well,
1. hesitant idle
2. backfiring
3. loss of power
a/c situation is VERY typical for 1.8 engines. i had LR-V along with 94 eclipse, poor thing will choke to stall with a/c on. had to rig idle with a stop screw next to the wheel that throttle cable is attached to. drove like this for yrs.
ok, here's my suggestion:
1. it does have 2 belts - timing and balancer
2. belts are to be replaced at 60K miles, period. that engine is on the blacklist - if timing belt rips, you damage valves with pistons. so called "interference engine".
3. we had belt replaced twice on our 94 eclipse, never had to touch pump. bull.
4. get timing light and have timing checked. if it's bad - you ain't got no choice but to replace the belts. brace yourself up for the job. tensioners wore me out to death!
5. if timing is good, here's my prediction: bad ECU. mitsu's ECUs are notorious on leaking chemicals and simply dying. sorry about the news, they are VERY expensive to replace. we forked $1200 for it back in 2000.
6. on the friendly advice note, as we had virtually same issues, do this: drive it to a reputable shop and let them scan for codes. you might be lucky and it might be 2 sensors: throttle position and camshaft position. both are not expensive and piece of cake to replace DIY. you''l lose 70 bucks for scan, but will save plenty on guessplacing parts. you can read codes yourself if you want to.
oh, and if you decide to DIY belts - LORD SAVE YOU FROM TURNING ENGINE COUNTERCLOCKWISE EVEN A SCOASH!!!!!! you'll rip main seals, they are unidirectional. we did. reassembled everything, she started like a champ - and with oil gushing from the front main seal. oh pissed i was!!
