couple small issues left

[irish]

Hi all, my 1988 GT is almost running again, just a couple little things to figure out. First I do not know which alternator I have but I suspect it is a 3g, there is a little wire pigtail coming off the bottom passengers side that appears homeless, this makes me worry, there is a largish grounding point on the block nearby, is it supposed to go there?
Next, in the process of replacing my lower intake I seem to have screwed up my timing. I do not have a timing light. How can I get the timing close enough to start when there are no apparant timing marks that I can find?
Oops theres a third but it is a simple one, I'm running an aeromotive fpr that has a vacumn port on it, am I correct that I set the pressure to around 40 with the vacumn hose disconnected and the key on engine off, then put the hose on and start her up?



The car - 1988 GT aftermarket crank, pistons, e303, msd 6al, gt40 heads, cobra upper/lower, fuel pump, billet fuel rails, 30# injectors, C&L 76mm for 30s,unknown large tb, headers, true duals in 2.5 inch. Car was just converted to mass air using a whole new harness and a9p computer, hope it runs right again after changing to many things at once!

 

[irish]

A little progress, I have it started but I suspect the timing is still off abit, due to the aftermarket fuel rails, the amount I can turn the distributor is very limited, maybe 2 inches from the thermostat housing to the drivers side fuel rail. I attached the alternator pigtail to the block ground as a guess, seemed to work. Fuel pressure when running at idle seems to be around 39.
Currently idle is somewhat steady, if I turn the dist. counterclockewise at all, it goes into burump, burump, burump idle mode and the engine seems to shake abit more than usual. Heres how I did it, I pulled #1 spark plug and the fan and shroud so I could get to the crankshaft pulley bolt, then turned over the engine by hand till I felt pressure around my finger, stuck a pencil in the hole and turned till it went as high as it was going to, then took a peek at the timing marks and it was almost exactly at zero, so I made it exactly zero, pulled the distributor and rotated the rotor until it was pointing at the #1 plug wire on the cap then re-installed the dist.
put back plug number one/plug wire, double checked the firing order via haynes manual and turned the key, she started but wasn't happy, I turned the dist. abit clockwise and that helped but it seems to want more in that direction but I cant turn it any more. Not sure what the best technique will be other than pulling dist. again and trying to turn the rotor abit more.
Dumb question time!! How the heck to do you know which spot on the dist. is for the number 1 wire? it sure isn't labeled and the haynes sure isnt helpful in that regard. I wound up leafing through the book just looking at the pictures looking for a diagram. Closest I found indicates
the hole closest to the engine, is #1, is that right(assuming your at tdc i suppose)

The car - 1988 GT aftermarket crank, pistons, e303, msd 6al, gt40 heads, cobra upper/lower, fuel pump, billet fuel rails, 30# injectors, C&L 76mm for 30s,unknown large tb, headers, true duals in 2.5 inch. Car was just converted to mass air using a whole new harness and a9p computer, hope it runs right again after changing to many things at once!

 

[86bluecobra]

OK #1 cylinder is the first cylinder on the passenger side. Your dizzy when on the compression stroke of #1 TDC should be pointing between 12 and 1 o'clock. Remember that to check the timing you want the spout connector out.

 

[irish]

Thanks for the reply, my whole ignition system is aftermarket(car came that way) with an msd 6al and motorcraft dist. msd cap/rotor and wires, where would the spout be located? I broke down and bought a timing light today and an inexpensive code reader, I'm sure after replacing the intake, all fuel system, and complete harness with conversion to mass air, I may have a code or two!

 

[86bluecobra]

hmm the spout should be on the dizzy harness.

 

[86bluecobra]

http://www.muscularmustangs.com/timing.php
this link should help you locate it.

 

[irish]

Thanks again for the help, currently my #1 plug wire runs to the cap but at
@12:00, the diagram in the link you gave me shows it at @1:00, does that means I'm that far off in my timing?

 

[86bluecobra]

it could be i think its closer to the 1 o'clock then the 12 o'clock on the 302's. When you are getting top dead center of number 1 are you putting your finger over the hole as you turnit over to make sure you are getting the compression stroke?

 

[irish]

Yep, plus the car runs now, granted I'm not thrilled by how its running, but I do not think it would run at all if I had it 180 off. I drove it around the block, no misfires. Just doesn't sound/feel right like I said earlier, I'm sure it needs abit more timing adjustment.

 

[86bluecobra]

yah it would not run if it was 180 off. So do you think it could be that you need it tuned now. the maf that is

 

[irish]

Well, it was a speed density car until recently, course it ran poorly, it was still quite fast. I was hoping by actually utilizing all of the performance parts on the car via mass air, it would run better, idle, and maybe be a bit faster. It is possible I will need a tune, not sure how an A9P will do with 24s, 76mm maf for 24s(think I put 30s earlier but they are 24s) e cam etc. Plus I am guessing the computer may need 10-20 miles of varied driving to learn/adjust abit. I still need to chase codes down(never done that) and figure out some of the odd vacumn lines under hood which are not stock(like the one that appears under drivers side hood hinge, goes to a three way, one goes nowhere and is open, the other goes around the upper intake into yet another three way, one goes to front vacumn port(small) on upper intake, other goes to pollution control front passengers side)whew what a mouthful!
Stuff like that, I didn't do any of the mods on the car really, I'm just trying to make sense of it. So maybe a tune, I'll see after timing it right, vacumn is right, and I put a few miles on her.

