90' Festy has NO power when driving..

[festiva208]

First off before the search police come after me, i did a search and tried searching tags, and couldn't find what i was looking for. If there is a thread, please show me the link and delete my thread thanks!

Anyway, my 90 Festy has NO power what so ever when driving. I can get it through the gears, but it takes alot of effort. I bought it that way. I changed the plugs on it, which the the old ones were really nasty and gunked up, so i thought it would help, but it didnt it just helped the idle some. The guy before me messed with the rotor or w/e that piece that comes out under the distributor cap. There are 3 ways it goes in, and i tried all three until it would start (it wouldnt start with it in any other position( and idled well...i don't know why he would even mess with it if it supposedly ran great before he parked it for a few months;. Im going to drain the old gas (even though i don't think 4 month old gas would be that bad) add some fi cleaner to new fuel, and a new fuel filter. Is there any other things i should check or do that may be more extensive that just a typical tune-up? Again, it idles fine, but has no power. It sounds like all 4 are firing too. Thanks in advance for any input!

[muscle_Car1]

Timing

[festiva208]

damn, i thought that could be it, but was hoping it wasn't ha.

it only has 90k on it, i don't know why it would be out of time though. The seller is on the board so maybe he has some input...

[m715]

^^^ Make sure it is timed to the mark at the REAR of the timing cover, not the front scale. Use the decal on the hood for the info. This is a common mistake because as soon as someone sees that scale for the early models, they all want to use it. You may find that the rotor needs to be moved again after doing this, because if it was timed incorrectly, it won't start unless it is moved to the wrong position. I saw this done once, and it drove everyone here *CRAZY* figuring out the problem.
Hopefully this will be the problem.

I hope he didn't try to adjust the idle with the butterfly on the throttle body...............
That is a pain to get back in sync.

Michael

[festiva208]

timed to the mark on the rear of the cover? doesn't the cover have to come off to see the marks on the belt when using the timing light? sorry im just technically declined lol

[m715]

No. Check the tune up decal under the hood to find the correct mark. You don't time it by the marks on the crank and cam sprocket unless you are replacing the timing belt to get a base setting so the cam is in time with the crankshaft. The marks are on the plastic cover, and the pulley on the crank.

[JPT]

"Search police" LOL!!

I'm with everyone else on this. Sounds like the timing is off.

A few degrees more timing advance than stock will really wake your engine up, but you may need higher octane gas.

[JohnGunn]

Sounds like you have never observed this car running properly and are taking the word of the previous owner that it did. If you trust him that may be enough, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to run a compression check to see if the engine actually has the ability to produce the power you are looking for.

John Gunn
Coronado, CA

[festiva208]

thanks for the info guys! i hope i can find the tune up decal, its pretty dirty under there!

[m715]

That is possible also. A blown head gasket between #2 &#3 cylinders will still run, but boy is it a dog!!!

[festiva208]

my oil looks perfect, and it doesn't smoke at all, so i don't think a blown head gasket is the case but who knows its possible, especially by the way its running.

[m715]

I have seen it. No oil use, no AF leak. Just burnt between cylinders. Valves looked HORRIBLE though.

[festiva208]

gotcha, would a compression test show this?

also, i went out and looked at the car and found the tune up sticker, but didn't see any markings on the timing belt cover? are they above or below the crank pulley? if below, how in the world do you get a timing light down there to see?

[m715]

They can be seen from above, if the cover is cleaned. I always highlight the marks with a grease pencil, or some touch up paint to make them easily visible while timing a car.
You may want to pick yourself up a manual to help yourself do the checks like timing, and compression. They pay for themselves the first time you use them.

[festiva208]

put new cap and rotor on it and still runs the same. Motor makes a bang-bang-bang sound when turning over, but once started it idles ok. When giving it throttle it cuts out and almost dies. Gradually giving it throttle it will climb in the rpm's somewhat smoothly with some cutting out. changing fuel filter and compression test tomorrow. If that doesnt work i guess i'll have to take it to the shop to check timing. Still can't find marks on timing cover. Cleaned it up and everything and can't find a mark anywhere.