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        General >> Give/Need advice to/from others >> Lack of Power
        
(Message started by: mindofitsown on May 18^th, 2009, 3:49pm)

Title: Lack of Power
Post by mindofitsown on May 18^th, 2009, 3:49pm

If I let my Scorp go and get another car it will be for the simple reason that the power has dropped so much over the last few years that overtaking tractors is now dangerous without a half mile stretch of open road ahead. Everything seems fine otherwise. Starts well, high speed cruising is obtainable but it seems to take years to get there whereas when I first got the car in 2004 it went like a rocket. I am having to press the throttle much more these days to get the acceleration I once had before and all that happens is it changes down a lot more often to give me the required torque. It used to accelerate in top gear quite well without changing down so much. Just wished someone on the forum lived close by who has one of these scanner kit jobbies in the hope it would give me a clue where to start in checking things. Maybe like me its just fed up!

Title: Re: Lack of Power
Post by amigafan2003 on May 18^th, 2009, 3:58pm

First things first:-

It'd be quite hgelpul if you told us the engine model :-)

1: When were the plugs, leads and fuel filter changed?
2: When was the last time some injector cleaner was chucked in the tank?
3: Is the throttle cable stretched? Does it sit much lower than the brake pedal? The cable can be adjusted.
4: Have you checked for vacumn leaks? Spray easistart at the manifold and hose connectors one by one - if the revs rise when you do so, you've found an inlet leak. Just don't spray it on a red hot exhaust manifold!

Title: Re: Lack of Power
Post by mindofitsown on May 18^th, 2009, 6:30pm

Hi, quite right, sorry its 2.0l Ultima DOHC 1995.
1. Plugs and coil packs changed about 20K miles back with no improvement to the power problem (except it solved the misfiring problem at the time). Fuel filter! Forgot all about that! Never been changed.....excellent....something to try and directly relates to the symptoms, thanks for reminding me.
2. Injectors were removed at the same time and manually cleaned with no improvement (but I admit I could put some stuff in the tank).
3. Throttle cable play is very minimal.
4. Have checked for vacuum leaks and not found anything wrong.

Title: Re: Lack of Power
Post by Matt on May 18^th, 2009, 7:06pm

have a garage do a compression test of the cylinders, might have a piston ring at fault or a cracked head,

blocked/ breaking down cat can restrict power also

what does the autobox oil look like? red/light brown ok but dark brown or black then the auto box is duff

Title: Re: Lack of Power
Post by Tompion on May 18^th, 2009, 11:28pm

on 05/18/09 at 18:30:41, mindofitsown wrote:

3. Throttle cable play is very minimal.

Have you checked the throttle opens fully?
Carpet under the pedal is a common problem ;)

Title: Re: Lack of Power
Post by Bikerdon on May 19^th, 2009, 1:22am

Hi, I had the same problem with my 2.0 since the day I bought it over three years ago, I had resigned myself to the idea that it was just a small engine in a heavy car issue, but it just seemed too slow even for that, tried coils, new plugs, air and fuel filters, all to no avail, and it was reluctant to rev over 4k rpm. It was scanned by scorpio_man and everything pretty much checked out as ok. Anyway as it was better weather last week I finally got round to replacing the cat, and believe me it took a bit of persuasion to get the old one off (car still has the original one piece exhaust on it) as all the brackets and clamps were rusted solid, trusty angle grinder to the rescue there. Well its now like driving a different car, it revs freely to the red line in sports mode and you can feel the extra oomph as the vis opens after 3k rpm too, the performance difference really is like night and day, oddly enough it passed the emissions every year even though the old cat honeycomb was badly eroded and twisted at an angle in the housing. So if all else fails to solve your problem I would change the cat or at least get it off to have a look inside it. Bikerdon.

Title: Re: Lack of Power
Post by Chris_Basel on May 19^th, 2009, 12:55pm

My 2.0L 16v is much the same. It pulls away like it is towing a bus, but goes better from about 60mph. On engine start up you get a whiff of exhaust fumes in the car unless you turn the fan off, so I'd put it down to maybe a cracked exhaust manifold. I never thought of the cat.

