1994 Plymouth Sundance 2.2L - runs poor when engine cold

Hello!

I have a 1994 Sundance with the 2.2L engine and I am having a lot of trouble
with it when the engine is cold (first thing in the morning) It has only
been happening recently, but I am not 100% convinced it is just the cold
weather as opposed to the engine not being at operating temp. We had a
couple nice days and it still didnt run too great, but it was a little
better.

What is happening is it will NOT respond to stepping on the gas... I mean
starting from a start, it takes about 20 seconds sometimes to cross a
street... same thing to get out of an intersection after a red light... once
up to speed, its okay, but if I stomp on the gas, it will bog down as if it
will stall... it has not stalled yet, but I fear the problem will get worse.

When I bought the car, there was no hose that is to get warm air from around
the engine into the air cleaner assembly, and I was told I had to install
that in order to get it certified... I bought one and attached it to the air
cleaner assembly, but could not, for the life of me, find anywhere to put
the other end! I looked everywhere, but ended up just tucking it in to the
back of the engine somewhere... could this be the problem?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Kevin

 

It certainly could. Just tucking into the back of the engine is the wrong
way to do it. There's a sheetmetal shroud around the exhaust manifold,
called the "heat stove", where that air preheater hose needs to attach. If
it is not attached there, you can get surprisingly severe driveability
problems at cold ambient and engine temperatures. Maybe your heat stove is
missing; if so it needs to be replaced.

Beyond that, depending on the state of maintenance of the vehicle (what
else is missing or improperly put together or neglected?), you may need to
pay some attention to the ignition system, the fuel and air filters, the
PCV system, the rubber hoses and elbows surrounding the throttle body, or
other components. You may want to check for any stored trouble codes.

To check the computer codes:

With the engine off, switch the ignition key on-off-on-off-on,
leaving it "ON". Do not
go to "start", just "on" during this procedure.

Watch the "Check Engine" or "Power Loss" light. It will turn on, then go
off, then will begin to flash-out any trouble codes that have been stored.
For instance, if it flashes:

flash <pause> flash flash
<long pause>
flash flash flash <pause> flash flash flash flash flash
<long pause>
flash flash flash flash flash <pause> flash flash flash flash flash

Then you have a 12 (one flash followed by two) a 35 (three and five) and a
55 (five and five). 55 means "end of codes" or, if by itself, "No codes
stored. Check the codes and report what you find.

 

Okay I guess I will make a trip to the wreckers (junk yard) to pick up a
heat stove, as there is definitely nothing on the exhaust manifold... I
thought something must be missing! Hopefully that takes care of it.

I just replaced the Fuel Filter, Air Filter, Spark Plugs, Cap and Rotor and
the wires and even though that helped make the car run quite a bit smoother
in general, it did not do a thing for this issue.

Thanks very much for the good response and for the instructions on getting
the codes! Thats awesome... nice little trick )

off to work I go! (I hate cars!!!)

 

Very wide interchangeability. Any '87 to '95 Chrysler, Dodge or Plymouth
vehicle with a 2.2 or 2.5 litre nonturbo 4-cylinder engine will supply
the part you need.

Good.

You will probably want to pay attention to the usually-neglected crankcase
ventillation system on your car, see http://tinyurl.com/yr2pg except do
not substitute the PCV valve as discussed in the linked article.

Sooo....did you find any codes?

 

Okay, I was finally able to get the codes for this car and it only gives me
a 55...

flash flash flash flash flash <pause> flash flash flash flash flash

I was not able to get to the wreckers this weekend due to weather here (the
snow is horrendous) but Im guessing I really need to get that heat stove and
check the PCV system...

Thanks again!
Kevin

 

No trouble codes stored.