running sluggish

[bbqsauce]

91 Festiva w/ probably close to 200,000 miles on it. Change all my fluids on a regular basis. Just gave it a basic tune-up(plugs, wires, cap and rotor), gapped the plugs as per recommended in a Haynes manual and now it runs very sluggish until it gets over 3500 RPM. I cannot accelerate very quickly because if I give it too much gas it runs like it is misfiring. If I accelerate very slowly it does not seem to misfire or run unevenly but any major acceleration makes it run very sluggish. Idle in neutral is around 1000 rpm and in gear closer to 750 rpm and it idles just fine, no hiccups or uneven sounds. What could I have done wrong to make it run so badly. Any and all responses are appreciated.

[gestiva]

that happened to me for bout a week after my first tune up.
my problem was the new wire from the coil to the cap.
put ur old one back on and see if that works.
also had tha problem on my blazer. maybe problem in manurfacturing the new wires?

[mechanicaldj]

new parts can be defective from the box

also check for moisture in the cap

[TominMO]

If you kept your old parts, replace them one at a time until you find what makes it run better.

[V8Festiva]

new parts can be defective from the box

also check for moisture in the cap

This is very true


Dean
Raleigh, NC

deanraleighnc@cs.com

[bbqsauce]

I replaced the rotor and the wires with the old ones and I'm etting a mildly better performance but it still runs sluggish bteween 2000 and 3500 rpm. I just started a new job that is a 36 mile round trip and before this my little festy never went more than 5 or 10 miles round trip. Could this have something to do with this type of performance. I also finally got my speedometer cable working and have noticed that I am only getting about 25 miles per gallon(8 gallons gets me 200 miles). It's been an old worthy vehicle and I'd like to squeeze some more life out of it before I have to find a newr car. Again, any and all help is very much apprecited.

[TominMO]

Something very wrong with that mileage. Auto or stick? Also check that your rear wheels spin freely; if not, you might have an issue with the parking brake or too-tight bearings. Replace the disty cap too with the old one, and the spark plugs one at a time, and check performance.

[bbqsauce]

It's a 3 spd auto and the rear wheels do spin freely. Repalced all the old stuff one at a time and it got to the point where I can hardly apply the gas at all. Misfires alot more now when I try to give it any acceleration in all 3 gears. I'm going to go with the newer pcs again and see if it goes back to running better. I'm at a loss as to what I may have done wrong. All my wires are in the right place and I see nothing out of place. Maybe last time i washed the motor I may have knocked something loose and it finally came aprt over time, I dunno. I'm guessing know.

[bbqsauce]

Just went back too all the newer parts and still cannot accelerate at all. Out of gear in neutral the motor sounds like a well tuned machine even at high(500 rpm) revs. Once it goes into gear and tries to move it sounds and moves like total poop. Poor ol' Festy will have to wait untill I have the money to afford a real mechanis because everything I seem to do makes it worse. Thanks for the help guys but I just do not know how to make the ole car run better or I am a mechanical clutz. Could I have knoceked something on the transmission loose?

[bbqsauce]

Just went back too all the newer parts and still cannot accelerate at all. Out of gear in neutral the motor sounds like a well tuned machine even at high(500 rpm) revs. Once it goes into gear and tries to move it sounds and moves like total poop. Poor ol' Festy will have to wait untill I have the money to afford a real mechanis because everything I seem to do makes it worse. Thanks for the help guys but I just do not know how to make the ole car run better or I am a mechanical clutz. Could I have knocked something on the transmission loose?

[TominMO]

I wonder if there is a problem with the ECU. Just for the heck of it, disconnect the battery for at least 1/2 hour to clear any codes you may have.

[collegeboi]

Is everything tight? I had similar problems but cant recall at the moment hat I did to change it. Could the firing order be wrong? probably not but just trying to give ideas of what to adjust that doesnt cost $$$$ because I know exactly how you feel. Timing off? lol idk

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[bbqsauce]

Okey Doke, I disconnected the battery this morning so it has had 8 hours to do its thing. Reconnected the battery and now it has a loping idle(runs but sort of lopes along), rough idle when in gear and it still flutters and runs rough as soon as I try to give it any serious gas. No back firing but also no power going up hill and it only runs smooth if I barely give it any kind of gas. It has also gone thru almost a 1/4 tank since it started to run rough. Any suggestions?

[bbqsauce]

Oh yeah, all the wires are matched correctly and I checked to make sure the number one cylinder is in the up position when the rotor in on the number one wire. Timing belt was replaced about 2 years ago but being a belt not a chain, maybe it is loose?

[TominMO]

Your problems only started after you did the tuneup, right? But it's also possible that coincidentally, your timing belt slipped a tooth or two.