99 Cirrus Low Power and Backfires
 

Ok, here goes.. I just bought a 1999 Cirrus from a gal that was fed up with trying to fix it, I thought a $500 :) investment was worth it. Anyway, The car sometimes will not get much above 20mph without being gentle with the pressure on the gas. Other times it WILL :( not get above 20 and pops and backfires through the air filter, and it feels sluggish all the time. I have scoured the internet and found 2 possible reasons, 1. Timing belt has slipped or 2. The fuel filter is clogged or the fuel pump is going out. My question is do these things sound right or could it be something else? Any ideas will help immensely! Thanks

Now I have another symptom, Extreme Heat in the engine compartment, the engine itself does not run hot, but the whole compartment gets so hot that touching anything is nearly impossible. Found this when I popped the hood and grabbed a very hot prop for the hood... I had the Cat checked and was told its fine and the mechanic doubted that the fuel pump would cause this.. Any ideas?

Wellll I've found the culprit! Its the distributor! Well, the distributor and the crank shaft sensor. Replaced the sensor and car runs at about 80% power, just got the distributor from AIP on Ebay (eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices) and it arrived fast! Now just how to put this sucker in!? They would have to mount the unit up by the firewall... :confused: Guess I'll pay to have someone else do the work... :(