ahh car is acting up, oil pressure is all over the place

[mob]

Hey guys. still trying to get my car running how I want after this head swap. Yesterday my battery tipped over in the trunk and the liquid leaked out. Not a whole lot, maybe 1/4 of a cup? I put it all back together, I was told to take off the caps and put some water in it, so I did that today. Now havent driven the car all day so its about 9pm go to take her for a spin, and my oil pressure gauge is ALWAYS low, like at the "A" in "NORMAL" on the gauge. But today it was at the M, I was like wow thats pretty high for my car, I never made anything of it, its fast, runs fast, I thought maybe the gauge is off. Car was running good till I got were I was going. I was leaving get in my car, and now my battery is charging low, and the oil pressure gauge is at the "L"!! I was like wth? And my idle was also at like 1300. So i gave it some revs, and as It got higher the oil pressure went up, and so did my battery charge, but when I let it idle again the charge went down, and so did the oil pressure, and on the way home, it would be between the m and the a, then it wo uld go to the a, then at idle it would drop down with the battery charge.

Could a bad battery charge be causing this gauge to not read right? My gauges were dimming cause of the battery, its obvious I need a new battery, but is my car all kinds of ****ed up? Or could it be something simple? My car just overall runs really rough, it bogs alittle at cruising speeds, and at lower speed in a normal gear for that speeds itll bog like crazy, to the point where i have to put it in nutruel and let it coast or give it more gas. And also on start up I smell this bad smell, not like fuel, im not sure what burning oil smells like, but its not coolant or fuel. And Yesterday when I started it up I saw a big cloud of white smoke behind my car, Ive never seen my car shoot out smoke but its the only time its done it, hasent done it again.

Other then that the car is fine, its very strong, FAST, and isnt overheating. Its really pissing me off, I just want to take my car to a mustang shop and say FIND WHATS WRONG WITH IT AND FIX IT, but im broke, and just dosent work like that

 

[Foxfan88]

duno about the smoke but lets think of this very simply.

the guage seemed to have read normally like it always does. then you spilled the battery and it started reading funny along with the battery guage reading low.

i'd replace the battery and see what happens.


BTW get some vids of the car!! i want so see some hot rodding lol

 

[Black1987Stang]

Im in the same boat with you with no money, but i no someones gonna say it, so ill say it.....Get some autometer mechanical gauges....idk about the smoke either, the problem with the gauges going up and down with each other want me to think its something with a ground issue. not sure tho

 

[poneypower89]

Your new gt-40s were used correct? Were they redone before you bought them? Did you have them redone?

Bad valve seals, or just worn out seals, can cause smoke to exit the back of the car.

Honestly, as a QUICK check/see... just grab a battery from a friends car and see how the car runs then. Make sure to reset ur ecu.. just in case.. take it for a nice drive.. and see what ur thoughts are afterwards.

 

[mob]

I guess ill try a new battery and see what happens. You think if I have a warrenty on it, this will cover it?

 

[Foxfan88]

if there is no visable signs of anything happenig to it
just tell em it stopped working lol

 

[Foxfan88]

yeah i would have had the heads checked. my friend put some used head on without having them torn down and he puffs white smoke when he shifts.


i bought my thumpers used and had them torn down by my machinist and found 2 bent valves. i had extra stockers and i had some new seals i had put in. no smoking for me

 

[mob]

its never smoked, and still dosent just that once, the heads had a valve job by the previous owner.

 

[old_blue]

replace the battery. then see what happens. When the battery is dying all electronics go with it. Everything dims. I believe the oil gauge is hooked up to the same circuit board as every other gauge in the car. I mean, all my gauges go up when I turn the hey to the on position before starting it. then they all go to what they are suppose to read. Definitely try the battery first. Not sure on why it is bogging. If the battery solves a few of your problems then tune your car a little more. hope that helps.

I can't even get my brakes to bleed correctly LOL, so i apparently can't do something simple!

 

[mob]

kk thanks, cause the gauge kinda went up as the battery charge gauge went up, so ill try a new battery. The bogging may be a vacuum leak, I broke one of my intake manifold bolts, and its threaded into the lower. Havent had the cash or time to take the lower intake to a machine shop to get it out. Ill do that in a few weeks, hopfully will fix the vaccum leak.

 

[old_blue]

where is the lower intake bolt?? could that be leaking fluid in to the lifter valley? be careful with that.

 

[mob]

where is the lower intake bolt?? could that be leaking fluid in to the lifter valley? be careful with that.

no no, its the upper intake bolt that goes into the lower. Second time ive done this, first time all my bolts werent tightened enough so I had a HUGEE vacuum leak, car wouldnt rev over 3k, and it would backfire, and it was just bad. This time I was tightening the bolt to 20 ftlbs and I hear POP i was like **** not again. I was pissed. Itll take probably about a weekend to get it fixed and I just dont have the time to do it having to go to work and such. Its just one bolt that broke and its threaded into the lower, so I cant use vice grips or anything. Ill have to take the lower off and take it to a mchine shop. Thats what I did last time, cost 20 bucks, but ill have to buy new gaskets and Im just not ready to do that yet. So I can live with alittle bogging till then.

Though im hoping thats it, cause ive put some sealant around it, and my car isnt really showing signs of a vaccum leak. There is SOME poping when I let off the throttle, of course the bogging being the worst problem, ITS BADDDD, and of course it runs rough. But its not surging, idles perfect at 700. I think im gonna buy a vaccum gauge and check it out.

 

[jrichker]

1.) Check the grounds, especially the engine grounds. All the wires need clean & shiny metal to bolt to. Adding an extra ground won't hurt anything, and may fix your problem. Be Sure to use heavy gauge wire for any engine to body ground you add.

2.) 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

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 about $30 or so at AutoZone or Wal-Mart.

Or for a nicer scanner see http://www.midwayautosupply.com/detailedproductdescription.asp?3829 – It has a 3 digit LCD display so that you don’t have to count flashes or beeps.. Cost is $35.

Wal-Mart may now have the LCD display scanner for less than $35

Too bad I didn't know about the broken bolt while we had the lower manifold off, It would have been simple to remove the broken bolt at that time.

You should take a cup of water and dissolve as much baking soda as you can and still have it liquid. Pour that on the metal & carpet where the battery acid spilled. That will neutralize the acid. Keep the baking soda away from the battery top. If you don't neutralize the acid, it will slowly eat up anything it gets on. Holes in carpet and floorboard can result.

 

[DMAN302]

Your starting to mod the engine...at that point you need to get some more accurate gauges in there to show you what's really going on. I would not want to be without oil and temp gauges...even the budget sunpro gauges will do fine.As for battery/pressure flux...Jrichker's info will be the best path to follow in problem solving.

 

[RsStanG1987]

Did you bump your oil sending unit at all while doing your head swap. My sending unit went bad once and it did the same thing your describing.

 

[mob]

thanks guys, jrichker the bolt didnt break till I went t put the upper intake on, so we would have had to take the lower off again anyways.

 

[spiff]

Yeah you gota remember the oil pressure sending unit is POS, my wire burnt and its hanging by a thread, and my gauge sometimes doesnt move, and sometimes it reads normal or is all over the place but the car still drives fine.

The heads aren't the source of the problem here, if they actually do leak a bit, which they probably dont, its no big deal really.