Jump to content

lack of power..


Recommended Posts

My 86 2.5 Comanche is pretty sluggish, I bought it to tow our trailer, but right now it struggles up hills on its own.

We noticed that the cover over the throttlebody is missing a clip, thus making the cover from the airfilter less tight - I'm guessing that this could be a reason for lack of power?

It's my daily driver, and is generally sluggish at present, I've done all the usual change plugs filters etc and put redex in the tank as I think it's pretty gummed up, the guy who had it before me used it for work and I don't think it was really looked after and it's tired now!

 

any advice / suggestions?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My 86 2.5 Comanche is pretty sluggish, I bought it to tow our trailer, but right now it struggles up hills on its own.

We noticed that the cover over the throttlebody is missing a clip, thus making the cover from the airfilter less tight - I'm guessing that this could be a reason for lack of power?

It's my daily driver, and is generally sluggish at present, I've done all the usual change plugs filters etc and put redex in the tank as I think it's pretty gummed up, the guy who had it before me used it for work and I don't think it was really looked after and it's tired now!

 

any advice / suggestions?

 

 

you have less than 100hp to the rear wheels to begin with...it's not a rocket, downshifting will be necessary on hills, and it's not exactly suited to towing a trailer much bigger than a single axle motorcycle trailer...and that's pushing it in size IMHO for that 4 banger if you're doing long hauls.

 

-Pat

Link to comment
Share on other sites

what trans do you have? 4speed, 5speed or auto? What size tires?

 

Did you change the fuel filter? Another contributor to sluggishness is a plugged up catalytic converter.

 

No didn't change the fuel filter, put that on the weekend jobs list!...

 

Auto torqueflite box

tyres are 235 x 75 X 15 I think....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am a big fan of the 4.0 HO , some may disagree , however a good set of low gears in the rear will help with towing .

 

I am rebuilding my dana 44 with 4;56 gears . IMHO , a HO with low gears makes me feel like this in my head ... :banana: .

 

I'll have to have the doctors remove my ears , so my smile can go back further . :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

An 86 4cyl auto SHOULD have 4:56 gearing already. And the clip on the TB cover will not help your power situation, but will keep dirt out better. Assuming you already have 4:56 gears, and are still down on power, you may need to look into other things like a cold air intake tube, removing the engine fan and installing an electric one, throttle body spacer, new injector, new 02 sensor, maybe gut the cat converter ( as to leave the impression to others that you still have a good cat ), free flowing muffler, maybe a header as available from Clifford performance... stuff like that. Ive done all this to mine except the header, and 4:10 gears instead of 4:56. Mine went from tired dog at 336,000 miles when I got it to half way peppy driver at 343,000 miles, though mine is not an auto. If your auto trans slips too much it could be part of your problem too, though I know nothing about the auto trans in any of our trucks. If I were you, I would also have a good compression test and cylinder leakdown test done before I put too much time and effort into this truck.... an engine may be what you need after all. Good luck and let us know what you do!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am a big fan of the 4.0 HO , some may disagree , however a good set of low gears in the rear will help with towing .

 

I am rebuilding my dana 44 with 4;56 gears . IMHO , a HO with low gears makes me feel like this in my head ... :banana: .

 

I'll have to have the doctors remove my ears , so my smile can go back further . :D

Love your "signature" ! :rotf:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

An 86 4cyl auto SHOULD have 4:56 gearing already. And the clip on the TB cover will not help your power situation, but will keep dirt out better. Assuming you already have 4:56 gears, and are still down on power, you may need to look into other things like a cold air intake tube, removing the engine fan and installing an electric one, throttle body spacer, new injector, new 02 sensor, maybe gut the cat converter ( as to leave the impression to others that you still have a good cat ), free flowing muffler, maybe a header as available from Clifford performance... stuff like that. Ive done all this to mine except the header, and 4:10 gears instead of 4:56. Mine went from tired dog at 336,000 miles when I got it to half way peppy driver at 343,000 miles, though mine is not an auto. If your auto trans slips too much it could be part of your problem too, though I know nothing about the auto trans in any of our trucks. If I were you, I would also have a good compression test and cylinder leakdown test done before I put too much time and effort into this truck.... an engine may be what you need after all. Good luck and let us know what you do!

 

Thanks for all that advice, a compression test is a good idea, will work through your suggestions. :thumbsup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...