[kiki]

Greetings folks!

My '96 2.3L 5-speed loses RPMs while cruising at highway speeds (and even sometimes when just riding around on surface streets in town). If I press the accelorator down to the floor, sometimes the RPMs will come back, sometimes it'll take a minute or two for it to kick back in and resume speed. I've taken it to a mechanic I trust and he told me that there was a small leak somewhere deep inside the engine that would be nearly impossible to find. I've already had the serpintine belt replaced (a little over 1 yr ago), new EGR valve, etc etc etc.


Anyone have any ideas on what could be causing this and maybe how to fix it?

Thanks.

 

[Nylie]

Greetings folks!

My '96 2.3L 5-speed

I've already had the serpintine belt replaced (a little over 1 yr ago)

Thanks.

Since this is in the base/se section, dont you mean 2.0L?

Serpintine belt? Maybe I dont know enough about our cars...but Ive never heard of this.

 

[stavesacre21]

Do you mean that when you are in gear you lose RPM's, or when you are in neutal? I've heard of some funny problems with Probe's before, but that would be a first!

If you are losing RPM's, does it go from like 2500 to 500 in a very short time, or is it more like when you brake in gear, and the RPM's slowly are going down? I'm just trying to get a grasp of what you are saying that your Probe is doing.

Oh yes, and also, just as Nylie said, um, do you mean a a 1996 SE/Base, or a 1996 GT?

If you have a 2.5 liter 24v V-6, it's a GT
If you have a 2.0 liter 16v I-4, it a Base/SE

Even if you have a GT, I'm sure that many of us here in this forumm would be more then willing to help you out!

 

[Nylie]

Also, do you have a Manual or Automatic?

 

[kiki]

You are correct...it is a 2...(I was half asleep this morning when I posted that...:>)...anyway...

The problem is when it is in gear...it is a 5 speed Manual transmission...I'll be going along just fine between 2500 and 2800 RPM when it will drop (sometimes suddenly, sometimes gradually) down to between 1500 and 2000 RPM. Doesn't sound like a drastic drop, but when you're on the highway and you suddenly slow down it can be a little unnerving.

This problem doesn't only occur on the highway though. It sometimes happens when driving on city streets. When it does this on the city streets most times it will jerk/lunge/lurch until you get enough momentum to change gears.

 

[stavesacre21]

Could be the A/C

Do you have A/C in your probe?

Let me tell you a "set-back" that I noticed after I had my '97 SE for awhile. I don't have CC, so whenever I travel on highway, I have to have a steady foot (duh). Anyway, I don't have a problem with that, but I noticed after awhile that when I turned the A/C on, I would be going down the highway doing about 65, and then the next time I look down at the speedometer I'm down to 60, and then I would re-adjust my foot to get back up to a steady 65.......only to have it KICK in and then before I know it, I'm up to about 70 or so. At first I thought something was severly wrong, but after I went to our local Ford dealership, they cleared things up.

The reason that they gave me was that because a Probe is only a 4 cylinder and only has about 120-125 HP, it has to give something when teh A/C compresser kicks in. They said that in vehicles with more Horsepower, it's not near as noticable because there is MORE HP to use. However, with the Probe, since it only has about 120 HP to begin with, whenever the A/C compressor kicks in, it draws a good 10-15 HP from the engine, and then when it turn off, you gain that HP back. I thought it was a little annoying at first, but I eventually readjusted.

HOWEVER, if you don't have A/C, I believe that I just wasted about 10 mintues of you life. If that's the case, I'll bet your asking "Why is it that everytime I adhear to your inconsistant rambling you insist on retiring to an advancment of intelectual retardation?"

Hope this helps, because I know it sure was something I would have liked to have known when I first got my Probe.

Has anyone else out there ever had the same problem before? Just wondering......

 

[Nylie]

I dont use my AC much, but I do notice the few times during the year I use it, it will suck power. Im really not sure whats causing your problem Kiki. You may want to go into the GT section and ask them....Im just not sure and Id hate to give you misinformation.

 

[ProbeGT-R]

this is freaky weird....

I've NEVER heard of this exact problem, but it sounds a lot like a fault in the electrical system somewhere....

You may either need a new disty cap, rotor, or entire distributor... or maybe all 3...

After replacing all those, and you still have a problem?? I would have no clue... but it sure sounds electrical to me....good luck. :tup:

 

[kiki]

The car acts this way:

1) with the cruise control on;
2) with the cruise control off;
3) with the AC on;
4) with the AC off.

