[B10alia]

Oops, sorry, Bob is right, I thought you had fixed the timing, one step at a time.
As for the cat air injection hose, the '91 Spirit I am driving while my '95 waits for an alignment also has not has the air pipe for a few years. The car runs fine. My uncle, who owns the car, has mentioned the same thing happening on a slew of Aspens and having no issues. The newer cats, like on my '95, don't have air pipes. I don't know if this is a change in chemistry or what, but you can run without it.

 

[nichisthemaster]

Thanks. I will call my mechanic and have him set the ignition timing. But I am thinking maybe the fuel pump is the problem. But as you guys say i will try the ignition timing. If it is the fuel pump what would cause this. Just a weak fuel pump or is something making it get to hot.

 

[Bob ONeill]

Does this car have a carb or is it fuel injected?

 

[nichisthemaster]

Single point fuel injected.

 

[Bob ONeill]

OK no vapor lock. Fuel pumps 'usually' fail dead and don't become intermitant.

However, anything is possible. It will be necessary to do a pressure check. You'll be looking for 14.5 psi on the fuel pressure.

Also, once the timing is correct and it's still acting up I 'strongly' suggest you consider looking at the link in my signature regarding drivability issues.

I've had an '86 Daytona for 27 years (since new) and it's had some of these same issues. But, it usually throws fault codes. You will need to see what these codes are for your car if any. Then, in other cases my car had drivability issues with no codes. I can say that nearly EVERY time it was not a part but rather a connection. Bob Lincoln and I removed my engine harness one connector at a time, cleaned each connection, verified the wire connected at each and and at the computer. Once the work was done the car behaved normally for a few years. Then, it started acting up again. The set of connectors we didn't check were at the computer itself. The wires which are connecting the harness to the computer have clips on them. In my case several of these spring slips lost their 'spring' and needed to be replaced. Since these were replaced the drivability issues disappeared. I've rarely if ever had to replace a part with a few exceptions as can be expected in a 27 year old car. Most every time my drivability issues have been related to wiring issues.

Consider checking every wire and every connector. In the case of the 2.2 TBI (single point injection) there is a harness which goes behind the valve cover and connects the speed sensor, O2 sensor, throttle body temp sensor, AIS moter and throttle positioning sensor to the computer. After many years the wiring which lays on the manifolds loses its insulation due to the heat. This allows the wires to short either to ground or to rub against each other. Remove the harness so you can check it in comfort. Check for lost and broken/brittle insulation and repair as needed. But, don't stop there. Check the other harness connectors. There are some behind the battery and one at the distrubutor. In addition, oil soaked wiring/connectors is not a good thing either.

I know this a long list of 'things to do' but you do have a 28 year old car and well, things happen. Let us know what you find.

 

[ImperialCrown]

The fuel pressure regulator at the injector should be able to keep pressure around 14.5 as stated. A 'real-time' fuel pressure test would be good if any fuel pressure doubts remain. The pump was checked at the dealer and they said that it was OK, but maybe the problem wasn't present at the time.
Cold engine acceleration would use more fuel than warm engine acceleration. Backfires through the throttle body (pop-back) can occur with lean mixtures and to a lesser extent, with overly advanced timing (it would ping badly and maybe struggle to crank over when hot). Backfire through the exhaust can occur with rich mixtures (i.e.-raw fuel in the cat) or severely retarded timing.
Avoid Bosch O2 sensors and spark plugs if you've used them. Always go with OEM.

 

[B10alia]

OEM plugs for this engine are Champion RN12YC, I believe. Most Dodge engines seem to run best with Champion plugs, and in the case of the 2.2/2.5, a plain-jane copper core plug actually works best. These cars have rather powerful ignition systems to begin with, so they don't really need any "help" from fancy, expensive plugs and wires.

 

[nichisthemaster]

My book for it says it should get 36 psi of gas pressure . Yesterday when I took off the feed line for the gas there was a lot of pressure and gas spit out of the carb I have worked of these cars for years and they have never had a pressurized gas system at least this car never has and I have separated the gas line many times and never did that before.

 

[nichisthemaster]

The dealer only did a cold fuel pressure test the car is fine tell it gets hot so if fuel pressure drops when hot they didn't test that. What would cause a fuel pump to get to hot and send less gas

 

[Bob Lincoln]

It's normal for gas to come out under such pressure, so that's a good sign. That's why you are supposed to bleed the pressure off before servicing, by jumpering wires from the injector to the battery for a couple of seconds.

There is really no common cause for pressure to drop with the car hot, so I'd not worry about that until the timing is set, and you see how it runs after that.

 

[Bob ONeill]

The dealer only did a cold fuel pressure test the car is fine tell it gets hot so if fuel pressure drops when hot they didn't test that. What would cause a fuel pump to get to hot and send less gas

Let me get this straight... you only had a cold fuel pressure performed. What was the measured pressure? A single point fuel injected car such as ours should not have 36 psi. The fuel pressure regulator should allow for 14.5 psi to the throttle body.

Then you ask the question... "What would cause a fuel pump to get too hot and send less gas". My questions to you are this...

Have you set the timing properly and does the car still behave badly?
If a cold fuel pressure test was done, what was the measurement?
If no test was done when the engine was hot, how can you ask what would cause the pump to get hot and send less gas when you don't know that it is sending less gas? I ask this because based on what you posted, no pressure test was done when hot so you don't know there is less gas.

 

[nichisthemaster]

I only way to test fuel pressure in this car is before the regulator it was 33 when they tested it they said that was normal. That only did a cold test. My mechanic is setting the timing friday

 

[Bob Lincoln]

Make sure they know enough to unplug the coolant temperature sensor during the procedure. It is a must, to get an accurate setting.

 

[nichisthemaster]

ok

 

[Bob ONeill]

So, what happened with this?

 

[nichisthemaster]

Sorry Guys i Was gone for a week here is what happened. I took it to my mechanic did the timing light the way you guys said. It was moving all over the place so he said to check the timing belt.I did that and now it runs worse i put a new belt on and lined up the timing marks the only thing i can think i did wrong was top dead center. If i did it wrong would it cause it to run worse? And could that cause the mark on the torgue converter to move all around? Thanks

 

[Bob Lincoln]

Unless the timing belt was very loose (and it would have to be so loose that it would flap and hit the timing cover), there's no way it's responsible for the timing mark moving all around. It sounds like your mechanic either did not unplug the coolant temperature sensor as required, or he loosened the distributor hold-down bolt so much that it was floating around while he checked it. With the bolt secure and the CTS unplugged, it should be steady. Might be time to find another mechanic.

 

[Bob ONeill]

The problem with the 'moving all over the place' was not the timing belt. I have a perfectly running '86 and ever since I've had it when I time it the mark 'floats'. It is the nature of the beast.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

Yes, but it will only float 1-2 degrees at most. If it's all over the place, the mechanic is doing something wrong.

 

[Bob ONeill]

Mine will float a little. Also when #1 misses there is no flash which contributes to the illusion of 'float'.