190e runability

[joseph c]

hi all,
1985 190e 2.3 8v, new cap rotor plugs fuel filter air filter, made a 200 mile trip yesterday, the further i drove the less power it had, barley made it over the pass 1300 foot elevation. has 190k on it have no service history. did a head gasket on it last year, had valves and guides checked and head surface ground( minor warp of .005). have not done compression check yet. when you free rev it you get a bad bog and will not rev over 4k at wide open throttle. could this be a sign of low fuel pressure? it misfires while driving under acceleration like a lean misfire. if you drive it easy it runs ok but still lacks power. steer me in the right direction. I do not have access to a fuel pressure gauge set up, may have to pay for a pressure test. can't afford to throw money at it. any suggestions?

[joseph c]

looks like the pre cats have gone bad and are plugged up, I will give an update after removal.

[vtabenz]

I'm having a simular problem and have thrown $$$ at it. The entire fuel system has basically been replaced or rebuilt including the ECM, altitude sensor, fuel distributor, regulator, pump, EHA and idle control valve. I'm going to pull the air box tomorrow and check out what's going on under there. I've ordered a new air duct just cuz it's 22 years old. I'm also going to clean up the WOT switch. It shows 18Mohms when it should be infinite. The circuit does close at WOT as it should. I've ruled out anything to do with the fuel system and am now seeking a vacuum leak. Keep me updated on what you find.

gw 85 190e 2.3 8v

[joseph c]

pre cats fell apart and went down the pipe the the main cat. removed the front pipe and cat, cut the main cat off the pipe and cleaned all the material out of the main cat screen and cleared the pipe of all material. welded the cat back on and all is fine again, runs better now than is has in a long time.
Joe