help!!!....no power/accel..tried everything
 

ok some background info...sorry its long but i am trying to be thorough.

196,000 mi
3.8l 5 spd
i have only but about 1000 miles on this myself..owned for a year, first actually attempt at driving with it as daily driver

p.o.
said head gaskets and clutch were replace thats all in way of major maint.

i have replaced vac lines
did compression check (115 - 130ps) each cylinder held compression
new plugs are autolite and all came out dry and looking good
plug wires are new...autozone store brand
cold air intake
oil pressure is within range 60-90 while running at 2000-2500 rpm
oil pressure does not jump all over the place (aftermarket pressure gauge)
no loss of oil at all
runs at max 210 temp normally
antifreeze is green and not disappearing at all
exhaust doesnt smell at all...no smoke or discoloration if i hold white rag to exhaust
2.5" dia exhaust with high flow cats
fuel filter
seafoamed gas, oil (and changed) and intake
i held a long screwdriver to injectors and can feel all 6 tapping away.
have ran it with oil cap off and no smoke comes out of valve cover

no knocking or tapping of any sort

replaced:
tps and cam pos sensor....both had thrown codes.
tried cleaning maf sensor and iac

recommended by others:

i have harmonic balancer on way...engine has a bad vibration...can be felt in steering wheel and seats.

obvious problems i have:
only code is for o2 sensor bank 2
gas mileage is about 13 +/- mpg almost all city though

problems i am having:
no power from dead stop i have to rev up to 2000rpm just to crawl...once moving all seems fine. if i step on it from dead stop the engine does nothing.
idle drops to 500-1000 rpm at stop
when on highway in 5th i lose speed gradually
timing seems to be off some days....backfires out intake/exhaust

separate maybe:
and now i am overheating...i think i have an air pocket...just did t-stat.

please help if you can...i am about to take to pro...just cant afford exploratory work at labor costs....

thank you...if you need any other info please ask

could be a clogged up cat, or maybe the o2 sensor is really fd up?

not the cats they are brand new.
i bought the car last spring and did a quick and dirty tear down.
new interior...and exhaust..and so forth from the list above.

i tried to run it with maf sensor disconnected and no difference at all....dont know what that means.
i am trying to list as i go...sorry for it being kinda random

Guess you haven't really tried everything... because the solution would be with the set of "everything".... Sorry, couldn't resist.

That sounds like a bad clutch. Do you feel it slipping at all?

Since you say the P.O. has already replaced the clutch I'd run some more diagnostics (in no particular order):
- Rent a fuel pressure gauge from your local auto parts store and run a fuel pressure and leak down test. No fuel, no go...
- Pick up a spark tester and make sure you are getting adequate spark. You may be getting some spark, but it may not be enough spark (which would indicate a bad coil pack or alternator).
- Get your local auto parts store to test your battery and alternator. Battery gets the car started, the alternator keeps it going. If the alternator is on its way out it may not produce enough juice to produce enough spark to run the motor.
- Check your surp belt for wear and damage
- Check the belt tensions. With the car running at idle with a steady RPM, watch the belt tensioner. If its bouncing around it is shot and should be replaced. If the belt doesn't have enough tension or is stretched too much it won't turn the alternator et. al. efficiently and can cause strange problems like this.

Good luck...

thanks for the electrical "lead" didnt even think of the alt.

i am renting a fuel pressure tester kit on my day off, i am also considering injector service/cleaning

thank you again...i really appreciate the help.

ok, at lunch today i did the following

alt and battery...tested good condition
thru on a new serp belt ....no help
spark tested 4-5-6 all had "blue" good spark.

still no change....out of time for today.

ok so, i checked the timing..bingo she is off.
looks like the timing jumped.
so at least now i have a direction to look into.

thanks to those that chimed in.

crap, how does that even happen? need a new chain or did you have it apart at one point and maybe everything wasnt exactly tight?

dont know how it happened...i have never had it apart.
i am guessing 196k on the clock might have done it.
i will be opening her up to see...maybe gear lost a tooth...dont know.

i am gonna check the timing again just to be sure...better safe then sorry.
maybe the cam sync is off....we will see.

i will keep reporting back....after looking around the net this "no power/acceleration" problem seems to happen with several diff issues with these cars...

probably the lack of power in the first place then people really start to complain when i gets worse lol. good cars though