1997 Mazda Protege question

greenedriver · Posted at Sun Nov 01, 2009 6:53 pm

Engine Performance problem
1997 Mazda Protege 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Manual 120k miles

i have a 97 mazda protege that i just recently just bought the previous owner put a new water pump ,timing belt valve cover gaskets and flushed all fluids. My question is when im in 1st gear the car has no power and doesnt accelerate well unless i rev my rpm's to 5000 then the car does fine. Im not to sure if i should give the car a tune up or put a new fuel pump or should i just do a induction service or something , im not to sure what to do.

rasmataz · Posted at Mon Nov 02, 2009 2:11 am

Sounds like the clutch is slipping

greenedriver · Posted at Mon Nov 02, 2009 7:42 pm

there's a new clutch in it already it only maybe has 500 miles on it

rasmataz · Posted at Tue Nov 03, 2009 9:25 am

Check and test t he following:

Oxygen sensor
Catalytic converter
Dirty fuel injectors (cleaning the injectors often fixes this).
Bad MAP (manifold absolute pressure) sensor
Bad TPS (throttle position) sensor
Bad or dirty MAF (mass airflow) sensor
Low fuel pressure (leaky fuel pressure regulator or weak fuel pump)
Vacuum leaks (intake manifold, vacuum hoses, throttle body, EGR valve)
Bad gasoline (fuel contaminated with water or too much alcohol)

Sometimes, what feels like a hesitation is actually ignition misfire rather than lean misfire. The causes of ignition misfire may include:

Dirty or worn spark plugs
Bad plug wires
Weak ignition coil
Wet plug wires

greenedriver · Posted at Tue Nov 03, 2009 2:10 pm

well actually i put a scan tool on it and it said that i need a down stream o2 censor but will that make the car hesitate and stall ?

rasmataz · Posted at Wed Nov 04, 2009 7:23 am

It will cause it to hesitate if its not switching accordingly but wii not make it stall.