Cant get past 85mph on the motorway !! HELP !!

[Millo]

I own a 99 80sx, lovley car.

Was on the motorway the other day and was doing 70ish and started accelerating. When i got to 80mph the whoole car started to shake. I though that was strange but stupidly tried to push through it and keep accelerating.

Next i heard a starnge sound from the engine and the revs shot up and down. I eased off the gas and then it was fine and i stayed at 70mph the whole way home.

Been driving it mormally around town this week and it sounds fine.

Any ideas as to what is wrong?

Cheers

Millo

 

[Ian (Geforce)]

Calls in the expert

Tom? Tom you there?

shrugs

 

[kev]

I would take a guess at.......

I would take a guess that if the engine was feeling shakey rather than the car? (not sure which you meant) then it could have been a cam belt slip - happened to me in my astra on the way to get my bravo and the engine shook as if it was being held back and irregular sparking - made a lot of noise then the belt griped and jumped back on. When i got to the garage i had a look and i had torn my belt half way through, didnt tell the garage as they woulda lowered the £850 px on it!

Hope this helps but im guessin its a long shot!

Kev

 

[Tom]

Now that is an odd one! Have you tried going faster than 70 since that happened? no red lights on the dash at all?

Whats the mileage? How much fuel was in the tank at the time? Have you hit the kerb or something with one of the tyres recently? Can you describe the strange noise?

If it was a cambelt slip you'd expect it to run like a dog afterwards. Almost sounds like a clutch problem, no other way the revs could jump around like that.

 

[penfold]

Re: Re: Cant get past 85mph on the motorway !! HELP !!

it could be a bent wish bone as it happened on mates renault 5 turbo and it ment he couldnt do more that 75 mph

penfold

 

[Millo]

Re: Re: Re: Cant get past 85mph on the motorway !! HELP !!

The engine definatly felt like it was being held back.

NO lights came up on the dashbord. Have been driving the car all week and it is running fine. The car is a 80sx v reg '99 with 33,000miles on the clock.

Was wondering if i should just bite the bullet and go to a fiat dealership and see what they say!?

Cheers for all the response guys!

Millo

 

[Barakka]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Cant get past 85mph on the motorway !! HELP !!

Not sure if it's the same but mine did something similar a couple of months ago. About three mornings in a row, the car felt like it was being strangled? but it was constant, although really noticed on the motorway. It was weird the revs were going up, but it felt like a struggle and the speed in each gear was about half what it would normally be at those revs - couldn't get above about 80 ish like yours, but it was hard work as well.

When I went out to the car at lunch each day it was fine from then on. Just the mornings !?!

I chatted to the mechanic I use about it and went through and checked a few things and in the end the only thing we could think of was petrol. I had filled it up at a Supermarket (Adsa) - ran a tank of BP SuperPlus and a shot of injector cleaner through and it's been fine since? Although I don't use supermarket petrol anymore, used to get weird throttle and idle problems when I used Stainsbury's petrol as well?

Dunno if that sounds like what you're getting or not ? Mines a 99 1.6 BTW...

Barakka

 

[Ozric-Al]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Cant get past 85mph on the motorway !! HELP !!

Hmmm, I think you'll find that it wasn't the petrol but maybe the injector cleaner helped. Working for a supermarket chain I can tell you that the petrol sold is identical to that which you get at BP, Esso etc but is not always the same brand every time.

The supermarkets tankers fill up at exactly the same depots as the major leaguers and even from the same pumps. It's not like the bad old days when it was "pump whatever **** you've got left" for supermarkets. That's one of the reasons why they can only match not undercut the likes of BP anymore.

The only other thing it could have been was that the station in question may have had a contaminated tank or dodgy supply on this occasion which does happen every now and again.

Shabash!

 

[Anonymous]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Cant get past 85mph on the motorway !! HELP !!

I used to deliver fuel to supermarkets. They buy their petrol from anywhere, including BP etc., but whereas BP and other major companies have the additives added automatically at the loading point, it is up to the supermarket driver to put the additive in himself. Ergo, sloppy driver,no additive.

 

[Ozric-Al]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Cant get past 85mph on the motorway !! HELP !!

How long ago anon? Believe that procedure changed a few years back when Tesco started advertising the fact that their petrol included additives. Others soon followed suit. Can't advertise it and not deliver.

Shabash!

 

[Ozric-]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Cant get past 85mph on the motorway !! HELP !!

Have checked with Tesco fuel logistics and indeed all tesco fuel now has these additives included at source so unlikely to be the issue.

Shabash!

 

[Barakka]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Cant get past 85mph on the motorway !! HELP !!

Hmmm, as far as I know it's only Tecso that advertise the cleaner in their petrol. There was also an incident someone at work told me about a few months back where Adsa were having to pay for dozens of new fuel pumps in car that had filled at their stations. I understood it was because they buy it where they can get it cheap, but then put it in with whatever is already in there - mixing different types.

 

[Ozric-]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Cant get past 85mph on the motorway !! HELP !!

The moral of the story? Buy your petrol at Tesco and boost my share price! Uh, I mean "Protect your car"!!

Shabash!

 

[judge judy]

problem

what about an electrical fault (it is a fiat) if the rev were suddenly dropping off, because the revs are dependant upon speed of the car and the gear its in therefore **** petrol would mean bad running but the revs would not be able to drop much as the momentum of the car would keep the revs the same.

ergo no electric to engine, engine cuts out & no power to rev counter causing massive drop in revs. if this happens fast enough it may seem like the its running badly.

had this with my partners 406, in first and secound gear the car kangerood down the road

 

[Tom]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Cant get past 85mph on the motorway !! HELP !!

No point in going to Fiat, if the problem is not evident they don't have a clue.

Give the motorway another go and see if it does it again.