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1996 960 Wagon needs some whispering, sluggish from a stop and accelerating on the highway 900 1996

posted by  paulwilson05 on  Tue May 2 01:01 CST 2017
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I've got a 1996 960 wagon that I treat very well with 221k miles that I'm trying to drive to 300k.

Most recent history:
Car has been running fine
About a year ago, I replaced spark plugs (will need to check records to see if perhaps it's just time for a full tune-up.)

Two weeks ago, the car started to get a little sluggish from from a stand-still, and seemed to take longer accelerating. Just didn't feel as spirited in traffic or at highway speeds.

I could sense a light amount of surging and falling in power at highways speeds. Then the next day the car started stalling.

Then the CEL light came on, and I rolled into Autozone to get the code read. I believe it was P0103 (high electrical input). This was right when I also needed to do the Texas state inspection and registration renewal. I had my local shop replace the MAF with a new Bosch unit (not cheap, BTW!). The car stopped stalling, but during cold starts it wasn't as smooth as it used to be for half a second, pulling away from a stop was maybe 90% of what I remember, and accelerating on the highway seems to take longer than normal. The CEL stayed off but I had to drive over the course of a few days so the readiness period would pass.

The readiness period passed, the car passed inspection, and then driving home, I took a detour through a neighborhood to check out houses and the CEL came back.

I again rolled into my Autozone near my home, and came away with a new engine code: P0171 System Too Lean

I called the shop to let them know that the light and code returned and I'm planning on taking the car back to the shop, but would like a heads up of what I need to tell the shop because...

the light ended up going off over the weekend.

The car still feels sluggish and hesitates on a cold start. On the phone, they told me they would need to smoke the car to see it it were a vacuum leak. Wondering if anyone has been through this or has a tip. Thanks in advance!








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    1996 960 Wagon needs some whispering, sluggish from a stop and accelerating on the highway 900 1996

    posted by  paulwilson05 on  Sun Sep 24 01:16 CST 2017
    Author: [PROFILE] [EVERY POST] [THREADS] [BEST POSTS] RSS Feed     [IGNORE ALL POSTS] [RELATED]

