I was driving my car today, and when I was going in first, I step on the gas and felt that the car was some what lagging. It didn't have the same amount of power when I step on the gas, felt like the engine was dragging. dont' know how to explain it, but I remember a thread about the throttle cable adjustiment awhile back, so was wondering if it was that. For some reason, the car doesn't feel the same.

can somebody clue me in?

 

requires 2 people:

press accelerator all the way to the floor
while accelerator pedal is pushed all the way to the floor, see if you can move the throttle anymore by pressing on it wiht your finger. if it won't open anymore, you are ok. take foot off of throttle and then press throttle cable with your finter at the throttle. should only be about 1/2 inch of slack in the cable.

 

The thread that you probably saw was pretty off based. Squeezer's suggestion is much better than what that thread was talking about ("Just tighten it up! It will be faster!"). That said, I don't think the cable is your problem. I think you are just noticing the effects of summer. If you sit at a stop light, or in traffic, your engine will heat soak, and loose power until it cools back down again.

 

easiest way to avoid heatsoak is to close the center vent, set the blower to upper body only, and point the two outside vents (driver and passenger) out, with the heat on, at 2-3 for the fan speed!!! Works great for me!!

 

That will help keep the coolant temps a little lower, but won't prevent the Intake Manifold from heating up. When you are at low RPMs / throttle, the manifold will build up a lot of heat that will be dissipated back into the intake charge later.

 

Wouldn't turning on the fan also add load to the vehicle = decrease in power.....

 

Heat soak is caused by a reduction in cooling, not an increase of load. If there is not a constant heavy flow of cool air flowing through the intake manifold, it will get VERY hot VERY quickly. If you drive for 10 minutes, park it for 10 minutes, then put your hand on the intake manifold, you won't be able to keep your hand on it for long. If you go for another drive, it will take a while for it to cool back down to normal temperature, so power will be reduced.

 

ooo thanks for the info, maybe it is the heat.

I will ask a friend to come and help me check out the throttle cable anyways.