High RPMs but no power!!

I have a few problems. First, my car has a really rough idle. It idles right above 500 rpms. Also, when I accelerate the rpms go up, however it doesn't feel like the car really accelerates. Yesterday, I put my car in reverse, hit the gas pedal, the rpm's went up a little past 1 on the gauge but the car didn't move until i pushed the pedal down farther.

My car is a '96 Riviera with 122,000 miles.

Where do I start?

Have you inspected the brakes? I'd make sure none of the calipers are locked up, dragging. Bad brake hoses & old calipers can sometimes cause problems like this.

Also check transmission fluid is at the proper level.

I just replaced the rotors on both the front and back, so I would hope that the calipers aren't locked up,

I recently changed the transmission fluid. Also, I had a transmission slipping code but the CEL has not been on for a while.

Would it be something like the throttle body? Vacuum leak? I just have no idea where to look and I don't feel like spending a fortune having a mechanic try to guess whats wrong with my engine.

I would suspect vacuum leak for the rough idle, but doesn't explain the lack of power up top.

Try cleaning the MAF sensor... easy to do, may help.

Might have the cat converter checked. If it's clogged, could cause this type of problem.

How's the air filter look?

any codes? abs light on?
if the car is lifted does each wheel spin freely?
i agree with aaron that it is likely trans or brake related if the car will not roll under 1k rpm.
the trans are vac operated in the 96's so make sure there isnt a leak in that line going to the front of the tranny. also to ensure a proper reading on the trans fluid, check it when the car is warm and running. (after running it through the gears)
if all of that checks out then i can give some more things to check

What is the MAF sensor and how do I check it?

The transmission fluid looks fine.

I don't think a mechanic should charge you to inspect the car. At 122,000 miles I'm going to guess transmission is the culprit, but I may be wrong.

kennyj4 wrote:

What is the MAF sensor and how do I check it?

The transmission fluid looks fine.

The maf sensor reads your incoming airflow.

Here's a thread on cleaning the maf sensor. Page 2 has a pic with it circled, and there are decent details on the process. It's not difficult or complicated, but you DO want to handle it with care... http://www.regalgs.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=32593&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Alrighty. I checked the MAF sensor and it looked fine.

Any other ideas?

Any change in the idle or high-RPM operation thus far?

Try cleaning your injectors with Chevron Techron concentrate. Use the higher-priced bottle:

http://www.chevron.com/products/prodserv/fuels/additives/concentrate_plus.shtml

or sea foam

I've heard a lot about Sea Foam and that people have had some success with it.

How do I use it?

i put a can in the gas tank with about 3-4 gal 93 gas. and use one can in the vac line by the TB. cleans out everything, but you may need new plugs after the vac line treatment, depending on how dirty it is.

AA wrote:

I would suspect vacuum leak for the rough idle, but doesn't explain the lack of power up top.

?

easy, MAD kr which will suck away your power.

I say 9+* of it before I fixed my vac leak, and that was barely getting on the car. a WOT, that would have toasted my engine no doubt.

I got a check engine light. One code suggests a new catalytic converter. The other code tells me that the transmission is slipping?

My car just feels like it has no power what so ever. I put it in reverse and the car just sits there.

Probably the codes are both right. If the trans is going out, you should decide if the car is worth keeping for the amount of a rebuilt trans, about $1500-2000 installed.

If you want to keep the car, the first thing I'd is take about $100 and buy an aftermarket high-flow cat converter, like one of these:

http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/category_10001_10002_10251_-1_10245

Take it to a local exhaust shop and have them replace the old one. If the old cat was bad, your problem will be fixed. If not, you've replaced the cat with a better-performing one that should last a long time. Worth the money spent.

Be sure to ask to for your old cat converter back. Even if it's bad, the precious metal inside will get you $30-40 at your local junk yard.

If the problem doesn't go away, you probably should have the trans repaired or replaced. Not the best news, hope it's not the case. Best of luck.

Which one of those converters would work for my car? There are like 5 different ones under each brand.

Would a bad catalytic converter really have that much say in how a car performs? Could it cause my car to have no power?

yes, if it is clogged

The cat converter most likely is not your problem, but it's your cheapest chance for a fix. If the trans is going, you'll need to fix it too, but if your car has high miles a new cat converter isn't a bad idea regardless.

I've been noticing my car acting similar in the past week. I now have 145k miles, so not unexpected that the trans may be showing it's age. Before it's warmed up, when I put it into gear from park, it doesn't move as easily as it used to. Once I get going, seems to be fine.

Will try a few things, let you know what happens.

If you're a handy person -and I know you are Aaron- a transgo shift kit might prolong the life of your transmission. If I were as close as you are to Intense I'd probably just save up and buy a low-level built tranmission.

INTENSE shift kit was installed at 85k miles. I've been quoted $1900 from INTENSE for a rebuild... just a bit more than I'd like to pay. But we'll see.

The way my trans feels, it's kind of lumpy from a dead stop, like it's slipping. I tried increasing shift pressure at zero/low load using the PowrTuner this morning. Seems to have helped things. I'll know for sure after driving a few more days.

Transmissions are so expensive, I want to get every mile I can out of mine before replacing.

From GM shop manual:

"Poor Acceleration at Low Speed

If the (TC) stator is freewheeling at all times, the car tends to have poor acceleration from a standstill. At speeds above 30-35 mph, the car may act normally. For poor acceleration, you should first determine that the exhaust system is not blocked, and the transmission is in 1st gear when starting out.

If the engine freely accelerates to higher RPM in Neutral, you can assume that the engine and the exhaust system are normal. Check for poor performance in Drive and Reverse to help determine if the stator is freewheeling at all times."