bad idle , over heating! HElp!

[ezrakovac]

ok so i just bought this car fo 200 bucks i was just going to take out the trany but the car is black and it is in good condition. it is a 92 rs with the sohc 1.6. when i first go it it would barly stay running, but then i used fual injetor cleaner on the intake and its running much better. but at times tha idle will just go bog down and spit and the motor will die. it also over heats after about 15 min of running. i dont think it is the head gasket becouse the oil is clean? also the fans are not turning on? i took out the thermastat yesterday and it is still over heating? plz help

[Ryan]

Take it you're fairly new to cars?

Check the coolant level in the reservoir. The B6 SOHC is guilty of over-cooling. I don't think my rad fans turned on once when I owned mine.

Check all of the intake piping for leaks. Any slight cracks in the accordian tube will cause it to idle like crap.

Tune it up. plugs, wires, cap, rotor, filters, oil change..

Follow these steps:

1) warm the car up to operating temp
2) turn off the car
3) locate the DIAGNOSIS box in the engine bay, on the drivers side. Open it. Jumper TEN and GND with a paperclip or something
4) get in the car, turn the key to ON
5) if the CEL goes out, move on. If not, search for how to check the codes (FAQ's)
6) start the car
7) go over to the engine, and adjust the idle screw until you're at 700RPM ish. Its a screw in a hole on top of the throttle body.
7.5) If you have access to a timing light, set the timing now
pull out the jumper, turn off the car.

This is once you've fixed the mechanical problems.

[MX-3zoom]

Should I do this as well. My car will jerk randomly when driving at 2000rpm's. Check light will come on for second.

[Ryan]

things like that sounds more like a distributor on the way out.

Distributor has a few symptoms:

Poor running in general
Poor running at specific RPM's
Poor running when hot
fails when hot, and won't restart, but restarts when cold.
No spark! (duh)

[MX-3zoom]

guess soo.....
Even at idle it bogs up and down(ac on it kills itself). Go to drive it jerks slightly....
Close to ze motor, and now i gotta work on this car.....great, could be worst.
Thanks ryan!