[DML] General lack of engine power. what's going on?

["odell_andy" <odell_andy@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

OK, please someone help me before this car takes over my life.

i have owned my D since March last year, and only got it in a drivable
state last week. It is an late 81 Auto i bought non running in miami.
 I honestly thought it was pulling away in 2nd, and that i should have
4 forward gears. DUMBASS!
i do have 3 forward gears. in 2nd and 3rd it goes pretty well. even
with all the problems i really enjoyed myself, and remember why i
brought the thing in the first place!

today i pulled off the venturi, fuel distributor and tightened the vac
hoses. made no difference.

parts i have replaced;
fuel distributor, distributor cap,spark leads & plugs, fuel pump,
filter, coil, battery, fuses/relays, fuel lines, idle valve. ballast
resistor, 2 solonoids bottom of gearbox, (trying to find that elusive
4th gear!)

engine runs pretty well. no vac leaks. doesnt stall.
I tried to disable the lambda, following the DMCnews guide, and found
that my O2 sensor is putting out 0.35 volts (i have not replaced the
sensor, it appears good) the RPM counter also doesnt work. (it
increases from 7000 to 7500 revs when you turn the key, otherwise static. 
everything else works. 
changes to 2nd gear about 30mph, 3rd about 50. 

when pulling away from red lights, the engine has a cam rattle noise,
and has virtually no acceleration  below 10mph. 
is the lack of power and revcounter related?
any help / ideas welcome. i am running out of ...

thanks for your time,
Andy







To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address:
moderators@xxxxxxxxxxx

For more info on the list, tech articles, cars for sale see www.dmcnews.com

To search the archives or view files, log in at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews 
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    dmcnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/