    Mileage Part
    99,277 Michelin Energy MXV4 Plux XSE
    96,833 90,000 service
    97,254 A/c svc,ext trim Replace cupholder
    114,273 spark plugs
    114,273 coolant thermostat, seal, gasket
    114,273 tank cap
    119,526 blower motor & sensor control
    119,080 Timing belt
    119,080 tensioner
    119,080 drive idle pulley
    119,080 serpentine belt
    119,526 replaced intake manifold gasket
    119,526 replaced six lower injector seals
    123,065 transmission flush
    123,065 replaced motor mounts
    138,142 Ohtsu Zexius
    145,417 145,000 Svc - LOF - Replaced Brake fluid,
    145,417 sway bar bushings & linkrods, Left ball
    145,417 joint boot, Control arm bushings, Driver
    145,417 seat cable repair, Left Fog Lamp,
    145,417 paint & fill front bumper, replace TAC
    145,417 thermostat, seat controls plastic covers
    145,417 A/c recharge, 4 wheel alignment, front
    145,417 brake pads, wiper blades, wiper
    145,417 blade rotor, reservoir cap, gas hood
    145,417 shocks, fix vacuum hose leak, repair
    145,417 front spoiler & right fog lamp,replace c/d
    145,417 radio, left headlamp assembly, washer pump
    145,417 pump, seat slide rail
    154,594 Oil Change; alignment; front bumper paint repair; transmission mount; power steering and suction hose and cooling coil; right side engine mount
    154,594 LOF - Replaced right engine mount,
    154,594 transmission mount, bumper repair,
    154,594 Power steering pressure and return hose
    154,594 & cooler, 4 wheel alignment,
    155,546 Purchased by Paul Wilson
    155,546 Texas County Title Transfer and Registration
    155,637 Inspection & Green Sheet
    159,940 New Tires Bridgestone Ecopia EP422
    160,000 Brake service
    159,629 Oil Change
    159,635 AC Service
    166,030 Oil Change
    166,936 fuel rail
    166,936 replaced fuel rail
    167,983 Tire Rotation
    170,098 Oil Change, Inspection
    173,260 Oil Change
    176,609 Oil Change
    177,347 Transmission Service ($169), Sunroof retime ($88)
    180,016 Oil Change
    180,500 Registration
    181,413 Tire Rotation
    183,500 new front brake pads and disks
    184,005 Oil Change, Inspection
    186,050 Oil Change
    186,467 Tire Rotation
    187,158 Timing Belt, Serpentine belt, water pump, tensioner, tensioner pulley, tensioner wheel, brake hoses, tightened radiator hoses, idler pulley in timing belt
    188,855 Oil Change
    192,139 Car threw idle pulley off bearing; damage to battery
    192,139 Installed new battery, air filter
    192,139 Replaced Idler Pulley, replaced rear brake pads, machined rotors, oil and oil filter change, replaced lower A-fram bushings on both sides of front suspensions, alignment and tire rotation
    194,498 Oil Change
    194,770 New Tires Michelin Defender
    198,845 Fuel pump and filter ($225) and spark plugs ($45)
    199,851 Replace upper radiator hose and expansion tank
    201,500 Tire Rotation
    201,721 Oil Change & Inspection
    205,747 Tire Rotation
    206,289 Oil Change
    207,000 Added Lucas steering fluid with stop leak
    208,307 Tire Rotation
    208,700 Car detailed
    Camshaft Position Sensor lookup
    208,790 Replaced Camshaft Position Sensor; Fix LR Door ; Transmission Selector Shaft Seal
    209,960 Tire Rotation
    210,070 Flat Repair
    210,074 Oil Change, Oil Filter, Valvoline MaxLife
    211,000 P0103 CEL (High Voltage from MAF (Saturation))
    211,000 fuel treatment, air filter
    211,800 New Battery
    211,874 New Radiator ($524.60); New Air Mass Meter ($351.51); AC Service ($127.58)
    212,017 State Inspection (PASS)
    212,025 P0171 CEL ON (System Too Lean)
    212,030 Lucas high mileage fuel treatment (fuel injector cleaner)
    State Registration
    P0171 CEL OFF
    P0171 CEL ON (System Too Lean)
    P0171 CEL OFF
    P0171 CEL ON (System Too Lean)
    P0171 CEL OFF
    P0171 CEL ON (System Too Lean)
    P0171 CEL OFF
    CEL ON
    CEL OFF
    214500 parts on order
    P0171 CEL ON (System Too Lean)
    P0171 CEL OFF
    214521 Tire Rotation
    214600 Current Mileage








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    1996 960 Wagon needs some whispering, sluggish from a stop and accelerating on the highway 900 1996

    posted by  Adirondack Blues on  Wed May 3 21:50 CST 2017
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    last visit: Mon Sep 8 12:11 CST 2014
    [RELATED]

    Carefully inspect the vacuum lines for cracks, particularly rubber elbows on the small diameter plastic lines. Check the rubber lines around the AMM/MAF and the plastic vacuum tree fitting near the bottom of the intake manifold bowl.








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      1996 960 Wagon needs some whispering, sluggish from a stop and accelerating on the highway 900 1996

      posted by  paulwilson05 on  Sun Sep 24 01:05 CST 2017
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      this is going to sound really dumb, but how many vacuum lines are there and where do I start?

      I know there's one off the fuel pressure regulator. What other ones are there?

      Any help greatly appreciated :)








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    1996 960 Wagon needs some whispering, sluggish from a stop and accelerating on the highway 900 1996

    posted by  machine man on  Tue May 2 10:34 CST 2017
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    last visit: Wed Oct 22 15:40 CST 2014
    [RELATED]

    Think about the fuel pressure regulator. This would cause an overall lean mixture from the fuel rail that affects amounts of fuel and the spray pattern from the injectors.

    I can see why they would want to do a smoke test for excessive air with that code. If the code is coming that is going to lead me to think that there may be an air leak behind the AMM.
    This would also throw off the mixture as well.
    Check for holes in the snorkel or accordion tube first. Very possible that a hole has been rubbed into it from the fender.
    The whole conveyance system may have been put back together wrong or loose.

    Phil








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      1996 960 Wagon needs some whispering, sluggish from a stop and accelerating on the highway 900 1996

      posted by  paulwilson05 on  Sun Sep 24 01:12 CST 2017
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      Phil, I got a fuel filter and a fuel pressure regulator from FCP Euro. Going to try to get this done tomorrow.

      166,936 fuel rail was replaced
      198,845 fuel pump and fuel filter replaced
      214,600 current mileage

      Hoping this helps with the sluggishness below 2000 rpm.







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