Newbie Car Problem

Maraxus

Veteran XV
I drive a 95 Mazda Protoge stick/Manual, 73k miles. I'm not sure whats wrong but when i depress the gas over a certain amount it won't "pickup?" or whatever, like it wont kick in and will just over rev. I tryed cruse control on the freeway it almost impossible and when I go slower it makes the overbogging sound.

Any ideas?

I dont know much about cars. Im going to venture with my small knowlege, Timing off? Or Clutch is worn/broke?
 
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There's a lot of possibilities there man. Your description doesn't narrow it down enough really either. Have you been keeping it well maintained? That is, do you have the scheduled maintainence done on or close to on time? It's not timing because if it was running fine before, the timing doesn't just adjust itself (unless something was left loose). It's not likely your clutch either... it could have almost been from your description of just revving and not going, but you said it bogs and stuff too... you should be able to tell the difference. To me it sounds like maybe the fuel injectors need cleaning/replacement, or something of the like. If it wasn't maintained, it could even be fouled/worn spark plugs, bad plug wires, cap, rotor, etc.

If you know nothing about cars, take it to a shop. Try to find a reliable local one that you can trust. I wish I could help you, but it's really hard to tell from your description and even if you were to narrow it down, you'd need to take it to a shop anyways.
 
{YDG}Snipes said:
There's a lot of possibilities there man. Your description doesn't narrow it down enough really either. Have you been keeping it well maintained? That is, do you have the scheduled maintainence done on or close to on time? It's not timing because if it was running fine before, the timing doesn't just adjust itself (unless something was left loose). It's not likely your clutch either... it could have almost been from your description of just revving and not going, but you said it bogs and stuff too... you should be able to tell the difference. To me it sounds like maybe the fuel injectors need cleaning/replacement, or something of the like. If it wasn't maintained, it could even be fouled/worn spark plugs, bad plug wires, cap, rotor, etc.

If you know nothing about cars, take it to a shop. Try to find a reliable local one that you can trust. I wish I could help you, but it's really hard to tell from your description and even if you were to narrow it down, you'd need to take it to a shop anyways.

I dont think weve got it's 70k mile checkup yet, but its been maintained pretty well. I am going to get my buddy to drive around with me tommarow see if he can figure it out, he says he has a timeing gun and will know what to do if its that. I think i might bring it in to a shop just in case anyway.
 
AngusMustang said:
despite snipes advice...

it sounds like clutch slippage to me...

i second that, try going around 45 and put the car in 5th then fully push in the gass, if the RPMs start to fly up and you not go anywhere, then its teh clutch, not a big deal its maintanace on a manual car. Just get a new one.
 
if the engine makes a bog sound then the first thing i would look into is the fuel delivery system - check the exhaust, stick yer finger in there and rub the inside and see if its just covered with black (not blue) shit (ie unburned fuel). it sounds like fuel area or fuel burning area. anything from the fuel pump/filter all the way up to the compression, but more likely injectors or fuel delivery.
 
bonz099 said:
i second that, try going around 45 and put the car in 5th then fully push in the gass, if the RPMs start to fly up and you not go anywhere, then its teh clutch, not a big deal its maintanace on a manual car. Just get a new one.
exactly what happens
 
AngusMustang said:
despite snipes advice...

it sounds like clutch slippage to me...
Well I guess it depends on how you look at his description. I guess from one point I can totally agree with you. If the engine isn't acting up and it's just a matter of it not engaging then yes it is the clutch. I was thrown off by you saying that it bogged down, but that's probably just from you slowing down so much trying to test it.

Anyways do you have any idea if the clutch has been replaced since it was new? Did you buy the car new? If it hasn't been replaced then it is due.. avg around 60k if the clutch is taken care of, less if abused. At 70k it will be well worn.

Tell me this, when you start out from a dead stop, does the clutch only engage at the very very end when the pedal is let out. That is, does the clutch need to be let all the way out before it even starts to move? If you've owned it for a while, have you noticed a difference in the clutch pedal feel, most notably from stopped starts?
 
Maraxus said:
exactly what happens
well then it's your clutch buddy! problem found.

it's a regular replacement anyways, it's probably been due for a while now. not sure on imports, but it's usually under $500 for parts and labor on clutch replacement.
 
i'm gonna go ahead and say it isn't the clutch (though it probably needs to be replaced) and i'll stick with fuel area.
 
{YDG}Snipes said:
well then it's your clutch buddy! problem found.

it's a regular replacement anyways, it's probably been due for a while now. not sure on imports, but it's usually under $500 for parts and labor on clutch replacement.
ow i hope its not that high.
 
if that's aimed at me, well i just proved it does...

speaking of that, i think i just saw meg ryan get a rim job
 
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