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| New 1991 LSI Convertible Thread; Slow accelleration over 45 & squeal | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 18 2009, 11:01 PM (830 Views) | |
| katjapurrs | Oct 18 2009, 11:01 PM Post #1 |
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New Member
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Hi Forum! I just bought my first Metro today, a 1991 LSi Convertible. Car drove sluggy & squealed on the test drive, but it was so pretty I couldn't pass it up. My husband drove behind me & we tried to take it on the freeway to get it home, but i couldn't get over about 48 MPH & it started to buck, so we took side streets home. He busted out the timing gun and found the mark WAAAAY back on the end towards the firewall. We adjusted the distributor as far towards the firewall as possible and it is still 4 degrees retarded. Those 4 minutes of work made it drivable in town, but it still won't go past about 55 MPH and takes about a mile to get there. My husband asked me to post on here and ask: Just how much performance are we loosing by running the car 4 degrees retarded? I've searched around here and it seems 12 degrees advanced seems preferred. Also there is a squeal. The water pump and AC belts both look brand new. Could the squeal also be related to the timing, or does this indicate we might need a new alternator? Thanks for y'alls help!
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| metroschultz | Oct 18 2009, 11:48 PM Post #2 |
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Please just call me; "Schultz"
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It sounds as if you may need to re-time the timing belt. These little cars will run with the timing belt one tooth retarded or one tooth advanced. After you make sure the timing belt is correct, you need to do a compression check. You are losing a lot of performance (and MPG) by having it retarded. (Pronounced -- Wee Todd Edd) No, the belt squeal is not related to timing. The squeal probably is just an adjustment. Both belts need to be adjusted correctly. Your car does not have an automatic adjuster for the belts. |
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| Bad Bent | Oct 19 2009, 12:11 AM Post #3 |
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Facetious Educated Donkey
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Welcome to the forum, katjapurrs! Try clicking this topic: Timing Belt I hit the Alternator/water pump/Driveshaft pulley with some belt conditioner and make sure the center deflection of the belt is 3/8" to 1/2". |
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| Woodie | Oct 19 2009, 06:10 AM Post #4 |
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Shultz has got you covered, timing belt is off by a tooth or the crankshaft pulley has sheared the key and turned by a tooth. Alternator belt is what is squealing, they need to be ridiculously tight on these cars. Goodyear Gatorback belt works best. |
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| Manny | Oct 19 2009, 09:02 AM Post #5 |
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Yes! a Costa Rican member
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That's the way to go... return your distributor to center position and re-align the timing belt, ...in my case I used a "Prestone" belt on mine and worked better than Good year one, so squealing stopped. After all that, do the compression test |
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| katjapurrs | Oct 19 2009, 09:20 PM Post #6 |
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New Member
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Hey guys, Thanks! Today was a beautiful sunny day & hubby & I both had the day off.. We went out and attacked the problem with wrenches, a socket & the timing gun. We ended up having to replace both belts (the timing because it was worn, and the alt. belt because it got beatup from being too loose.) We set it to just 2 degrees advanced & my little car has some zip to her now & will happily go up to 75MPH on the freeway (and probably a bit more, but I don't want a ticket Also the squeal is gone. Tomorrows project is to try and get the top to close ![]() Thanks again! |
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| chads4dr | Oct 19 2009, 09:51 PM Post #7 |
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glad you got her running!!! FYI though the factory timing is around 5 degrees, and they run better a little higher than that (around 8-10 degrees advance) |
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Also the squeal is gone.


2:06 PM Jul 11