A little history: My 93 has been running kinda crappy for the past 4 to 6 months. Breaking up in the low rpms, before finally clearing up on the top end. Mind you, it doesn't do it every day. Some days the car runs fine, while others it just sputters and pops.
I have been doing a lot of reading here on Prime, finding many folks with similar issues, and the first response to this problem is to replace the coil packs. I picked up 3 used coils from another member who was also hunting down a similar problem. The coils were not his problem so he passed them onto me. I too tried swapping around my coils with zero change in performance. I was never convinced it was the coils, because the car would clear up on the top end. Why would a coil misfire down low under light demand, then all of a sudden clear up when the demand for energy was that much greater (my thinking at least)???? I did read several posts about new coils solving the problem, but I've also read others where it didn't make any difference. Before I threw some good $$$ away on a problem I was not 100% sure of, I just keep reading and hoping I would stumble across a solution first.
Another reason I need to get this issue fixed is that I'm running a 70 shot NOS system and I was going through serious withdrawals. I wasn't going to jeopardize my motor with the additional work, when it was feeling a little under the weather most of the time. Although I did foolishly use it two or three times, on those days when the car appeared to be running normal, and I just didn't get the same kick in the pants I once did. I started to wonder if my NOS system was acting up also??
So today, I pulled the car out to give it a bath. I decided to take a look at my NOS system to see if everything was still connected properly. I just happen to look at my K&N air filter on the end of my CAI. Damn, I said to myself, that thing is dirty as shit!!!! I pulled it off and looked through it facing the sun. I could see light coming through, but just how much was blocked I did not know. I decided to give it a cleaning anyway. After I got the dirt out of it I realized how dirty that damn thing was! I could now see so much more light when I looked through it that I realized I had neglected my cars breathing system for too long. Still, not thinking more than I cleaned a dirty air filter, I assembled the car and finished my detail work.
I decided to take the car for a post bath ride and I immediately noticed the car feeling lighter. Like the motor was working so much easier, that is simply pushed the car around with less effort. I still was not convinced that I had made a significant change until I got onto a 4-lane highway close to my home. I pulled away in first punching it at 2,500 and the car just zipped to life like I haven’t felt in God only knows how long. My car was running great!!! I redlined first, second and third, arriving at 90 mph quicker than I had done so in... forever. I did this over and over and I was convinced my problem was solved. So what the next thing to try???? That's right, the NOS. 30 seconds of test-driving was all I needed before I knew it was time for some laughing gas. I slowed down to 60 and dropped it into 3rd. Hit the old horn button and my car pulled so hard to redline that I simply shifted to 4th and redlined that gear also. I was cruising at 120 mph for 5 seconds before I realized I was doing 3 times the posted speed limit. I could not stop smiling. Did I just fix my cars running problem by cleaning the air filter?? I then realized I had not cleaned the damn thing in over 15k miles. What a loser I am. I change the oil like clockwork, but forget a simple thing like cleaning the filter.
Anyway, the moral of all this rambling is to check the little things first. I was only able to put 10 miles on the car, but it was the smoothest 10 miles I have felt in a long time. I will post back tomorrow after a 50 mile run to work, to see if my theory still holds water or not. It sure would feel great to have solved my problem with a bottle of air filter cleaner. Sounds hard to believe I know. My fingers are crossed for now.
I have been doing a lot of reading here on Prime, finding many folks with similar issues, and the first response to this problem is to replace the coil packs. I picked up 3 used coils from another member who was also hunting down a similar problem. The coils were not his problem so he passed them onto me. I too tried swapping around my coils with zero change in performance. I was never convinced it was the coils, because the car would clear up on the top end. Why would a coil misfire down low under light demand, then all of a sudden clear up when the demand for energy was that much greater (my thinking at least)???? I did read several posts about new coils solving the problem, but I've also read others where it didn't make any difference. Before I threw some good $$$ away on a problem I was not 100% sure of, I just keep reading and hoping I would stumble across a solution first.
Another reason I need to get this issue fixed is that I'm running a 70 shot NOS system and I was going through serious withdrawals. I wasn't going to jeopardize my motor with the additional work, when it was feeling a little under the weather most of the time. Although I did foolishly use it two or three times, on those days when the car appeared to be running normal, and I just didn't get the same kick in the pants I once did. I started to wonder if my NOS system was acting up also??
So today, I pulled the car out to give it a bath. I decided to take a look at my NOS system to see if everything was still connected properly. I just happen to look at my K&N air filter on the end of my CAI. Damn, I said to myself, that thing is dirty as shit!!!! I pulled it off and looked through it facing the sun. I could see light coming through, but just how much was blocked I did not know. I decided to give it a cleaning anyway. After I got the dirt out of it I realized how dirty that damn thing was! I could now see so much more light when I looked through it that I realized I had neglected my cars breathing system for too long. Still, not thinking more than I cleaned a dirty air filter, I assembled the car and finished my detail work.
I decided to take the car for a post bath ride and I immediately noticed the car feeling lighter. Like the motor was working so much easier, that is simply pushed the car around with less effort. I still was not convinced that I had made a significant change until I got onto a 4-lane highway close to my home. I pulled away in first punching it at 2,500 and the car just zipped to life like I haven’t felt in God only knows how long. My car was running great!!! I redlined first, second and third, arriving at 90 mph quicker than I had done so in... forever. I did this over and over and I was convinced my problem was solved. So what the next thing to try???? That's right, the NOS. 30 seconds of test-driving was all I needed before I knew it was time for some laughing gas. I slowed down to 60 and dropped it into 3rd. Hit the old horn button and my car pulled so hard to redline that I simply shifted to 4th and redlined that gear also. I was cruising at 120 mph for 5 seconds before I realized I was doing 3 times the posted speed limit. I could not stop smiling. Did I just fix my cars running problem by cleaning the air filter?? I then realized I had not cleaned the damn thing in over 15k miles. What a loser I am. I change the oil like clockwork, but forget a simple thing like cleaning the filter.
Anyway, the moral of all this rambling is to check the little things first. I was only able to put 10 miles on the car, but it was the smoothest 10 miles I have felt in a long time. I will post back tomorrow after a 50 mile run to work, to see if my theory still holds water or not. It sure would feel great to have solved my problem with a bottle of air filter cleaner. Sounds hard to believe I know. My fingers are crossed for now.
