[Shotimes] Engine troubles

[Steve Weinrich]

Hey Eric,

If the tach drops by exactly 1/3, that means you just lost fire to two
cylinders.  Sounds like this is what you are seeing.

Likely causes are (in no particular order):  DIS module, ignition coil,
respective connectors and wiring harness.  Check the rearmost DIS connector
to see if it is making physical contact with the dampener strut.  If it is,
you have shot subframe bushings/mounts that have caused the rear of the
motor to drop.  There was a recall on the SFB harware that may or may not
have been required on your car as the recall was regional (Rust Belt).  If
you have the subframe dropped, this is a critical safety issue.

By the way, the sunroofs seldom leak unless the gasket is damaged.  Usually
the drains at the corners of the pan either clog or become disconnected and
cause the leaking into the headliner.

As far as keeping it, that's up to you.  Any car that can be afforded on a
college student's limited finacial means is likely to have problems that
won't be covered by any warranty.

Steve


----- Original Message -----
From: "Eric O. Angell" <eric+shotimes@cs.hmc.edu>
To: "SHOtimes Mailing List" <shotimes@autox.team.net>
Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2004 11:34 AM
Subject: [Shotimes] Engine troubles


> Hi,
>
> I've got a 5-speed MTX '92 SHO at 112k miles, and it's been having
> some engine trouble for a while.  I got it about two years ago and it
> was pretty sweet, but I've had to replace a few things as they've
> broken (e.g. water pump).  About 5 months/2,000 miles ago (I'm a
> college student - I don't get out much) the check engine light started
> coming on intermittently, and that continues today, though it's less
> intermittent and more regular now.  When it's on, there's a huge
> amount of power missing, but that just means it drives kind of like a
> normal car.  The tach also reads low, but it's not that the engine is
> spinning slower - the spedometer is fine, and if I'm going a certain
> speed in a certain gear, I know what the tach should be reading and
> it's just wrong.  Also since it's intermittent, I can watch the tach
> jump back up when it becomes "happy" again.
>
> When it first started happening, I was rather concerned and got a
> diagnosis both from Pep Boys and a dealer that basically said "we
> don't know what's wrong with it and it'll cost more than the car is
> worth to fix it", so I've just continued driving it.  The mileage is a
> bit worse, and the lack of power is really frustrating, but I've just
> dealt with it.  Like I said, since I'm in college, I don't drive much,
> and I also don't have much free time to tinker with it or money to
> spend on fixing it.  I'm also not that much of a "car guy" to begin
> with - much more of a "computer geek".  Knowing how much I hate
> getting tech support questions from friends and family, I feel bad
> asking about my car here since I have a similar lack of knowledge
> about it as they do about their computers.  Anyway, I found this list
> recently so I thought I'd ask if you guys had any ideas.
>
> Alternatively, it might be a good idea for me to just sell it and buy
> another car that doesn't have random engine trouble.  Would anyone
> here be interested in acquiring it as either a parts car or a project
> car?  I'm in East LA, but I'll be driving to Denver tomorrow and
> staying there until Wednesday.  If you're potentially interested in it
> and Denver (or something inbetween Denver and LA) works a lot better
> for you than LA, drop me an email soon, and I'll send you my cell
> phone number after I get to Denver.
>
> There are a few other things wrong with it; some scratches here and
> there, a once leaky sunroof that's been caulked shut, new radio after
> the original died, etc.  I've put a bunch of pictures up at
> http://www.magicpacket.net/sho/ and included shots of such broken
> things.  The sunroof control panel cover isn't attached at the moment
> or in the pictures, though I do have it and it would be easy to put it
> back on.
>
> Thanks for any help or offers.  Let me know what further information I
> should provide to better diagnose the problem.
>
> -E
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