 

[86bluecobra]

ok if you don't know where a vacuum line goes cap it off. This would probably be your issue with idling. You see if more air then your computer is reading is getting into the engine you car won't run right.

 

[86bluecobra]

http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiB..._us/0900823d/80/16/65/cc/0900823d801665cc.jsp
scroll down and there are diagrams for vacumm lines on 87-88 mustangs.

 

[OrLackThereof]

Wish I could look at it, my friend did almost the same exact stuff to his car and had major issues...I got there and found he had a vacuum leak, his throttle stop screw was too far out (dont forget about this one, it had a huge effect on his car....what I did, for starters just to get a ballpark, was crank it out until the TPS voltage, at bare minimum, read 0.98v....then fired the car up, with the IAC disconnected, and made sure it idled. When it did, we reconnected the IAC valve.

Also check fuel pressure, you want around 38-40 psi to be SAFE, engine idling vacuum line OFF the regulator and plugged with your finger. Then put it back on and see how it runs, pull plugs, and tune from there. Dont go less than 35 psi on those injectors, I run around 36 with stock fuel rails, 24lb injectors, and 155 lph fuel pump.

If youre running stock heat-range plugs, set your timing at 12-13 degrees base advance. Easy way to achieve this WITHOUT a timing light is crank the engine until you find #1, TDC compression, and the timing readout on the balancer is at 0 degrees. Then turn the motor over by hand until it reads around 12 degrees BTDC. Then with the distributor cap ON, put a little mark on the HOUSING, you know the plastic base that the cap clicks to, not the cap itself, where the #1 terminal is. Then pull the cap off, and spin it until that mark lines up dead-center with where the rotor is pointing. Lock it down, you should now be at 12 degrees advance +/- 1-2 degrees.

 

[Mustang5L5]

This is more general tech rather than EEC tuning. Off to tech it goes

 

[irish]

Another update, it is running(yay), but it runs like ****(%$%^). Broke down and bought a timing light, and have it set at 13 degress BTDC. So far I've done the KOEO test and got 11 11 11 11, which I believe is the code for "no codes" please correct me if I'm wrong. Tore it apart again today, I'm getting real fast at this. It's already back together and still runs like the proverbial kaka. Unsteady idle around 900 , kinda clanky sounding like the timing is off but it isn't backfiring, or turning over hard. Motor seems to shake a lot more than it used to, what gives?? where did I screw up?? At least the fuel leaks are cured and I don't have to push it any more......ideas anyone?

 

[OrLackThereof]

Another update, it is running(yay), but it runs like ****(%$%^). Broke down and bought a timing light, and have it set at 13 degress BTDC. So far I've done the KOEO test and got 11 11 11 11, which I believe is the code for "no codes" please correct me if I'm wrong. Tore it apart again today, I'm getting real fast at this. It's already back together and still runs like the proverbial kaka. Unsteady idle around 900 , kinda clanky sounding like the timing is off but it isn't backfiring, or turning over hard. Motor seems to shake a lot more than it used to, what gives?? where did I screw up?? At least the fuel leaks are cured and I don't have to push it any more......ideas anyone?

Clicking/ticking noises?? How about loose/misadjusted rocker arms.

 

[HISSIN50]

I'd also consider crossed plug wires, dizzy 180* out of phase, etc.
If it idles like poop (oh sorry - kaka, a different level of crappiness), I might do a cylinder balance test. If you have a bad wires, wires crossed, injector wiring issues, etc the test should let you know.

Good luck.

 

[irish]

Cylinder balance test, not really familiar with that one, as far as the wires, counter-clockwise from #1 firing order -13726548, they are msd wires, the kit where you have to make them yourself. I suppose I could try to test them too and see if maybe I messed one up.

Anyone know if I will need a custom chip burned if I have gt40 heads, e-303 cam, msd 6al, Cobra upper/lower, 24lb injectors, 76mm c&l calibrated for 24s, headers, no cats, 2.5 inch pipe all the way back?

Computer is an A9P I think, harness is a 1989.

I'm almost to the point where I get it towed somewhere in the hopes someone else can figure it out, I really hate to, but I'm tired of not being able to drive this car. Tomorrow I'll try to pull codes from it while running and see if anything pops up.

 

[HISSIN50]

When you pull codes, a next step after KOER is doing the CBT. Use your repair manual, code reader book or see Jrichker's tech note about how to do it (I think you have about 2 mins after KOER codes to begin the test but I can never remember and read the book myself).

Good luck.