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I Just bought a 97 Protege LX

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    I Just bought a 97 Protege LX

    I needed a car with good fuel economy cause driving a bronco and getting 8mpg, then being a pizza delivery boy wasnt cutting it, but anyways i went and bought this car. it ran perfect the first day at its job, ran back and forth for about 100miles. then the next day after me going back and forth for about 3hours at a red light it stalled on me, so i cranked it again and it was idleling real low around 400-500rpms so i turned the a/c off and it went back to nearly 1000rpms. so i pressed on the gas and it felt a bit rought. got back to the pizza place then when i went out to deliver the car was fine so i turned the a/c on and it was just running smoothly. then when i had to start the car again at a red light it got rough. so it seemed like every other time i started the engine it was idling low if i had the a/c even at the first notch. so today i did a oil change(syntetic), oil filter, spark plugs, spark plug wires. it ran very well until it got warm to the normal temp it started to idle rough again. i was wondering what you guys think about this.

    Im sorry for the long essay but i tried to be as descriptive as possible.



    97 protege LX
    Auto tranny
    im not sure if its the 1.5 or the 1.8 but my guesses its the 1.5 cause its weak as hell

    #2
    Well, dude, good luck with solving the problem. I can't help with advise, but I wanted to welcome you to the board and comment on this...

    Originally posted by G3x5
    I needed a car with good fuel economy...
    My 97 LX auto, has 23MPG. It's definitely better than the 8mpg you got with your Bronco, but the 1.8L engine has better fuel economy than the Z5 (1.5L). You have the Z5 motor, which is 1.5L. The 1.8L (BP) came only with the ES model Protege and the Canadian LX's.

    The other guys should be able to help you out with the problem.

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      #3
      Coolant temp sensor??
      Try cleaning the electrical connector.
      Ryan The middle child is always ignored
      BP powered 97LX Touring Edition
      Vibrant strut tower brace, KVR front brake pads, Tungsram Megalicht H4 headlight bulbs, Phillips Halogen H3 foglight bulbs.... 91 GT rims w/ 195 60 14 Yokohomo Mirada GTX sport

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        #4
        Sorry i didnt introduce myself. im sorta in a bind here since i gotta go to work in a couple hours and i dont wanna be driving around like this. but anywho


        my name is Gerson but everybody just calls me G. im 19 years old from Houston Texas, hope theres alot of people from here:D. and hope to get to know all you guys!

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by midnightblue97
          Coolant temp sensor??
          Try cleaning the electrical connector.

          when my engine starts to idle rough. no dummy lights come on. but i know my temp gauge is workin fine cause towards the end of the 10hour shift it was above the normal line, i drained all the coolant out today and poured in new stuff. but after a few test drives it still does the same. i was thinking maybe it was my air filter was clogged with crap so i replaced that too and no luck. cause thats what ussualy my bronco did if the air filter was too dirty, would idle rought. but thats a carburetor.

          Comment


            #6
            Hey i was wondering what would be a quick way to gain a few extra horses. as i was reading around i see these things come with 92HP but whats the torque specs and at what RPMs? when i first touched the car i floored it cause i was use to my Bronco 100HP @ 2300rpms 342ft-lbs @ 2400rpms. so is it bad if i keep flooring it like this? i try to always keep it under 3k rpms but at that it sounds like its reving too high. and i think my idling problem is started to quit ive been driving around for about an hour or so and i guess the new oil needed to lubricate stuff but i still need to up the idle about 200rpms more, how do i go about doing this?

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              #7
              Originally posted by G3x5
              . so today i did a oil change(syntetic), oil filter, spark plugs, spark plug wires. it ran very well until it got warm to the normal temp it started to idle rough again. i was wondering what you guys think about this.

              Im sorry for the long essay but i tried to be as descriptive as possible.



              97 protege LX
              Auto tranny
              im not sure if its the 1.5 or the 1.8 but my guesses its the 1.5 cause its weak as hell
              Welcome aboard
              First of all as far as I know there's no reason to put syntetic oil in your engine. SAve your money for something else , like CAI - that'll give you some extra hp .

              When I just got my car it had problems similar to yours , I don't remember exactly and if it depended on my AC though . My fuel pump was dying and so I simply changed it . After that car never stalled ( only when I tought my gf to drive manual lol ) . You can lift your rear sit then unscrew one cover and you'll have access to fuel pump. take it out and look inside. My tank was so dirtywith some water in it, so I had to take it down and clean it- no wonder pump was dying .

              That's just an idea, there are might be something else though.
              Let us know what was that , when you'll figure it out.
              Good luck
              98 protege LX for appearance
              89 626 GT for performance

              Comment


                #8
                Well ill give that fuel pump a look. im just kinda starting to regret buying it cause im already starting to dump money into it that i didnt want to. but of course its just a tune up so i aint too pissed. and about the syntetic oil, i put it on there because thats what my dad recommended i use on it since the poor car is running like a bat out hell back and forth for like 8-10hours straight non stop just a quick 2min rest then its back out in the streets.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Sounds like coolant temp sensor to me. Also check your radiator fluid, it may be low or air bubbles in it.
                  sigpic

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Where about would this coolant temp sensor would be located at? im new to these types of cars so im a bit challenged about this. im a ford truck guy. and by the way today it seemed to run alot better after given it the new oil change, and the other stuff but at times it did start to idle rough but it didnt stall on me. i was expecting it to totally die on me with the damn index temp being 115* F outside today. god i hate texas weather.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Check your base idle , search for the topic it has been explained in detail before, also carbon in the egr could also cause this and is very common in Protege's . If you try the car with the egr unplugged ( unplug the valve when the car is running good) the MIL will come on but you can see if the valve is the problem. If the problem is only with the A/C on then the problem could be a siezed compressor if refrigerant low/high problem.
                      98 protege lx 1.8l
                      short ram intake custom
                      crane hi-6 ign.
                      14 miata alloy wheels
                      .50 over pistons and some other tricks .

                      my protege

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Well thanks alot for all the tips and pointers. guess ima have to go buy me a Paynes handbook for the protege.

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