Huge loss of power - HELP

[theelemental]

Hey guys, this is my first post here, and could use some advice.

I drive an '89 CRX w/ a B16a ob0 swap.
Driving home from work yesterday (45 minute drive on highway) I noticed that every once in a while my accelleration would take a 1-2 second pause, and cause the car to chug a little. I didn't think much of it until I got much closer to home where I noticed that it was much more frequent, and if at anytime I depressed the gas pedal all the way down I would experience an almost complete loss of power. The car would just chug a lot, but not acellerate any (I would actually slow down). Driving up hills I had to go into 2nd gear and keep the revs very low, or else I would lose all my power. even at idle if I stomp the gas pedal there is a delay and a little chugging before the rpms start to raise. keeping the engine at low throttle was the only was I could generate any power.

Today I started my car and it was fine at first, then after driving about 3 miles the problem started occuring again. I noticed my fuel pump (Walbro 255) started making various whines and also that if I turned on my headlights, heater, or other lights the fuel pump would make a different whine. I had someone tell me it might be a clogged Catilytic convertor, but Now I'm thinking alternator or fuel pump? Also I'm not even sure I have a Cat, it might be a resonator.

Last note- the distributor is an LS distributor that is sort of rigged up (I did not do the swap, or install this distributor), so if the distributor is a possibility, it probably should be replaced anyway. I have been using this car as my daily driver for about 4 months though.

Any advice is appreciated.
-Matt

 

[GSRCIVICTN]

The bogging you describe sounds like a fuel pressure problem. Check fuel pressure and go from there

 

[eg6sir]

sounds like a fuel pressure problem.. i had the same thing happen in my b16 hatch.. do you have an adjustable fpr on the car???

 

[theelemental]

Ok, I'm looking into the fuel situation. I don't have any type of fuel gauge at the moment. I guess installing one wouldn't be a bad idea? How much do they run?

I'm going to replace my fuel filter tomorrow and hopefully won't have to drop the tank and mess w/ the pump.
My pump makes weird noises (sounds like it's straining), and I'm hoping it's a clogged filter that's forcing the pump to strain.

Thanks for the input guys

 

[VTECPOWER]

Check your o2 sensors, are they in the correct location on the header? where the cylinders collect, make sure that they are in the right location, and make sure that they are wired correctly, example, primary and secondary.
Many people have them swapped and that makes the car bog down low, then smooths out up top quickly.

 

[VTECin5th]

I'm with them, before i even read the replies, i was thinking too much fuel.
It sounds like maybe your FPR is broken, and that's an easy fix.
It's not in the filter or the pump...
It may be possible that your dizzy won't make good spark when spinning fast, so check your spark to see if it looks good and constant for each cylinder.
I still vote FPR. (fuel pressure regulator)

 

[theelemental]

Quoted post[/post]]
I'm with them, before i even read the replies, i was thinking too much fuel.
It sounds like maybe your FPR is broken, and that's an easy fix.
It's not in the filter or the pump...
It may be possible that your dizzy won't make good spark when spinning fast, so check your spark to see if it looks good and constant for each cylinder.
I still vote FPR. (fuel pressure regulator)

My friend said he can give me a differnet FPR, but where is it located under the hood?

We checked the spark plug electrodes, and they were partially blackened, and some smelled like gasoline. Sounds like you're right on w/ the too much fuel (black plugs means too much gas, right?). haven't checked for spark yet.

Question- I replaced the fuel filter today and poured the filter's excess fuel into a container. I noticed that at the end of pouring, it started to come out as a dark red/brown color, and very thick. In the container the red stuff settled to the bottom... Rust? also, the fuel filter I used was for a 89 CRX (1.5l), should I be using a larger filter?

 

[GSRCIVICTN]

Does sound like rust. Just makes me think even more that your pump is struggling. Only thing that makes me less than 100% sure is that you say you smell gas on the plugs. How bad was the smell?
Regardless, you need to look into your tank and see what is going on. If you pump isn't bad, it will be soon with a tank full of rust.