OK Guys my dad came home from the rig today... he said my distributor feels loose. He said somethin bout where the spark plugs go into and he's going to take all that off... check the distributor... check the throttle body... and other little stuff. Here's what my car does. If the engine is cold ya know... sittin for a while. Like after school... I can crank it up and get normal acceleration and go pretty fast. Well, after about 2 minutes of it being cranked I notice a loss in acceleration. Like once I get 2 the red light and I go when it turns green I can floor it and it'll take like 15 second to get 2 60MPH. I know "It's just a V6" But I KNOW it should be faster than this I've had this car for a year and I drive it everywhere so I know how fast it is supposed to be. The scanner a guy put gave me code 43 - ESC module or sensor circuit problem What can I do to fix this?? Please help!! Thanks!

 

Generally, an engine will always run faster/pull harder when it's cooled down...I'm pretty sure people who go to the track regularily let their car sit for awhile before making their runs to squeeze out the best possible time.:lala:

 

yes i know this... but this isn't normal... I'm LOSING... power... A LOT of it... somethings wrong...

 

ok we found the codes in my Haynes book...

Code 35 - Idle Speed Control - TPS sticking or misadjusted; poor electrical connection, open or short in circuit; defective IAC valve; defective ECM

Code 43 - Electronic Spark Control - Poor electrical connection, open or short in circuit; defective ESC module; defective knock sensor; defective ECM

Code 44 - Lean Exhaust - Lean condition caused by malfunctioning carburetor/fuel injector, vacuum leak, low fuel pressure, etc.;poor electrical connection, open or short in circuit; defective MAP sensor; defective oxygen sensor; defective ECM

I know each code has a lot of things it can be... but when I got a scanner hooked up 2 it here's the codes and what it said on the scanner...

Code 35 - Idle air control problem
Code 44 - Lean Exhaust
Code 43 - ESC module or sensor circuit problem

me and my dad are trying to figure out what this can be so we can fix it. Can anyone else help me piece this together and help me fix it? Thanks again guys!

 

I'd put my money on the lean exhaust. My 89 Formula 350 is doing what sounds like the EXACT same thing right now. It's fine for the first few minutes, and then I lose a hell of a lot of power...not sure if it even really wants to go over 55-65. I step on the gas, but don't really get much power, and little increase on the tach.

Thing is, I was getting a rattling noise from one of my cats a few weeks back...it got a lot worse then got better, and it almost non-existent now, so I think some catalyst may be stuck in my piping, probably at the Y behind the cats. I'm getting hedders, and replacing the cats and O2 sensor real soon, so hopefully that will take care of it.

Also, the Haynes manual mentions something about a tool to check for back pressure in the exhaust system...if it's a cheap tool, it might be worth a shot to try that to make sure that's the problem.

 

I'll check into that too... but we just took off the distributor cover and in the middle that little ring... half of it is gone and the plastic is all cut and stuff so maybe something is catching. The distributor was lose a lot and there's trash and all kinds of stuff on the distributor... HOPEFULLY we can fix it soon... anyone think this is it?

 

oh yeah.. and when i get on the gas... i don't get a lot of speed... but my rpm's go up a lot when i step on the gas

 

based on what im seeing here, it looks like your timing may be off...im going from a chilton manual for the A body, but they used the same computer. code 35 means the computer is having trouble keeping the engine idling at the speed it wants. it is either idling too high or bogging down. code 43 means the knock sensor circuit...and 44, like you said, means the o2 sensor is lean...
couple other things you might wanna do...check all the vacuum lines. if they are leaking enough it would cause the engine to close the idle air passage all the way and set a code 35. because there is too much air getting in, the mixture could be too lean for the computer to compensate. The computer knows the rich/lean status by the oxygen sensor, so it would set trouble code 44...lean mixture.
as for the code 43 i havent the foggiest. the lean ignition may be causing the engine to ping, but you should check the base timing anyway.
also make sure all the cylinders are firing...a dead cylinder could cause the o2 sensor to sense too much unburned oxygen and set that same code.
hope this helps

 

well the distributor cap was all messed up and the thing was loose so we replaced it... still same thing... i'm gonna get someone 2 set fix the timing if that's wrong... how hard is that? my dad MIGHT could do it... but he works on oil rig engines instead of car engines haha...

 

all you need for timing is a special wrench and a timing light. the special wrench reaches down to the distributor hold down bolt, so you can loosen that, then the dist. can turn to adjust the timing. use the timing light to make sure that its set right...or just do it by ear.