OK this is weird....this car has been utterly trouble free the last 6 years with a B16A1, Y-1 transmission...

THis morning sudenly its started this problem...low power as RPM's climb....I.E. it fine at idle and low rpm but get worse as Rpm's climb. It can barely muster power to maintain 60 mph but at low speeds its great. Had been working perfectly.

In fact it easily passed the harsh northern Virginia emissions inspection as couple weeks ago at 1/2 the allowed emissions.

Has a 4-1 JDM header, 2.5" cat and 2.5" cat back system....normally fairly raspy seems strangely muffled and has what can best be secribed as a wheezing sound as rpms climb, almost a whistle. What it seems like is an obstructed cat converter, but I pulled that off tonight and I can see through the entire core without issue. I have experienced a plugged cat before and it acts exactly like this. No kinks or bends in the exhaust, amd with the intake, no obstruction there as well, but it actling just like a corked up exhaust. Seems like I can hear a farting gasket when I try to push it hard odd as this exhaust normally can be a bit loud when pushed.

I need to say the ECU is pushing no error codes.

It idles perfectly silky smooth. no roughness or misfires. I haven't checked for jumped timing yet but it ran perfect when I parked it last night but this morning it ran really bad like this. Any ideas what can give these syptoms. I'm a bit balffled.


Modified by virginia_dude at 10:07 PM 4/28/2008

 

No ideas on this? I need to get this car back on the road. THe price of diesel fuel is killing me with my other vehicles.

 

check your whole ehaust system for a leak , a gasket mite be blown which causes the wheezing sound and lost of hp

 

The loss of power is near total....it barely wants to rev even in neutral and its like it only can deal with up to a part throttle condition, and the whistle or wheezing sound is actually what you hear at the tailpipe. Literally sounds like something is stuffed into the exhaust which isn't possible. But one thing I am doing tonight when I get home is drop the exhaust at the header and blow through it with a shop vac to see how it flows.

 

clogged Cat maybe

 

Found the problem....there was a cat core wedged back by the rear flance int he system, I has to have been there 6 years and just now rotated blocking the flow. I say 6 years because the cat was replaced about that time. I had figured the Idiot that had the car before hollowed it out. I guess no that they hadn't.

Anyway problem solved. Cheaply.