In other words...it does it whenever it feels like it. I like to think that I have a pretty steady foot on the pedal, but it's getting to the point that I'm thinking about trading the thing in on something totally different.

 

[mwild8]

ok im a gt guy but your talking some weird ****e!

is it boggin down when the rpms drop?

or is your guage just droping with no loss of performance?......

if hes talking about a crack then hes saying your losing compression.
depending on the two questions ttt it sounds electrical. have you done stuff to it to screw anything up? ive learned on my car that its very touchy in some areas when it comes to electrical.

do your ligths dim when this happens?

 

[locoforwatkins]

Okay everyone is overlooking the most easiest! It could just be a cloged fuel filter that is just getting jamed up and when Kiki jams the throttle it clears up. Thats first.

Second sounds like her clutch may have begun to start to slip, those are the simple signs. Any load put on a clutch that is worn out will slip and grab because of heat and just the fact that the clutch is worn out.

Could be a bad spark plug wire or spark plug, a valve cover gasket that is leaking oil onto the plugs.

Could be a lot more simple things, don't over look something simple and just goto the more complicated things, because its usually not it.

 

[kiki]

Thanks, folks! You've all been a big help. I'll talk to my mechanic about your ideas on what could be wrong and see if he agrees.

Thanks, again!

 

[Psycho Dad]

I'm in agreement about the fuel filter or some other fuel related issue. In fact my first guess would be the fuel pump. Also, are you getting a CEL when this happens? If so you may need a MAF cleaning.

And not to say anything bad about your mechanic, but I'd try to find another one as his first guess about a leak in the engine that couldn't be found doesn't sound like he is too knowledgeable.

 

[kiki]

The check engine light stays on...it's been on for months...when my guy clears out the codes from the chip it goes away, but usually comes back before I've driven 30 miles (sometimes more, sometimes less). I'm just hoping right now for a fairly inexpensive repair.

I'll have to check my records and see when the fuel filter was last changed. I'm not sure if I've had anything done to the fuel pump or not. I can't remember.


Thanks again.

 

[Psycho Dad]

Since your CEL is always on I'm betting that your problem may be very well related to it, or you have more than one performance or fuel economy robbing problem. There is a ProbeTalk member who has a very good procedure to follow for MAF cleaning on his web-site. I don't recall the url, but when PT comes back up after the server move you can search it for the url. Or perhaps there is a PT regular here who can post the url. HTHs

 

[locoforwatkins]

The procedure is fairly simple. Just take your MAF off first, second you will need theft proff torx bits. These bits have holes in the center, and when you see the scews that are holding the MAF sensor on the tube you will see what I'm talking about. But you can purchase those anywhere from walmart to any autoparts store!

Take off the MAF sensor and be VERY carful not to touch the filliments or "little wires!!!" DON'T EVEN BRUSH THEM!! Just spray them down with some decarbon cleanen or fuel injection cleaner. My preferance is going to a GM dealership and purchasing a can of "Top Engine Clean" It comes in two types spray and liquid. Get the spray and spray down the fillments down well.

Let them dry and put everything back together. You might also want to clean your throttle body, but using a tooth brush and the same bottle of top engine clean. Spray down the inside of your throttle body and the butterfly. Open your throttle body so you can see into your intake manifold, and just brush the back side of the butterfly "flap" down really well. Then just spray again and put everything back together.

*NOTE* You may have to start your car a couple of times before your engine will run! This isn't a bad thing, its just all the cleaner inside your Intake manifold it will start about after the second time!

Thats basicly how you do it, not too hard.

 

[Psycho Dad]

The procedure I was refering to doesn't require that much disassembly. I just removed the snap ring holding the screen in place and sprayed the choke cleaner into the orifice where the filaments are. As the last poster pointed out, it is important to not contact the filaments. I used choke cleaner that was labeled "O2 sensor safe" and used to short bursts of the spray to clean it.

 

[fiveliter302]

Re: this is freaky weird....

I've NEVER heard of this exact problem, but it sounds a lot like a fault in the electrical system somewhere....

You may either need a new disty cap, rotor, or entire distributor... or maybe all 3...

After replacing all those, and you still have a problem?? I would have no clue... but it sure sounds electrical to me....good luck. :tup:

I dont know... Im in agreement with this here... Ive had the same problem before and the car will jerk like a mofo!
Whens the last time you changed plugs/wires/rotor?