo · Dec 2, 2005

CManT1914 said:
Just removing cats is not gonna set a CEL. Besides, the O2's are ignored at WOT, so if it runs poopy at WOT, but okay during normal driving, then that would be more likely the maf. FWIW, it can be going bad and not throw a code. Mine did that, took me a while to figure it out. The only reason I said coil is because of your tach problem.

If the MAF is a problem, how can I find out if that's the main cause?

CManT1914 · Dec 2, 2005

DLo said:
If the MAF is a problem, how can I find out if that's the main cause?

If you have a Hayne's manual, it has a test you can do to see if it's working right. You'll need a digital multimeter. Otherwise, if it's not throwing a code, there's no way to tell I don't think.

dstanggt50 · Dec 3, 2005

DLo said:
If the MAF is a problem, how can I find out if that's the main cause?

Chk the voltage of the maf at idle, use either a voltmeter, or a shop w/a snap on scan tool or the ford star tester

DLo · Dec 4, 2005

One other question: the car was on today and I happened to be behind it. I noticed a loud whining noise, near the fuel tank. Is that a possible cause, the fuel pump going out? I bought a fuel filter since they're cheap and I'm going to do that as well.

Blackened302 · Dec 4, 2005

DLo said:
I tried to pull the codes. Nothing came through, so I'm not sure what's going on. I noticed that the idle is sometimes a little rough, and that when I accelerate, the tach needle doesn't move at a constant rate. It'll move fine, then sort of jerk a little, then keep going. Any ideas?

did you try to do this yourself? if so, i'd recommend taking it to autozone/advance so they can use the reader.

try cleaning your MAF--check out the how-to sticky at the top of this forum, it'll tell you how to do so.

i'd also suggestion replacing your fuel filter (cheap, about $15) and try running some sea foam (also check the sticky).

CManT1914 · Dec 4, 2005

DLo said:
One other question: the car was on today and I happened to be behind it. I noticed a loud whining noise, near the fuel tank. Is that a possible cause, the fuel pump going out? I bought a fuel filter since they're cheap and I'm going to do that as well.

That's a normal noise from the fuel pump. Mine is really loud sometimes, sometimes I can't hear it.

DLo · Dec 4, 2005

Ram000 said:
did you try to do this yourself? if so, i'd recommend taking it to autozone/advance so they can use the reader.

try cleaning your MAF--check out the how-to sticky at the top of this forum, it'll tell you how to do so.

i'd also suggestion replacing your fuel filter (cheap, about $15) and try running some sea foam (also check the sticky).

I took it to a nearby gas station, one of the mechanics there knows me since I go there so often. He offered to help me check the codes, had his own reader. I don't like the autozone around here (only one I know of too), those guys never tell me anything. I did clean out the MAF, found that little writeup on mustangworld a while back. Maybe I should try it again, but I'm going to do the fuel filter soon - already got it sitting in my backseat. Thanks for the tidbit about the fuel pump too! I'll read up on the sea foam.

Blackened302 · Dec 4, 2005

DLo said:
I took it to a nearby gas station, one of the mechanics there knows me since I go there so often. He offered to help me check the codes, had his own reader. I don't like the autozone around here (only one I know of too), those guys never tell me anything. I did clean out the MAF, found that little writeup on mustangworld a while back. Maybe I should try it again, but I'm going to do the fuel filter soon - already got it sitting in my backseat. Thanks for the tidbit about the fuel pump too! I'll read up on the sea foam.

DLo · Dec 12, 2005

Ah, I did the fuel filter, with no better results. Then my friend took another look at all of my wires. #8 was touching a hot spot and has a little place that's burnt. Looks like there's my problem... I hope! Thanks guys!

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