1G Car drives rough, no power

[95teggsr]

Ok guys I need the most experienced dsmers to help me help a friend a while back I posted a car he was looking at buying it was a 90 talon tsi in brandywine MD we went to get it last night total nightmare which I won't get into to much but my concern is this the car has no power what so ever revs to 5-6000 in neutral sounds like launch control has early dsm link but while driving won't Rev past 4500 and don't have any power cel is on its like the ecu is in limp mode all the gauges n stuff work but the oil press and the car builds boost jus fine comes on about 3500 but with it overheating and only 1000 rpm of decent power it's impossible to drive please help guys I gotta go fix this thing tonight in a parking lot I'm not worried about the over heating prob I got that no prob but the car desperately needs power

 

[1990dsmkid]

Star with the simple things. Look over spark plugs and wires, check all wire connections, compression test, boost leak test, and check to see what code its throwing. Could be a number of problems wrong with it so need to start small and work to the bigger and hard things. Good luck

 

[95teggsr]

I h

Star with the simple things. Look over spark plugs and wires, check all wire connections, compression test, boost leak test, and check to see what code its throwing. Could be a number of problems wrong with it so need to start small and work to the bigger and hard things. Good luck

I have no way to do a comp test the car is 3 hrs away 1 way so I'm trying to gather up parts to take with n swap on the fly in I parking lot it was converted to 2g maf I forgot to post that but what would you guys grab and swap out I have a complete parts car that's disassembled I jus wanna get this thing home for him :/

 

[1990dsmkid]

If your just trying to get it to his place best bet would be a trailer but if this isnt an option then you could change a bunch of parts and still have the same problem. If it has link you should take a laptop and check over the settings or take a stock ecu and swap it plus swap maf for a 1g. Same with injectors if they were swapped. How does the car idle? I know ypu said it overheats this could be a bad headgasket or water pump. You should also look at the timing belt and make sure it hasnt skipped timing. Theres too many variables to guess at

 

[luv2rallye]

Another easy check is to make sure all the air intake couplings are tight. A loose one that lets air in will seriously impede power when under load.

 

[AlwaysSunnyOhio]

Same exact thing happened to me last summer. You're best bet is to buy AAA platinum and use your 200 mile tow to get it home. Cost me like $150. Had to argue with them a bit cause they don't like you to use it the day of but I talked them into it. It's just too stressful to fix in a parking lot. I've been there done that and it just sucks cause nothing goes right. Good luck out there

 

[Dsmkauai]

Rent a compression tester and take it with you! Also make a boost leak tester and bring it with you! Sounds like you have multiple issues going on.

 

[jbeaton9292]

If you have no way to compression test then just stop with this car because a compression test is FREE go rent a tool at autozone or any parts store and bring it back for a full refund and you need nothing but a sparkplug socket and ratchet with extention to do the job very simple and im willing to bet it has bad conpression

 

[evil_eagletalon]

if the vehicle is running a MAF set up it sounds like a big boost/vacuum leak.

 

[Silver gryffon]

Simple thing that might be over looked is a worn out clutch.

 

[rough]

Sounds like a problem car, I would have kept looking...

I second the trailer, good luck with overheating and 3 hours of drive time!