Bad acceleration once warm
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06-11-2012, 09:56 PM
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Bad acceleration once warm
I'm not sure if my problem is typical or not. I've read quite a few "bad acceleration" threads on various forums, but I haven't found one that matches mine exactly.
The Neon is a rocket when it's stone cold, but once it warms up, acceleration is extremely sluggish at low RPMs, particularly in first gear. Acceleration picks up as RPMs get over 2000 (guessing - don't have a tach).
When I hit the gas pulling away from a light, the engine picks up for a small fraction of a second, then bogs down to lower-than-idle RPMs. It's like 0-50 in about 20-ish seconds. I'm being outrun by semis. No joke.
A while back the car ate the #2 piston and I replaced it, but the problem predates that.
I replaced the fuel filter, TPS (threw a code when the crank PS was dying), Crank PS (failed not long after the piston replacement), spark plugs, wires, and I pulled up the downstream EGO sensor wire off the axle (that had grounded out and blown my fuel pump fuse).
To rule out the EGR valve, I disconnected the vacuum feed to it, but the problem persisted, and the computer threw a 32 error code, as expected.
With the EGR disconnected, the car will sometimes backfire a bit when I let off the gas at highway speeds.
Since this an engine warm-only problem, I'm not looking at the fuel pressure. If anything, I'd expect it to be worse with a cold engine since that requires more fuel.
The car is a 1996 and just turned 76,200 miles. Up until last year it had sat for most of the previous 3 years with only sporadic driving. I bought it with 63,000 miles on it 5 years ago for $300. Probably not a bad deal, but this car has put me through more hell than my previous 3 cars (Chevy, Pontiac, Ford) put together.
The Neon is a rocket when it's stone cold, but once it warms up, acceleration is extremely sluggish at low RPMs, particularly in first gear. Acceleration picks up as RPMs get over 2000 (guessing - don't have a tach).
When I hit the gas pulling away from a light, the engine picks up for a small fraction of a second, then bogs down to lower-than-idle RPMs. It's like 0-50 in about 20-ish seconds. I'm being outrun by semis. No joke.
A while back the car ate the #2 piston and I replaced it, but the problem predates that.
I replaced the fuel filter, TPS (threw a code when the crank PS was dying), Crank PS (failed not long after the piston replacement), spark plugs, wires, and I pulled up the downstream EGO sensor wire off the axle (that had grounded out and blown my fuel pump fuse).
To rule out the EGR valve, I disconnected the vacuum feed to it, but the problem persisted, and the computer threw a 32 error code, as expected.
With the EGR disconnected, the car will sometimes backfire a bit when I let off the gas at highway speeds.
Since this an engine warm-only problem, I'm not looking at the fuel pressure. If anything, I'd expect it to be worse with a cold engine since that requires more fuel.
The car is a 1996 and just turned 76,200 miles. Up until last year it had sat for most of the previous 3 years with only sporadic driving. I bought it with 63,000 miles on it 5 years ago for $300. Probably not a bad deal, but this car has put me through more hell than my previous 3 cars (Chevy, Pontiac, Ford) put together.
