sluggish at higher rpms

[Bikercmbc]

so ive been trying to put miles on my second car recently. was driving it around sat and got on the throttle and the car is not as "peppy" on take off as my other car. but on higher rpms above 3000 it just is struggling, and if im in a higher gear 4/5 and climing a hill and done down shift it starts bogging down unless i down shift. im thinking fuel mix is off, does this sound right- too lean? does anyone have the write up on how to properly set the air/fuel mix that davemw wrote a few years back using the dwell meter?

[jawn101]

so ive been trying to put miles on my second car recently. was driving it around sat and got on the throttle and the car is not as "peppy" on take off as my other car. but on higher rpms above 3000 it just is struggling, and if im in a higher gear 4/5 and climing a hill and done down shift it starts bogging down unless i down shift. im thinking fuel mix is off, does this sound right- too lean? does anyone have the write up on how to properly set the air/fuel mix that davemw wrote a few years back using the dwell meter?

Wouldn't go straight to the mixture. Does it idle well? Smell bad?

I'd look for vacuum leaks at the WUR first.

[Bikercmbc]

nope idles good, starts immediately. has all new vacuum hoses and looked them over last night, everything looks good and connected. reason went back to fuel mix was cause I had it running rich and leaned it out some and now it seems sluggish. it had been about a month since I drove it and might not have gotten on the throttle or just dont remember it being that much slower than my other car, but it is significatly slower.

[jawn101]

Interesting. Since it has all new vacuum hoses it wouldn't be impossible that a new one is loose or torn during installation.

Never hurts to check the mixture of course - but changes should be well thought out first

Basic procedure is to hook the + lead of your dwell meter to the orange wire leading to the diagnostic connector. Ground the other lead to the block. You want to see ~40 on the 4 cyl scale with the motor running cold. The FV should be buzzing. Press the WOT microswitch and the dwell should jump to ~50. This confirms the meter is hooked up right and the system is accepting input. Now let the engine warm up. Once the O2 sensor comes online the dwell should be swinging, around 30-50ish centered on 40ish.

If it's not, you can adjust - but in very, very small increments. 1/16th of a turn is a world of difference in this system.

[Bikercmbc]

thanks, exactly the info I was looking for, Im sure it is off some cause I was running real rich before and just did it by smell and idle. Ill adjust it this weekend and hopefully will get better throttle in the higher rpms. if not ill be looking deeper into the problems that it could be.

[David T]

thanks, exactly the info I was looking for, Im sure it is off some cause I was running real rich before and just did it by smell and idle. Ill adjust it this weekend and hopefully will get better throttle in the higher rpms. if not ill be looking deeper into the problems that it could be.

My guess is ignition break-down. Check:
Spark plugs
Ignition wires
Distributor cap and rotor
Ignition coil
David Teitelbaum

[Bikercmbc]

everything is brand new less that 500 miles on the car since I bought it and did all the work to it. only thing that isnt new is the ignition coil. I could have a weak spark.

[opethmike]

New doesn't definitely mean good. Test everything in the ignition system regardless of new or not.

[Ron]

Actually the dwell should be a steady 50 to 60 Cold (<60F) and fluctuating between 35 and 45 when warmed up.
There are several other dwell tests you should perform listed in the WS manual, D:04:15

[Bitsyncmaster]

Check that the vacuum advance is working. No advance would give you poor power. Best way to check is with a timing light.