My Festiva has a major lack of power.

[WBBulldogs]

It just seems it doesn't have power when accelerating. I know it's not supposed to have much, but after I changed the oil today I also bought an air filter. Before I took the lid off the air filter assembly I put my hand over the intake and there was no suction or anything. I took the lid of the air filter assembly and notices it was missing a metal section on the bottom. About 2 square inches were missing. Could this be a problem with my power issue?

[mechanicaldj]

have you checked for trouble codes?

[project b6t]

do a compression test :idea:

[WBBulldogs]

How do I do either of those? I am sort of new to repairing and working on vehicles but I am slowly learning.

[Tim]

Vacuum leak?

[wolfggangus31]

Clutch maybe?

[mechanicaldj]

How do I do either of those? I am sort of new to repairing and working on vehicles but I am slowly learning.

first of all ,

go buy a Haynes Festiva/Aspire manual
can be found at Autozone or Advance auto parts

[WmWatt]

If the "check engine" light on the dashboard is "on" then there will be one or more trouble codes. They are listed in the Haynes manual as well as how to find out what they are. They are stored in the car's computer. Disconnecting the battery erases them but unfortunately does not fix the problem(s) they refer to.

To do a compression test you basically remove the spark plugs and screw a compression (air pressure) guage into each hole and crank the engine over with the starter motor to measure the air pressure buildup in each cylinder. If it's low there is a leak somewhere which will reduce the engine's power. It's also explained in the Haynes manual.

These and other car diagnostic tests are described in generic automotive texts available from the public library, used book stores, etc. The Haynes manual for the Festiva/Aspire tell how to do them on those cars.