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I've had a love of the Avenger since '01 when my friend bought a 99 ES V6.  Finally bought one for myself and couldn't be happier.  Found me a 1996 ES 420A 5 spd with appx 100K mi. on it.  When I first got it, it drove like a dream.  Eventually it started giving me severe power loss issues after long / hard drives.  It's been getting progressively worse since.  I've done the plugs and wires, and that helped a little at first.  I've also used some fuel system cleaner additive, again helping @ first, but now is as bad as ever.  It idles fine @ appx 800-900 RPM, and runs fine at first as well, but as it gets hotter, first it loses power / stalls above 3000 RPM.  As it goes on, it loses power with ANY load put on the engine.  If you drag the hell out of the clutch, you can make it move and even get up to a decent speed (accelerating at half the speed of smell).  I don't have access to an OBD tool, otherwise i'd have run a diag already and included any trouble codes.  Following a hunch, i'd found that if I pour water on the injectors, it makes the problem go away for a few. 

Also, i've noticed my temp gauge is stuck mid-way up, so im not sure how the temp runs, but it does seem to run a little hot, just wondering if there could be a correlation.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Thanx

sounds to me like its running kind of hot. try a new thermostat flush the coolant system hey even try new injectors. im sure someone else on here will come uo with some other things to try. good luck  with the prob

also as for the car loosing power i not really sure what it could be. ive never actualy had to deal with that.

Sounds like you need to have your injectors cleaned, or replaced, or possibly an EGR valve issue.  By injectors cleaned I mean take it to a shop and have them do it.  Injector cleaners you pour into your tank are not all that effective and can cause seal/o-ring damage over time due to alcohol in them.

You can get an OBD tool from Advanced Auto or Autozone.  Can he get one at NAPA Nykon?

You can scan your car for free at those places.

Oh and glad to see you posting up.

yeah we have them.

Sweet.  Thanx for the input, all of you.  I plan on tweaking the engine quite a bit, so in regards to the injectors - I had planned to replace the injectors eventually anyway for an eventual turbo package...  Anyone have a recommendation for aftermarket injectors? 

Now that i've finally acquired an Avenger, I oughta be on here alot.

Peace~

Injectors should be one of the last things you look for.  Save your money now and just get some stockers.

First things first. Go to you local Dodge Satan and go to the parts dept. Request a can [aerosol] of COMBUSTION CHAMBER CLEANER. It will be a white can with the blue Mopar 'M' on it.

It takes 2 people to use it the way the directions say. By yourself, let it sit for 4 hours after you spray it in there. Once the car is turned off, you will NOT be able to crank it. Don't try, don't waste your time, don't let yourself get worried, don't freak out. It's supposed to do that. It will foam up and start breaking everything down.

It destroys carbon btw. A guy I once worked with used to be a certified chrysler mechanic. He had a guy with a Ram come in who had lost compression in 3 of his cylinders. The head mechanic told him to rebuild the cylinders [not cheap]. Instead he went to his manager and asked him if he was hired to do what was required to fix the problems or make a bad reputation for the dealership. The manager told him to do what he thougth was the right thing and he sprayed a can of it in the Intake manifold and fully restored all the compression to ALL the cylinders. Instead of costing $800+ it only cost him $150. $20 for the can and $130 in the labor.

If you've never had this done, it probably needs it. You will need to run your car at about 2000 RPMs bare minimum for 5 minutes after you crank it back up. Do this where no one will complain about the black smoke [carbon] being blown out your tail pipe.