High Revving Low Power

Started by garbarrage, 19 August 2012, 01:05:37 PM

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garbarrage

My car is a 2002 95 2.0t... while returning from a long journey the other day I noticed that the revs jump quickly from 2000 to 3000 RPM under hard throttle, without any increase in power. It began while driving in 5th gear, but I noticed afterwards that it happens when trying to accelarate quickly through all gears. There is normal power up to a little over 2000 RPM then it jumps quickly to a little over 3000 without any acceleration. The car behaves normally the rest of the time, and only acts like this when I try to put it under heavy load. Any ideas of possible culprits would be much appreciated.

idlerider

By 'revs' do you mean the engine sound/feel or the needle on the rev counter? The rev counter is electronic, so if the needle just jumps it may be an electrical glitch unrelated to the actual engine performance.

garbarrage

No mate.. the engine revs jump without a corresponding increase in power. Could be pressure escaping somewhere. If I ease back the power and build up gradually there is no noticeable difference. It's only under moderate/hard acceleration... It feels like something somewhere between the engine and the wheels "let's go". I haven't had the guts (had the good sense?) to push it and see what happens. The minute it happens my instinct is to let off the acceleration and build it up slowly. There's no CEL showing.

wrighar

Sounds like a slipping clutch.

garbarrage

#4
Fingers crossed, that's what it is. Just brought my first child home from the hospital yesterday and could really do without a big expense. That was my first thought when it happened. Been slipping in second for a while now.

idlerider

Quote from: garbarrage on 19 August 2012, 04:15:03 PM
Been slipping in second for a while now.

Looks like you've answered your own question.  ;)

garbarrage

Been a rollercoaster of a few days for me... Just needed to hear an objective opinion, before I went shelling out cash or working the finances. Thanks for the replies.

Max Headroom

Good luck with both the clutch/diagnosis/fix as well as with the new member of the family!  ;)