Whats up with my corrado?

[vwchimp 10]

I took her out for a drive yesterday and it felt like she wasnt running on full power. I put my foot down and there is hardly any power even when i rev her up 6500rpm. Do any of you guys have any ideas as to what it could be? I have a 1992 2.0 16v

[Jim 1]

Is it running on all four cylinders.. i.e. does the engine sound normal but just gutless?

 

If the engine sounds normal, the only time I ran into something similar on my 2.0 16v was when I had a binding brake caliper.. the car was making all the right noises but felt like a 1.4 fiesta.. hopped out and touched the front wheels to find one was very hot and stank of brakes. I had my answer :)

[vwchimp 10]

it didnt sound right going through a tunnel when i put it into second and put my foot down. As you say it feels like on old 1.4 fiesta with no power. I will have to check the brakes when i take her for another run. She drove for 4hours yesterday through snow and rain and i didnt notice the brakes but then i didnt think to look when i got out the car haha.

Any other ideas just incase?

[Jim 1]

If it's misfiring or running on 3 cylinders I'd be suspicious of the HT leads or electrical system generally.. I'd get them checked / replaced.

[vwchimp 10]

right i will get the spark plug spanner out then. i pulled the ht leads off yesterday and they was clean and un marked

[Jim 1]

Yeah the leads can look perfectly fine but degrade internally...

 

I'm also wondering if there's been some water ingress into an electrical connector - you say you drove for hours yesterday in snow and rain... possible something's got in somewhere it's not wanted!

[davidwort 0]

very difficult to diagnose from that description, best you can do is work through things one at a time, check the HT stuff as Jim has said, plugs, leads, cap, rotor, then inspect the air filter and throttle body for water and oil contamination. Then work on to things like a compression test (you can check this to some extent by turning the engine over with a socket on the crank timing belt pulley, should be stiff, easy, stiff, easy as the engine does a full cycle from cylinder to cylinder, then try with each plug removed in turn, see if a difference can be felt).

Finally fuel system checks like injector flow and spray pattern and system pressures can be checked.

[vwchimp 10]

thanks guys. some of that will have to be checked when i get home as im in the middle of wales atm. just gone to check the plugs and i didnt realise how deep they was inside the engine i will have find something to get them out to have a look at them. im about to take her out for a spin so i will see how the brakes are after that.

[vwchimp 10]

well its not the brakes for sure they are nice and cool. she has a total lack of power on the hills. even with my foot to the floor she is struggling like mad. its not like i have a lot of weight in the car either :(

[easypops 8]

I had a similar issue on my old valver, turned out the cat had fell apart on the inside, and was really blocking the exhaust. Sorted that with a straight through pipe and it was instantly better.

[Ralphead 0]

Yesterday my 16v started stuggling to pull away after idling for any time. It's got worse today and stutters whenever I ask for a decent bit of juice. I'm convinced it's the fuel filter full of crap so I'm changing it tomorrow, maybe worth thinking about.

[chaos3oe 0]

Had something similar in my old mk2 valver, was a blocked fuel filter.

[vwchimp 10]

just had a fiddle about under the bonnet and looked at the accelerator cable and it was a little slack. I put a small washer behind the rubber stopper and its given me the power back that ive lost. So the job now it to try and find a new cable and fit it