To mindofitsown, if you do change the cat can you post the results back to this thread please.

Title: Re: Lack of Power
Post by Bikerdon on May 19^th, 2009, 2:17pm

Chris_Basel. It might be an idea for you to check the piping for the EGR system, if it isnt sealed at the various joints that can cause the exhaust fume issue you mentioned. It's the equivalent of a small exhaust leak really, also worth checking that the manifold to cat nuts are tight, (two of mine were loose enough to undo with fingers) mine was blowing slightly there but you couldnt really hear it because of the heat shields. Bikerdon.

Title: Re: Lack of Power
Post by Highlander on May 19^th, 2009, 3:24pm

Sounds like theres something wrong right enough,
I've never tried it but I always reckoned the 2.0 16v was the fastest Scorpio off the mark, even compared to the 24v

Title: Re: Lack of Power
Post by Chris_Basel on May 19^th, 2009, 4:11pm

I suspected something was seriously wrong when I couldn't keep up with my mate's wife in her new Panda 4x4 :'(

It sounds like I'll have to get the manifold heat shield off and have a look. Actually I'd forgotten about that little problem because the fan stopped working shortly after the air conditioning pulley fell to pieces. The mission now is to get everything working properly again.

Title: Re: Lack of Power
Post by mindofitsown on May 19^th, 2009, 5:36pm

Hi Guys,
Thanks for all the replies. Sounds like the cat. I admit I did have a rattle from around the exhaust manifold area some months ago but it has not rattled for weeks now so didnt do anything about it. I'm rushing to go away to work just now so will give a fuller account on my return Friday. In the mean time many thanks.

Title: Re: Lack of Power
Post by pinto on May 19^th, 2009, 10:20pm

Cat makes a HUGE difference - when the RHS cat on my cossie broke up, it completely gutted the car - wouldnt rev, kick down on full throttle took 30 or more seconds to change up....car struggled to go over 50 or pull up hills !

and thats a 220bhp cossie !

Could be the best £80 you've spent on the old girl :)

Title: Re: Lack of Power
Post by mindofitsown on May 22^nd, 2009, 2:53pm

Back from working away. Did a 220 mile round trip and noticed that the fuel economy is as it should be when on the motorway but, the economy around town is the worst its ever been. This additional symptom seems to tie-up with the broken cat blockage theory as round town its a case of accelerating through the gears only to have to stop again at lights etc and then accelerate again.
So, where's the best place to get a CAT?

Title: Re: Lack of Power
Post by Highlander on May 22^nd, 2009, 2:56pm

Ceramic

http://www.cats-direct-shop.co.uk/two-year-catalytic-converter.php?recordID=779

Steel

http://www.cats-direct-shop.co.uk/three-year-catalytic-converter.php?recordID=779

might be worth taking it off and checking first.

clear out the innards of it and try it, at least until you go for the next MOT ;)

Title: Re: Lack of Power
Post by mindofitsown on May 22^nd, 2009, 3:26pm

Thanks Highlander, a good idea. Sorry to be a pain but how is that done without creating a hole?

Title: Re: Lack of Power
Post by Highlander on May 22^nd, 2009, 3:32pm

when you take it off you can poke down through the gauze stuff and remove all the insides

Title: Re: Lack of Power
Post by scorpio_man on May 22^nd, 2009, 3:58pm

[]

best to check it is the cat first.

you can check the cat on the 2.0 using obd-2 scans.

do you know someone with it or can get to one of the meetings?

also, if you take out the front lambda and tie it up safely, try the car then. if there's improvement, again points to the cat/exhaust.

hth

Title: Re: Lack of Power
Post by larshaugerodell on May 29^th, 2009, 8:27pm

Hi all
I´m new here. As far as I can see from this thread I seem to have the same problem with my scorpio 2.0 dohc estate. A beautiful car which is also has a very slow acceleration. It runs perfectly from around 2200 rpm and up. I will mention the cat thing to the garage that I use. Hopefully they will be able to fix it.

thanks for a great forum
best regards
Lars

on 05/18/09 at 15:49:16, mindofitsown wrote: