I am stumped....

[fspilot1971]

I have been restoring a 92 LX hatchback for 3 years now......I am almost done, I had to do this slowly because I am not much of a mechanic, so I have had to pay my mechanic to do most of the restoration for me, I had a 87 in college, so I really wanted one of these...plus the person who sold me the car was the mom of one of my best friends who recently passed away of a massive heart attack at age 32. , His mom would let him take it out on weekends. So you can see it now has a great deal of sentimental value.

At this point I only need to repair the head gasket leak next week.

But I am stumped with 2 things:

1. The RPM gauge sometimes realigns itself to start at 2500 rpms

2. The headlights look dull and I would like to replace them....I have looked at the 1 piece assemblies.......they make the car look clean, but I don't want her to end up looking like a rice rocket....LOL

Any input or opinions on this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ethangsmith]

The tachometer issue could be a slowly failing ignition module. That's pretty much the only thing that would cause that other than the tachometer itself failing- which is rare. As for headlights, you can buff and polish the factory ones or you can get a set of reproduction lights that look just like factory. Either way, the end result will look good.

 

[gunmetal5.0]

I got a kit at Kragen's(Same as auto zone or pep boys) to clean my headlights. It came with: Plastic restoration polish, 4 industrial grade wet/dry sandpaper sheets, 1 polishing cloth and 1 pair disposable gloves. You probably have a lot of this stuff lying around the garage. Should be easy to track down a tech article on the process. Good luck.

 

[fspilot1971]

Is the ignition module something that is easy to get to?....something I can fix myself?

I have had to deal with a lot of crooked mechanics getting my Stang to top shape....I am kind of tired of them...

I was quoted $700 to replace the head gasket, it seems a little steep to me.

 

[itsstock]

If I were you I would spend the 700$ in tools, buy a haynes or chiltons manual and spend a weekend working on the car with a friend. The friend could be there just for support or actually help if he /she knows cars. I learned on my own reading books and asking questions. I have saved thousands in labor costs, and have an array of tools to handle any job. I too dislike mechanics because the majority of them are just out to get your money.

 

[ethangsmith]

Ignition modules are easy to replace. Even headgaskets aren't that bad (I just did mine on the 86). I agree, invest in some tools, get some manuals and do it yourself. Garages are horrendusly overpriced anymore.

 

[fspilot1971]

I am going to bite the bullet....I have the Haynes manual but it doesn't specifically show where the ignition module is located........anyone have a picture of where it is?

Thanks for all the help you guys have given me.

 

[ethangsmith]

I think on your 92, it would be screwed to the intake. Not 100% sure as I'm not as familiar with the 8 plug DIS setup as the others. It should be a grey rectangular thingy with a bunch of wires coming out of it.

 

[fspilot1971]

Is this what I am looking for?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/87-9...691QQitemZ170096236313QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

 

[ethangsmith]

Nope. I probably shouldn't have described it as "rectangular" as both styles of ignition modules are rectangular. Anyway, that one is for the distributor mounted non-DIS type. Since you have coil packs and no distributor, you would use:

NAPA # MPE TP503SB or ECH TP503

or

Advance Auto # EL144 or CBE42 or FF415

or

Motorcraft DY959

 

[itsstock]

I took a look at my 93 and I did see amodule attached to the intake. You will want to look at the area behind the alternator. You will see the unit. I think this is the part you are talking about. I personally have not really checkout out the dual plug setup in my car mainly because I will be installing a svo engine soon. And that uses a distributor rather than coil packs.

If you want take a picture of the engine bay and we can help out.

 

[glowstang93]

This is the Ignition Control Module (ICM). It is a good idea to have the codes checked if the Check Engine Light has come on. It was code 223 and 224.

It is located directly behind the alternator attached to the intake. There are 3 screws that hold it on and two electrical connectors. Disconnect negative side of battery cable. Unscrew the 3 screws and unplug the ICM. Before putting new ICM on, make sure to spread the supplied grease evenly on the metal back of the ICM. If they do not supply the grease, silicone dielectric grease can be used. Bolt it back up and connect electrical connections. Thats it.

I also had similar problem, but also had to replace the coil packs too in my situation.

The coil packs can be seen in this picture. The plug wires have one end connected to the plug and the other end to the coil pack. Replacement of coil packs is pretty straightforward, remove plug wires and unbolt the coil packs, bolt on new coil packs and reconnect plug wire. Keep in mind that you want to know which plug wire was plugged into what coil pack and which coil pack connector. I unplugged one of the plug wires from the old pack and then plugged it in to the new one.

I would also suggest buying the ICM from an autoparts that offers a lifetime warranty so that if it does go out, your not out the $120-200 again for it. Coil packs are about $60 each. I have good luck with Borg Werner from O'Reilly Auto Parts.


Here is a link that may help

http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=575396&highlight=ignition+control+module

 

[itsstock]

Glowstang that is a clean engine bay. Probably the cleanest NA 2.3 I have seen. Have you modded anything on it os is it stock?

 

[glowstang93]

Here is a list of engine mods or things done to keep it looking good.

Replaced 2g 75 amp with 3g 95 amp alternator
Removed the snorkel air intake before the air filter
Replaced stock air filter with K&N drop in
Replaced stock hood insulator with oem replacement
Removed prop rod, replaced with Redline Tuning hood struts
Replaced plastic vacuum lines with vacuum hose
Removed decaying stock electrical tape and replaced with cloth tape
Repainted radiator support brackets with high temp paint
Placed a 3/4" wire loom over top of radiator to make a cover

As you can see its pretty much not really modded per say, but my last check of fuel mileage was 21.10, all city driving. The window sticker says 22-29, so if I keep my foot out of it, I can still get the 22 mpg.

I always change my oil at 3 months intervals and always do the 30000 mile tuneups that the book calls for.

Thanks for the compliments, its not that clean at this moment, as I drive it every day. But, it will clean up nicely with just a little work.

 

[fspilot1971]

Wow.....I don't think my 2000 Ranger's engine was that clean, even when I took it off the showroom.

All this help has been great, all of you are great, I think I am going to try it......but one thing, the check engine light has never gone on.....so I don't know what to do.

 

[pimpstang18]

btw you can just wax your headlights, they won't look new but they'll look much better and less faded. but i'd recommend picking up a set of the 3 peice clear or smoked lights from ebay, they look pretty sweet without having that "rice" look of the euro lights