WAY Down on Power... I Hate my Car

[gcomfx.com]

I hate to even mention this, but might double check the fluids to make sure the coolant is where it's suppose to be and the oil is where it's suppose to be. And not vice versa due to a bad lower intake gasket seal.

 

[Swarzkopf]

I hate to even mention this, but might double check the fluids to make sure the coolant is where it's suppose to be and the oil is where it's suppose to be. And not vice versa due to a bad lower intake gasket seal.

Yeah, that was another one of the first things I suspected...but the lower is all sealed up tight, oil level is normal as is coolant and no apparent mixing is there.

 

[bimmertech]

is the balancer spun?

 

[Swarzkopf]

1. Check the fuel pressure while revving in neutral.
2. Pull the codes.
3. Look at all of the plugs.
4. Disconnect and re-attach all electrical connections.

1. Fuel pressure does not go up while revving! In neutral, the car revs freely up to 5500. Fuel pressure is set at 43 PSI vac off/40 PSI vac on. When I rev with the vacuum on, fuel pressure slowly drops to 39 PSI and never rises. When I let off the throttle, it returns to 40. Same symptom with the vacuum off, except it drops from 43 to 42.

Obviously this is a problem...I doubt it's the fuel pump, could it be the regulator itself?

I don't think this alone could cause the MASSIVE loss of power I'm experiencing...what do you guys think?

2. No codes stored.

3. Plugs look absolutely fine.

4. All connections checked and good.

is the balancer spun?

It looks normal.

I did not check the upper for obstructions yet, I will do this over the weekend.

Thanks for all the help guys.

 

[GT89Mustang]

Did you disconnect the battery and let the computer reset itself? Might be worth a try.

 

[BlackVert]

i know how you feel, bud. sometimes it seems like all i do lately is chase my own gremlins.

this is probably not it, but mine would start and idle fine, but then run like crap at anything past 2000 rpm. it turned out i had 2 bad spark plug wires. the headers had melted the boots, even though i had those heat protector thingys on them. it felt like a real bad misfire.

another thought, maybe the hose to the fpr came loose or has a leak? my tfs intake was leaking because of this ...

good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Swarzkopf]

Did you disconnect the battery and let the computer reset itself? Might be worth a try.

Many times.

this is probably not it, but mine would start and idle fine, but then run like crap at anything past 2000 rpm.

That's the worst thing about mine- it doesn't feel choppy, doesn't buck, ect. Just feels WEAK- super weak.

 

[gcomfx.com]

You put corn fuel in it? Sorry not funny.... but if you can't laugh about this stuff, you'll get grey hair like me.

 

[BlackVert]

That's the worst thing about mine- it doesn't feel choppy, doesn't buck, ect. Just feels WEAK- super weak.

i hear ya. if i had the money, i'd probably have bought a 99+ vert and slapped on a kb and i'd be done with it.

 

[Swarzkopf]

You put corn fuel in it? Sorry not funny.... but if you can't laugh about this stuff, you'll get grey hair like me.

LOL

Mine doesn't go grey, it just falls out.

Anyone want to buy this car? $6000 OBO!!

 

[gcomfx.com]

Have you called TrickFlow? They might have some ideas. Maybe the intake was cast wrong?

 

[Swarzkopf]

Not yet...I still need to pull the upper and check it out.

Any thoughts on the fuel pressure issue?

I've been pondering this, here's a thought of mine:

Perhaps the front fuel tube is STILL being pinched as evidenced by the no change in fuel pressure. It is still contacing the lower intake, albeit not as tightly as before.

Fuel is being fed to the passenger side bank. The front rail pinches and does NOT adequately provide fuel to the driver's side bank. Subsequently, pressure does not get to the return tube at the rear of the rails, and therefore pressure does not increase while revving since the regulator can not increase pressure by reducing the return amount.

Make sense? What do you guys think? Could this be it?

 

[gcomfx.com]

What do you mean by pinched? Is the new intake bigger on the bottom?

 

[Swarzkopf]

For whatever stupid reason...get this:

TFS made the lower too big to fit the stock fuel rail/tubes around!

Their solution is to machine a big cut on the front face of the lower to accomodate the front fuel tube. This cut wasn't big enough on mine, the fuel tube was being squeezed bad by the lower on one side and the dizzy on the other, so I had to grind it out a bit to fit the tube. There is still some pressure on it from the lower.

I'm a little afraid to grind more down...

Do you think my reasoning is sound though as to why I'm not seeing an increase in pressure while revving?

 

[gcomfx.com]

I guess I don't understand completely. I just don't see what it could be pinching to starve the fuel. My rail is metal with metal piping. To me if it were tight, the only problem would be the injectors might not seat properly. Perhaps your pulling air there?

 

[Swarzkopf]

My rail is metal with metal piping.

No ****? Mine is two metal rails that run parallel to the cylinder banks connected by two grey rubber hoses....

 

[SeventyMach1]

No ****? Mine is two metal rails that run parallel to the cylinder banks connected by two grey rubber hoses....

Don't worry about that. The tubes connecting the rails are supposed to be rubber.

If your worried about further modifying the lower ..... then worst case, you could get some longer fuel tubes and route them around the dizzy ... or over .... or anywhere so that they don't get pinched.

 

[gcomfx.com]

No ****? Mine is two metal rails that run parallel to the cylinder banks connected by two grey rubber hoses....

Wow, you got me to go out to my car and look while at work. You should be impressed.

Okay, upon further investigation. They do appear to have a rubber coating on part that connects the two rails and goes around the dizzy. However, mine do not budge when applying pressure to them. They feel like they have a metal or solid core. I would guess they would break before they would pinch. I've had them off the car several times and the "S" shape never moves. Yet another reason I thought they were solid.

 

[SeventyMach1]

Paul, mine are the same. It appears to me that they are rubber. Just a really hard rubber that, overtime, hardens even more.

 

[BlackVert]

For whatever stupid reason...get this:

TFS made the lower too big to fit the stock fuel rail/tubes around!

Their solution is to machine a big cut on the front face of the lower to accomodate the front fuel tube. This cut wasn't big enough on mine, the fuel tube was being squeezed bad by the lower on one side and the dizzy on the other, so I had to grind it out a bit to fit the tube. There is still some pressure on it from the lower.

I'm a little afraid to grind more down...

Do you think my reasoning is sound though as to why I'm not seeing an increase in pressure while revving?

weird. mine was not so big it pinched, but i had to loosen the dizzy to get the rubber connector between the rails down in the space under the large top part of the dizzy