man... what is going on with the car?

hey all,

Been having some trouble since I relocated out to Kansas from PA. First of all the car ran great on the 1150 mile trip out to Kansas and ran great before hand. Since getting here I've had to replace the throttle body cause the throttle shaft broke. I replaced the dryer connection to the S/C with a boostmaster pipe for better air flow and hoping to keep out some of the heat. After that its been down hill. It seemed that something happend to the S/C belt adjustment and the belt was slipping. I found that the lower bolt threads were stripped and let the pulley move a bit to slacken the belt... got that fixed. With full boost again it seemed that the clutch was slipping so I loosened the cable a bit. When I took it out for a ride everything seemed good but the car just died as I was coasting about 60 MPH. I checked the codes and had a memory code 14: Ignition pickup was erratic and 22: MAP (vacuum) or BARO signal out of range. After searching the forum I found code 14: I needed to replace the stator (or PIP). So I replaced the distributor (old TFI). Now I'm thinking I was getting detonation. Car seems alright if I slowly go to WOT but if I hammer down the car seems to stutter with no get up and go. Not really clutch slipping cause the RPM's don't shoot up. Took the car out for a ride yesterday and at first it seemed that I still had detonation if I jumped on it but seemed OK if I gradually went to WOT but didn't have full power. I rechecked my codes and KOEO is the same old 15, 85, 95... memory was 1,1... 1,1. Did some more reading and found that area elevation can effect detonation. On top of that I have only been able to get 91 octane out here and my car is tuned for 93.

Do I need to back off my timing a bit to compensate for the elevation difference and fuel grade? use some octane boost? or is something else going on here? Could it be that the MSD coil or 6AL is going out? I don't have any issues starting. Don't want to just throw more money into it to try and find the problem. Any input is appreciated...

well, I checked the timing and it is currently at 15*. When I left the auto craft shop the car was running vey strong, as it use too. I went to auto zone and had them check the TFI module cause the guy at the craft shop didn't know what setting to test on, tested good. On the way back the Car was still stuttering (or breaking up - like jkurien with the 70 mustang... it really seems like the same type of problem when the car is heated up) when flooring it. I had to fill up on the way to autozone and I got 16.3 MPG on that tank (gas prices suck!). When i got back I pulled codes and this time it showed a 95 on the memory codes. Where is the ground for the fuel pump? I pulled the air filter and MAF for cleaning. Filter was pretty dirty with all the dirt that blows around out here. I'll put them back in tomorrow and see how it does.

could it be that with the boostmaster pipe I am now flowing too much air (or boost) for the chip and need to get it retuned? more boost with a lower grade octane becoming a deadly combination?

my problems started when I got into kansas!

Seriously after the throttle body went I hadn't really been pushing it. A couple days after I put in the boostmaster pipe I noticed it was having issues when I dropped the hammer. First I had some issues with the lower bolt on the S/C tensioner and the belt was slipping. Got that fixed... then I though it was the clutch. Adjusted that then when I took it out for a testdrive afterwards I checked the codes cause the car died on me as I was coasting. It gave me a code 14 which everything says to change the Stator (or PIP). So I changed the distributor cause i didn't have anyway to press off the gear. At the time I didn't have a timing light so I marked the rotor extension. When I put in the new dizzy I lined the rotor up with the mark on the extension. Once I could get to a timing light I verified the timing and it was set to the only highlighted mark on the balancer which was 15*.

As I said, I pulled the air filter which was coated with crap. Cleaned it and while I was in there I pulled the plugs. Gaps were anywhere from .041 - .044. I replaced the plugs all at .035. Took it out for a while today in almost 90* wheather and it seems to be running good. Temp never broke 200*. maybe not to its full potential but ahell of a lot stronger than before. No hesitation or cutting out when dropped to the floor.

if anyone has any suggestions on the timing setting or spark plug gap please chime in. I do have the SCT chip in there but I'm not sure how it was programmed.

spout was pulled

well car is still acting up. I took it out for a run today after letting it sit all day yesterday. Before driving regular it seemed fine. but today when I gave it a little extra gas it had no power. It was just at WOT. i don't think it's the clutch cause the RPMs don't jump up. It seems that when boost should start comming in the motor changes pitch but no power, like it's bogged down. If I slowly keep pushing the accelerator down it still has power. Fuel pressure seems good, it rises when pushing the gas. i might just try a new TFI module, but I really don't want to throw more money at it.

Any suggestions?

FYI... well I replaced the TFI module with a new one, took it out for a drive and had the same issues. Went back to the parts store and bought a new fuel filter, problem solved! Changed the filter in the Autozone parking lot . So after spending about $100 in parts and $70 in gas (and $50 more on the way with new plug wires since I broke one of the boots when changing the plugs) a $8 filter fixed the problem.