93 GT Vert

[DonaldJP]

I am the proud new owner of a 1993 Ford Mustang GT Convertible. I bought the car for $1500. It needs a front headlight and has some fender damage, and the back glass on the convertible has come detached from the cloth. But the car only has 62,000 miles and I am the 3rd owner. The car came with BBK Long tube headers, Flowmaster 40 Series dumps, B&M Shift Kit, Cold Air Intake, a Lunati Bracket Master 2 Camshaft, and 1.6 Roller Rockers. The car runs good, besides a little hesitation due to the timing needing to be set.

Well I guess I should get to my question, can I use a timing light to do the timing since it has a cam, I have had different answers from other people, and so I thought I would ask other Mustang enthusiasts. And else should I check on the car since this is my first 5.0L.

Thanks,
Donald

 

[90topdown]

You can use a timing light to set the timing. Just remember to unplug the spout conector before you do it and plug the spout connector back in when you are done.

Congrats on the new toy!!

 

[85ragtop]

What year is the engine out of? That cam is a nonroller cam you have in it.

 

[HISSIN50]

Agreed. Ignition timing and cam timing are different (think of ignition timing as the relationship between the spark firing vs piston displacement).

You might want to give the car a bumper to bumper once-over just for the sake of doing so. Swap fluids and filters and things like that as well if the maintenance history is ambiguous.

Enjoy!

 

[DonaldJP]

Yeah I am going to change out all the fluids in the car, and give it a full tune up. I don't know what year the motor is in the car. I didn't know that was a nonroller cam. How would I find out what year motor it is in there. Also another queston, I want to change out the torque convertor, what size and brand should I put in there?

 

[DonaldJP]

Well I tried timing it today at work, everybody here at work told me not to use a timing light because it has a cam in it, but I don't know. They said to do it by ear. So thats what I did, it is alot better, it still has a little bit of hesitation, but nowhere near as much as it was before. It is still burnin rich and I don't know what else to do, I am gonna go ahead and give it a tune up in the next week or so. Someone also told me that I might need to put a chip in it to get it to act right. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Donald

 

[joeyd0730]

try using the light, see what happens

 

[jrichker]

Dump the codes and see what the computer says is wrong…Codes may be present in the computer even if the Check Engine light isn’t on.

Here's the link to dump the computer codes with only a jumper wire or paper clip and the check engine light, or test light or voltmeter. I’ve used it for years, and it works great.

See http://www.troublecodes.net/Ford/
OR
See http://www.mustangworks.com/articles/electronics/eec-iv_codes.html

IF your car is an 86-88 stang, you'll have to use the test lamp or voltmeter method. There is no functional check engine light on the 86-88's except possibly the Cali Mass Air cars.

Codes have different answers if the engine is running from the answers that it has when the engine isn't running. It helps a lot to know if you had the engine running when you ran the test.

Trouble codes are either 2 digit or 3 digit, there are no cars that use both 2 digit codes and 3 digit codes.

For those who are intimidated by all the wires & connections, see http://www.actron.com/product_detail.php?pid=16153 for what a typical hand scanner looks like. Normal retail price is less than $30 or so at AutoZone or Wal-Mart.

Or for a nicer scanner see http://www.midwayautosupply.com/p-7208-equus-digital-ford-code-reader-3145.aspx– It has a 3 digit LCD display so that you don’t have to count flashes or beeps.. Cost is $30.

 

[DonaldJP]

Alright, I will try it with the light and see what it does. And I will clear out the codes.

 

[HISSIN50]

JR is right-on. If you didnt already, retrieve the codes before erasing them.

I agree with the timing stuff. I ultimately time by ear but I put a light on it to make changes (so I can advance or retard exactly 2* for instance). Make no mistake - your ear is what ultimately matters (and trumps some number lit by a timing light). But a light can get someone close, and if after setting it by ear, someone is yards away from where it should be, that can suggest an issue.

One concern with lumpy cams is that some like to idle a little better with more ignition advance. This can lead to pinging under other conditions.

Good luck.