[TorontoSable]

My 96 Sable has developed a problem with lack of power. It has the 3.0 Vulcan. It starts and idles fine but is lacking in the get up and go department. It requires lots of throtle to get off the line at a decent pace. Doing this causes the shift points to higher than normal. With light acceleration it shifts fine and does not appear to be slipping. Trans fluid is not burt and was recently changed. There are no codes on my scanner and no CEL. Compression is 140- 150 in all six holes. I tried a cam position sensor on spec but no change. Intake and exhaust are clear and throtle plate travels all the way. Brakes are all free and not dragging. What am I missing?

 

[sixfofalcon]

I'm guessing, since you checked the compression, the plugs looked OK? I think a weak coil pack would throw a code, but sometimes they go out slowly and don't trip the CEL until they are completely FUBAR. A bad ignition module would trip the CEL too. hmm... that covers spark.

Fuel filter? Fuel Filter! Yeah... replace that, and see what happens.

Also check the air filter. Maybe it got damp and all the dust got caked up on there.

 

[TorontoSable]

Thanks for the reply Six. Yup, the plugs all looked good and I checked the air filter too. Tried the fuel filter too. I am wondering if perhaps the fuel pressure is low or if I have a clogged cat. I thought the O2 sensor would catch that though.

 

[sixfofalcon]

Maybe your CEL is burned out. :lol:

I would check the fuel pressure next. Try cleaning the MAF sensor wires with electrical contact cleaner. I'm not sure that a dirty MAF would give you the problems you are having, but it's fast and easy to rule it out. I'm assuming you have tried DryGas in the tank, too.

I think if you had a clogged cat, you would have gotten a CEL for fuel mixture too rich a long time ago... or you would have noticed excessive oil consumption.

How many miles?

 

[TorontoSable]

Thanks Six. I'll try the MAF. I'll have to dig up some contact cleaner. Yup, tried the dry gas and a fresh tank of fuel. The car has 240K km on it.

 

[Tazbear]

Having same exact prob. with my 98' Sable Duratec. New tuneup, filters, replaced camshaft post. sensor, new IAT sensor, trans. was rebuilt under warranty. Mine only does this when the outside air temp is above 85 and seems to get worse as the outside temp increase. Have taken to dealership twice and they can not diagnose. Unfortunately, both times I took it the outside air temp was high 70's. No codes, two hours on diagnostic machine and nothing shows up but I know my car and it has NO POWER on take off. I'm stumped. Let me know if you are able to solve your problem.

 

[TorontoSable]

An update on the beast. Checked the fuel pressure and it was right up to spec. As I was still stumped I took it to the dealer and made them aware of everything I had already checked and asked them to run a diagnostic. The only thing they could suggest was the DPFE. They also updated the PCM for me. I tried one from another Bull but no luck. Being a tad testy I decided to disconnect a few sensors to see if anything changed. Disconnected the IAC and RPM changed but it didn't which surprised me. Tried the MAF and it run rough until I reconnected it and which time the idle went up but settled down after a minute or so. I noticed that snapping the throttle now sounded normal. Hopped in for a spin and all was normal again. I'm wondering if I somehow forced the MAF to recalibrate or some other such magic. If all stays well I'll update you all.