I was driving my '93 850 from Montana to New York and I have made it to South Dakota. After putting in 500 miles the car lost power, only reaching 55 mph with the pedal to the floor (@3000 rpm). Switched out fuel pump relay, fuel filter was replaced twice last summer, replaced camshaft position sensor 5 months ago, inspected the dist. cap. Pulled codes on fuel system and it said the mix was too weak. Any suggestions?

Check the air hose from the filter to the throttle body for leaks or looseness. Look for a missing vacuum line around the intake manifold. Take off the cover over the throttle and check the vacuum tree for missing plugs or leaks.

It's a good thing you are going down hill...

Klaus
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My name is Klaus and I am a V ♂ lv ♂ holic

Klaus,
I replaced a rotten rubber connector that connected the vacuum tree to the manifold. It needed to be done but I don't think it was the solution. A guy at the local autoparts store sold me on a $26 bottle of fuel system cleaner on the assumption that I was sold bad fuel. He claimed that bad gas is a common this time of year. Could that be the case since I refueled about 60 miles before (about 11 gallons on top of 3 gallons)? I was able to get above 55 mph so I will be attempting to drive the car further East. If it is bad gas, at what point should I refill with good high-octane gas?
Thanks

The 'rotten connector' probably was your problem. The extra air caused the system to compensate and run extra rich and fouled your plugs. You should be OK now.

As for bad gas, that is not a likely hood at an Interstate gas station. But pour in some 89 or 91 octane when you reach 1/2 tank. In Minnesota, Holiday stations are a good gas station.

No headwind today, clear skies. You are probably on I-90 so too far south for me. Do not go over 80 in MN and keep it under 75 in Wisconsin. Paying tolls in Illinois are a pain, you must be in the far right hand lane.

Klaus
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My name is Klaus and I am a V ♂ lv ♂ holic

Klaus,
I've made it to Madison WI, and I've been refilling with higher octane gas since SD. I don't think that the gas was the entire problem though. When turning onto the highway and accelerating up to speed the car stutters. It happens somewhere between 30 mph and 60 mph. If I slowly speed up (keeping the RPMs on the lower side) or really punch it the car doesn't stutter. If I try to get up to speed at a regular rate the stutter happens. Once I get up to speed (anywhere from 65 to 80 mph) I can accelerate at any rate and there is no stutter. While this condition has increased my driving time and reduced inclinations to stop, I'd like to figure out the problem. Could it be MAF?

I also suspect that there are more vacuum leaks, or even the intake manifold gasket itself. I would not replace the MAF because the engine works at above 3000 rpm.

You could be having spark plug issues (simple), a dirty throttle body (simple), or compression issues(complex), but because you are on the Interstates and at constant speed, neither of those will be a problem until you get to Penn. where the hills start.

Look for more vacuum leaks tonight when you stop around Cleveland. Buy a roll of electrical tape to wrap any suspected lines, that should hold for a couple of months. Check the under side of the air supply from the air cleaner, the accordion section tends to crack and is hard to see. Again, electrical tape.

Hopefully the roads through PA will be clear by the time you reach the winter wonderland! PA is 5 hours across and then 2 hours to NYC.

Klaus
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My name is Klaus and I am a V ♂ lv ♂ holic

Ethan, I had a similar experience and got a "Lean Trim" code...forgot the actual code.

All hoses were original on a 212K engine. I found that the bottom of the intake hose at the throttle body was gooey and had a thumb-sized hole in it. Two other hoses were thread-bare and "leaky" due to heat, oil, pressure and vacuum. Also found that the PTC grommet was completely out of the plastic induction pipe, leaving a 1" diameter hole in the system.

Best advice: Inspect ALL induction hoses; remove from vehicle if possible. This will allow for a better assessment of their overall condition. I once missed a small hole in the IAC pipe because I left it in place.

Good luck.

Well,
I've made it to Erie, PA. The hills, which started around Chicago, were problematic. It's all or nothing with the acceleration. There were no apparent leaks but in the interest of time I was not able to give an all points inspection. I will be arriving in NY and over the next few days will assess all of the vacuum lines. I would love for that to be the solution. Thanks for the advice.