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Sidekick running badly

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Offline junkman

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Sidekick running badly
« on: August 22, 2007, 08:04:05 AM »
HELP!

My 1994 Sidekick started running funny on the way to work today. No power, backfiring out the tailpipe, etc. I changed the fuel filter and the cap and rotor look good. Could this be a fuel pressure problem? It seems to rev up okay when sitting still but will not go anywhere. Throttle positioning sensor? I hope I make it home (57 miles) today. Let me know what you think.

Junkman
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g-man

Re: Sidekick running badly
« Reply #1 on: August 22, 2007, 07:16:41 PM »
Could have jumped time on the belt. When was the last itme it was changed if ever? How many miles on your kick?
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Offline junkman

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Re: Sidekick running badly
« Reply #2 on: August 23, 2007, 10:08:44 AM »
G-Man

The timing belt was replaced when I rebuilt the engine a few months (about 2000 miles) back. My son-in-law is a ricer freak and he thinks it is the timing belt too! I will probably check it out before I start throwing parts at it. Thanks for the reply.

Junkman
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Offline Zukipilot

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Re: Sidekick running badly
« Reply #3 on: August 23, 2007, 11:11:12 AM »
Start off simple with stuff like bad wires/plugs etc.... My 97 had an issue with cheap plug wires arking to th evalve cover andf causing the same problem. A good set of wires stopped the problem.

Zig
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Offline ChiTownZuk

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Re: Sidekick running badly
« Reply #4 on: August 23, 2007, 05:35:13 PM »
Junkman,  you're decribing exactly what was happening to my '94 4DR Sidekick w/129000 miles to the T, did all the least expensive stuff first per listings in the post here, chkd wires, plugs, fuel filter (replaced), my timing belt hasn't been changed but parts sitting here waiting for my buddie to get a chance to do it at his shop, turns out it was my TPSensor.  Ordered one from Rockauto.com, monday night, $126.00 shipped, recieved today being put in by my mechanic buddy.   
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Offline junkman

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Re: Sidekick running badly
« Reply #5 on: August 24, 2007, 07:21:23 AM »
Zig, ChiTown,

Thanks for the input. I have checked out the plugs and wires and they seem to be fine. I put what I thought were good wires but maybe not. The plugs look they are firing okay though. Being an old carburetor man, What exactly does a throttle positioning sensor do? Is it one of those things that only serves to make your ride run like crap if it goes out? LOL! If I replace that and the fuel pump, I will have almost as much in those little bitty items as I have in rebuilding the rest of the engine. I have an old Samurai frame and running gear sitting in my back yard hoping to get a body for it but maybe I will take my freshly painted Sidekick body and weld it to the Sammy. It has a carb and you can take the whole thing apart with a hammer and a pair of pliers.

Junkman
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Offline Rhinoman

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Re: Sidekick running badly
« Reply #6 on: August 24, 2007, 11:00:04 AM »
Quote from: junkman on August 24, 2007, 07:21:23 AM
What exactly does a throttle positioning sensor do? Is it one of those things that only serves to make your ride run like crap if it goes out? LOL!

It senses the throttle position  ;D

It has several functions. The ECU checks the difference between the current throttle position and the last recorded throttle position to determine acceleration/decceleration. If you are accelerating then it enrichens the mixture in the same way that an accelerator pump would. It leans off the mixture on decceleration. Throttle position is also used in conjuction with other sensors to determine whether some of the emmisions control stuff is active or not.
On a 90 on model the Idle Switch is built into the TPS.
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Offline junkman

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Re: Sidekick running badly
« Reply #7 on: August 27, 2007, 12:01:49 PM »
Rhinoman,

Thanks for the info. My son-in-law figured out what the problem was. It turns out that the throttle body had a bad gasket allowing too much fuel to enter the engine. (Hence the crappy milage I have been getting) Two of the plugs were almost fouled out. After fixing the throttle body and a new set of plugs, it is now running better than ever. Thanks for everyone's help. Like Zig said, "Check the cheap and easy stuff first".

Junkman
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