86 escort problems

ok i got an 86 escort with the 1.9L engine. its got about 71,000 on it by the loooks of the interior and what not its actualy got 71,000 not 171,000 but i could be wrong

anyways the problems that im having are as follows.

~at random times when i take off from the stops my car wont seem to have any pickup and wont pass certain speeds. im not sure if transmission or maybe something with the ignition system. the trans fluid does look nice and red and at a good level.

~when im giving it gas if i take my foot off the gas it jerks kinda hard. almost like it dosent want to stop going faster :)

any idea on these 2 topics would be great

things were planning on doing
spark plugs
wires
air filter
oil change
possibly trans fluid exchange(not flush due to mileage misconception)

Sounds as if you need to do that tune up. You probably have reached the spark-plug gap limit if they are worn. As far as the foot off the gas and jerky thing... try cleaning the IAC valve, and clean the throttle body with some good carb cleaner.
Is this 86 escort TBI or carburated? Also, if the spark-plugs dont solve the hesitation, concider doing a fuel pressure test to determine your fuel pump health... no matter what, change your fuel filter while doing your oil change, just in case thats effecting your flow rate. Make sure you re-post! thanks

Sounds as if you need to do that tune up. You probably have reached the spark-plug gap limit if they are worn. As far as the foot off the gas and jerky thing... try cleaning the IAC valve, and clean the throttle body with some good carb cleaner.
Is this 86 escort TBI or carburated? Also, if the spark-plugs dont solve the hesitation, concider doing a fuel pressure test to determine your fuel pump health... no matter what, change your fuel filter while doing your oil change, just in case thats effecting your flow rate. Make sure you re-post! thanks


a tune up i was most likely sure on. as far as TBI or carbuerated. honeslty i dont know. but by the looks of it with the top mount air filter system its carbed. but iom not 100% sure. its kinda late

and wheres the IAC sensro located at on this car.

Throttle body Injection (TBI) looks a lot like a carberator, mounted on top, with the air filter sitting on top. The difference is, there is one fuel injector mounted in the throttle body that you can clearly see if you take off the air filter and look into the throttle body. Identify this...

The IAC, idle air control valve, is an electromagnetic device. It is a pin that extends or retracts depending on throttle plate position. It's purpose is to allow a small amount of air into the intake while the throttle plate is closed (foot off gas pedal)

I'd like to know a little more before I assume things...

-how is the vehicle at idle?
-how is it at cruising speed under light acceleration, does it stumble?
-does it react similar taking foot off gas at cruising speed?

You should look at the throttle body and see if there are a lot of wires going to it. You would have a Throttle Position Sensor, Idle Air Control Valve, and wiring for the injector. All this assuming you have TBI (throttle body injection)
If you have TBI, i'll help you locate and test the throttle position sensor. A faulty TPS can cause acceleration and deceleration problems because its purpose is to tell the computer how much gas to put through the injector.
This is a long post... sorry, hope it helps.

here ill make it easy on you. her and i just broke up and i dont plan on seeing her again so dont worry about it. thanks though man your a great help and hell i even learned something new lol