need help engine losing power.......

[amadeus]

ok i'm not a mechanic and really have no experience working on cars so i'd like to explain what i've noticed and get some insight from you guys as to what might possibly be the problem.....

i have a '91 MR2 with 150,000 miles on it. i've noticed that when i'm driving once i get into 5th gear (it might also happen late in 4th, but deffinately in 5th) i lose alot of power and start dropping speed. i usually can only get around 50mph with out reving the engine to around 4000+ rpms. any ideas on what could be causing the problem???

thanx to all in advance!

[Mr2dIzzy]

How are u losing it ? Is it Reving out or bogging out. Theres alot is it stick or auto? your clutch could be going. Is it turbo? theres so much you need to give more info

[amadeus]

non-turbo. stickshift. was told recently my clutch was a lil loose. as for losing power it seems when i shift from 4th to 5th gear the power and speed just drops out.

define reving out and bogging out please?

[Mr2dIzzy]

The clutch could be your main problem along with the flywheel. OK when your in 5th besides losing speed what does your motor sound like? is it still gaining in rpms and losing speed or is it just dying altogether

[amadeus]

sounds normal till i give it more gas which of course increases the rpms which (eventually) increases my speed.

[Mr2dIzzy]

Yea it sounds like your clutch and if you have pushed it so much your flywheel needs to be replace too

[amadeus]

how much $$$ would that run me??

[JekylandHyde]

Sounds like a clutch to me.

[rollhard]

will cost you around $350

[bigpun]

your going to slow for fifth gear shitheel

[rollhard]

its wierd though because if you are accelerating fine for the first 4 gears thats funny. usually when the clutch goes getting off the line is difficult. in the higher gears as long as you dont mash it, it usually allows you to gain a lil speed since the car is already rolling. if you try to accelerate hard in 1st does it slip? and can you smell the clutch burning?

[amadeus]

i'm going 50+ before i enter 5th gear.

yea there is a slight smell but i'm not sure when it starts.

how difficult is it to work on this (if it is the clutch) myself??

[rollhard]

hmm, well in all honesty, if you have to ask if its hard or not, then i would not recommend you changing the clutch yourself. when we did my clutch the motor had to be dropped and the tranny taken out. it took FOREVER. i think like 10 hours to swap clutches. depending on where you live you can get it done by a reputable shop for a pretty decent price. There are some good shops in cali that do it for a fair amount.

[amadeus]

i'm up in washigton state. i'm in the military so i can go to the auto shop on base and get some help doing it from certified professionals but i'd still be the one doing it.

[amadeus]

OK i paid closer attention to how it drove this morning. it is kinda slow off the line in 1st. once i get going i'm generally ok but at moments no matter what gear i'm in it seems to lose power (i'n 5th especially dropping from 60mph to around 35mph) and then after a few moments building speed back up. i've stopped trying to push the rpms to keep the speed up and have kept it around 3000rpms. i think i'm gonna not drive it again till i've gotten it fixed.

still think it's the clutch???