Engine braking (Automatic) severe??

[gotlag]

OK. Hate I have to post in the newbie section, but hey....I'm still restricted. Here it goes.
95 GSX Auto. First, the acceleration from 0-25 SUCKS. Could most likely cross the intersection quicker on foot!!Seriously, no lie, I am scared to pull out in traffic unless there is about a 20-25 car length gap in traffic, and that is if I am in a 35mph zone. Checked for boost leak, and of course above 12 psi or so, the stock BOV leaks, but I can't put the Greddy on until my De jon upper pipes come in. Well today it hit me that it almost felt like a brake was dragging as the accel was so bad and when you let off the gas, the car drops an easy 10 mph per every 5 car lengths or less. Thats from any speed. So I threw it in neutral at about 45 mph, and it coasts right along barely dropping off in speed, but put it back in drive and the car acts like you are half way through the brake pedal. Do these cars engine brake that hard??Again, it is a substantial amount of speed being scrubbed off just by letting off the gas. Starting to wonder if the tranny has issues. Also if you do try to foot brake the trans, it will flash to around 1500 rpm's and that is it. Floor it at the light, and it might actually flash to 1700 or so. Also normal?

Thanks guys for any help, I'm only about $2700 and 3 months labor into this car (not including the price of car) and I don't want to stop now!

 

[Defiant]

Has your transfer case been inspected?

 

[ddavisaf]

Thanks guys for any help, I'm only about $2700 and 3 months labor into this car (not including the price of car) and I don't want to stop now!

Don't worry, I'm sure your car won't let you stop!

I would check the transfer case like defiant said first.
Then I would remove the stock BOV and cap it off. Run another boost leak with that source sealed off.
Then run a boost leak test from the throttle body elbow.

 

[gotlag]

No, not going to stop now. Still way less than the last 3000gt I put together.

What exactly am I going to be looking for in regards to the transfer case? I was figuring that with it being permanent AWD, it would still drag down when I went to coast as that wouldn't remove any drag it may be causing as it wouldn't be removed from the rear drivetrain. (Honestly, Master tech and all, the AWD is the one part of this car I am not familiar with, so don't take this reply as rant or argument, just learning what I need to be looking for)

I am still pleased with the car, even though I have only put 85 miles on it (purchased it in pieces and had to rebuild the engine and turbo,fuel system, etc.). Know I still have some tuning to do, but this just does not feel right at all.

Thanks for the replies, and can't wait for some more ammo to take to this problem.

-edit- Also today reverifying that I had no codes, I did notice that in park or neutral, I have an engine load percentage that stay between 29-37% at idle. I am more used to seeing 14-18%, but I haven't looked at engine load percentages on many turbo cars so I don't know if they are different. The reason I threw this in is it has me wondering if a bad "cat" is causing a bad restriction. I have a test pipe from a previous car, so I guess I'll throw that on and see if there is any difference.

 

[92awdgsx]

Does the tranny shift alright? It shouldn't be dragging it down that much. Check the cat it might be clogged. Might be a bad converter.

 

[gotlag]

Well, it isn't having the acceleration problem like before, driving the car and it just went away.Now the transmissions is acting like it is possessed! Goes 1 to 2, then at first I thought it was going to about 3000 rpms and then slipping, but turns out it is going into a passing gear, because if you hit the gas it pulls hard to redline. First it would find drive eventually, now just 1 and 2. I don't have a TCU that is for the car, but I do have one for a 97 turbo FWD. Wonder if that would work to at least test?? No TCU codes are active. Any thoughts??

 

[ddavisaf]

Doubtful, chances are it's the torque converter.

 

[gotlag]

Thank you all for the help. The tranny has now decided to be very vocal (whine and grind). So in goes another. Will be pulling this one out and sliding the next one in Tuesday (have to wait on a freight truck). Will post as to how the car responds/drives after the new tranny/transfer case, and TCU are installed. Fingers crossed!! I guess I will also take advantage of have the second tranny available, and go through it and do a rebuild while it is on the bench and also update what problems it ended up having.

Thanks again, another DSM down, but only for a short time.

PS, was probably a REALLY bad idea to but a rebuilt engine making more power than stock in front of a tranny with 155K anyway. OOOPS!

 

[gotlag]

Well, got all the new parts in. First off, something was defiantly wrong with the transfer case. Fresh synthetic turned black and "gummy" in only 99 miles! Had to poke a screwdriver in the drain hole just to get it flowing.I even flushed it all out when I put the new motor in.
So I also put in the new tranny. Did a complete rebuild and also got the shift kit and manual valve from IPT. (BTW, John is awesome at IPT. True pro and great to deal with.Very patient and professional.Thanks for the T-Shirt.Fits fine!)

Drove it for a couple days and still felt laggy but shifted good. So yesterday I got a new VSS from the local Mitsu dealer and installed it today and....................HOLY S*&T!! No wonder you all love these cars!! Easily out preforms my GTZ and the last 3000GT VR4 I had. Not to the status my Pontiac drag car has, but then again the drag car doesn't have a radio,leather,A/C, and turn very well either. For a daily driver this car rocks!!

I cant wait to get some miles on this engine so I can run it down the 1/8 to see what it can do. How long do you all normally wait to break in these engines. After porting the turbo it is spools fast and hard. I just haven't been over 5200 rpm's as the motor is still fresh/

Thanks again for the replies and help.