Lethargic VL

[leslloyd]

3L,Auto wagon.
Hi guys,just got back from a 1500 km trip.The VL is really down on torque and acceleration,just dies on hills,
and the slightest throttle has it dropping down a gear.
Engine seems to be running fine mostly,although at times it has a flat spot off idle,later on it will be fine.
I notice whenever i start any gradient the Air cond cuts out,checked the hose to the front mounted ball and it
has vacumm and doesn't appear to be leaking.
At night (while cruising) with the ECU visible it shows approx 12-15 greens at 1 second intervals 1 Red which stays on for 2 or 3 seconds.
Then pause and repeats the same sequence.
Fuel mileage is not bad at 10l per 100km still,same as allways.
Any ideas as to the cause appreciated?
regards
colin

[juiceie vh sle]

check your timing as well as plugs, leads, coil
compression test the motor
replace all fluids.air filter
clean throttle body

[Reaper]

3L,Auto wagon.
Hi guys,just got back from a 1500 km trip.The VL is really down on tongue and acceleration,just dies on hills,

Maybe give it a bit of tongue yourself. In the right spot with good technique the old girl may respond a bit???

Reaper

[detox_nath83]

could be a blocked exhaust the honycomb looking porceline stuff inside the CAT can break and block the exhaust(So pull the cat and have a look. hence causing your problem... other than that. could be a "starting" to fail AFM as u will see erratic engine behaviour when these go

[leslloyd]

Thanks guys,will check compression.Would a failing afm show up as an ecu code?

[detox_nath83]

possibly man yeah... check my sig below on a how to reset the ecu and check the codes properly...

my L did something similar to yours and it was my cat had broken inners and blocked my exhaust flow

not something silly like ur handbrake is locked on

[leslloyd]

All right,i've got me another afm and ecu for free off a wreck so i'll see how that goes.Then it'll be the cat
but i'm away at work till xmas solid now.
cheers
colin

[leslloyd]

Well i get a chance to get back into town tomorrow,i've been thinking i'll change the cat over first9hey i haven't smelt
that exhaust pong for years so it's dead any way),will try repco first.
Also been thinking of maybe a vacuum leak,can i plug something off at the engine temporarily,just to eliminate vacuum
leak in the heater controls as the problem?
Also are there any pictures of the IAC and AAC?i'm not sure which one i should clean,to help with the flat spot off idle.
regards
colin

[jdl6666]

Check the timing belt and make sure it hasn't got too much slack! if it has, then undo the tensioner nut with a 14mm spanner, put a little force on the tensioner to take up the slack in the belt and then tighten up the 14mm nut. Having a slack timing belt will cause some performance probs, and it might even pay to replace the belt.

So how do you know if it's got too much slack? start the engine and check the belt for deflection when you give it a rev. If the belt deflects at an unsatisfactory level, then it will need to be adjusted/looked at!

Other than that, it might pay to adjust the distributor timing. This will make a difference too.

Cheers!
Jim.

[detox_nath83]

AAC valve is closest the firewall on the plenum next to throttle body and tps sensor. It's a round cylinder looking thing with a t plug on it. The AAC is held on with 2 Phillips head screws. Don't drop them down the bay