Car seems sluggish

[DrDusty86]

My car, a ZX2 Escort seems sluggish. Could it be the heat affecting it THAT much, its 100* here? Changed:
Fuel filter 20K miles ago
Trans pan drop with Royal Purple Max ATF last year
OEM spark plugs/ wires 17k miles ago
WIX air filter 10k miles ago
New belts/ hoses
New battery, less than a year old
I did a dose of sea foam through a vacuum line, thinking it was carboned.
RP MAX ATF in the power steering
No codes, I scanned it.
Runs fine, idles fine, will rev to 6.5k fine
Just seems to lack the power it had 6 months ago
Tires @ 35PSI
RP 5w20 oil
What else do I check?
Thanks,
Dusty

 

[HTSS_TR]

Did you use thicker oil than spec'ed ?

 

[Bob Woods]

Warm or hot air is less dense and there for an engine produces less power than when the air is cool or cold.

 

[DrDusty86]

I know that, but should it be that dramatic?

 

[Mr Nice]

Did you clean the throtle body ?

Does the car have an Idle air control valve, it might be clogged with grime.

What about the PCV valve ?

 

[ahoier]

A thorough throttle body/TBI cleaning may be in order. Seems you are very "up to date" on your maintenance....also check your PCV valve, EGR Valve if applicable; perhaps they are carboned up...

@HTSS_TR: He's using RP 5w20 already

I can't see a 5W-20 oil being "thicker oil than spec'ed" hehe.


What about distributor cap/rotor if applicable? You mentioned you changed the wires and plugs....

Willing to bet it may possibly just be in need of a good top end clean, whether it be a tear down and clean with brush/rag, or a chemical cleaning through the intake (similar to that of Seafoam, etc....but don't wanna turn this thread into an additive thread lol).

 

[FL_Rob]

Originally Posted By: DrDusty86
I know that, but should it be that dramatic?

Yes,it's not just the heat,the humidity hinders performance too.Before computer controlled,I would advance the timing to compensate, those days are gone.
Edit:Thats why racers like cool track days and low altitude tracks.Intercooled is better than non- I/C..Its all about air density.

 

[DrDusty86]

I have TB intake cleaner but haven't used it in a while. The PCV valve is 2 years old and rattles when shook.
I have the "breather" filter on order from ford for $18.
How do I chemically clean the top end without a tear down?
Doesn't TB cleaner clean the top end as well?
Dusty

 

[sciphi]

Cleaned the MAF sensor (if your car's computer uses a MAF)?

 

[DrDusty86]

So clean the MAF sensor?- How is this done?
Idel Air Control Valve? My ranger had one and it was easily identifiable, The ZX2??? I am not sure it has one, does it?
Clean the throttle body? Just pull the intake boot off and work the throttle butterfly while spraying it down, and wipe the gunk from around the butterfly? is that how its done??
Top end cleaning? I had sea foam sucked through a vacuum line per instructions and there was very little smoke. Does that mean it was clean, or did I do something wrong?
Sorry for the "rookie" questions. These are new areas to me
Thank you,
Dusty

 

[Bob Woods]

If you have never cleaned a MAF do a searh for "how to clean a maf) there are little wires that can be damaged and they are not cheap to replace.

 

[GMBoy]

Definetely clean the MAF if you have one. Simply buy a can of MAF cleaner (CRC makes it as do others) and spray it on the MAF screenm, parts, etc and let air dry.

Otherwise - the heat does sap your power and since I think you only pushing about 120hp or so...even a few missing would be noticible.

 

[kr_bitog]

Your fuel injector may be clogged, you can try Redline SI-1 or any decent fuel injector cleaner

 

[sciphi]

At least on the earlier Escorts the MAF was located in the top of the air filter housing.

You need an Escort-specific forum like FEOA to find out the nitty-gritty on where all this stuff is, and how to access it.

 

[eljefino]

You could be losing timing from the heat. IDK if your year has a knock sensor but you could try premium fuel. If your car uses intake air temp as a reading it might pull some of your timing regardless.

 

[mechtech2]

Cleaning the TB won't do jack squat for power - it is wide open.

Heat will kill power. At 100F, your intake air is less dense.
Like eljefino said, the intake air sensor will pull timing when hot.
Most of us disconnect the knock sensor on that car - it goes off when it should not. Just unplug it.

Also, maybe your cam timing is off.

 

[DrDusty86]

Wouldn't disconnecting the knock sensor do MAJOR harm to the engine?
Would premium fuel help combat the timing issue?
Dusty

 

[bruno]

Check your tire pressures recently ?

 

[DrDusty86]

yea, I keep em' at 35psi. At first thats what I thought too, because if they drop to 32psi even, it kills my milage and is a real dog

 

[BetaBear]

There could be a variety of things that could be causing this problem. A few more details are needed to fully "Nail down" the root cause for the sluggish feeling.

My first thought after reading what you have done, is that the cat (Catalytic converter) may be clogged, air filter might also be clogged, or that you are low on transmission fluid.

But, to fully narrow it down, I must ask a few questions. Does it feel sluggish all the time? Is it when you're giving it light throttle or when you are under medium acceleration (Getting up to speed on the interstate) or at Wide Open Throttle? (WOT). Is it like this in the morning? Or only when it's hot out.

Here's my other Hypothesis. 6 months ago it was winter. 6 months ago you didn't need your air conditioning.

Have you tried driving it without the A/C Compressor running? Go onto an interstate (60-70MPH) and drive with the A/C on so you don't kill yourself from the heat. Accelerate up from cruising speed 10mph. drop back down to cruising speed. Then, turn off the A/C and accelerate up 10mph.

I'm hoping that you'll notice that without A/C that it will feel almost like it did 6 months ago. Note that it won't feel quite as peppy, seeing as the nice cold, oxygen filled air in the winter can contribute to quite a bit of "Seat in the pants" feel compared to summertime.

I don't know the specific numbers, and it varies depending on the specific vehicle due to differences in compressor size, lbs of refrigerant and engine output, etc. But I'm guessing that most vehicles result in a 15% power loss due to the A/C. A lot of newer cars are better about that though, especially the ones with electric a/c compressors. I recall one event of someone seeing a 22hp loss on the dyno in an 04' acura TSX with A/C on vs. A/C off

(Source - http://www.tsxclub.com/forums/1st-gen-engine/38071-dynoed-my-car-c-c-off.html)

Good luck with the car.