Need Reassurance With Knowledge Of My Own Car....(?!)

mustangapril · Oct 27, 2008

I need some reassurance. I went to a "mom and pop" shop to talk to them about a possible diagnostic for my car shaking and timing prices. The main guy that works on the cars said "all cars 1990 and up don't have timing; it's adjusted by the computer" eh??????? He told me they don't have a distributer. I said mine does, in fact, I had to take apart my distributer, cap and rotor to replace the pickup coil then I had to have it timed. He tried to "verify" with me that it really was a distributer, cap and rotor by asking me if it had "wires coming out of it"....ok SERIOUSLY?! I just told him I replaced the pickup coil...if I know what a damn pickup coil is, I certainly would know if I have a distributer, cap and rotor right?!?!?!?!

I then told him that my '98 mustang didn't have a distributer, cap and rotor but my 94 does. He didn't seem to believe me.

Am I crazy? Do the '94s really need to be timed?????

toyman · Oct 27, 2008

Yup. Find another shop.

Killercanary · Oct 27, 2008

toyman said:
Yup. Find another shop.

X2... get far, far away from that place and don't let them touch your car as they don't know what the hell they are talking about.

94-302-vert · Oct 28, 2008

As for the shaking... Look at your harmonic balancer... My car jsut started shaking again and my HB is spitting out the rubber... DOH... I hope I bought a lifetime one 4 years ago...

blksn955.o · Oct 28, 2008

I would look at the bal. as well. If your timing is off and your car is shaking and you did nothing...I would almost put money on the HB being toast.

I would run not walk from that shop. If you can rebuild a dizzy you can change a HB.

As little work/issues as most general shops are probably getting regarding the 5.0 motor in the from its in our cars. You are probably better off researching the issue/asking questions on here or the other "like" sites as this group is small but knows a great deal about things long since forgotten about with our year mustangs.

mustangapril · Oct 28, 2008

Thanks for reassuring my instinct. This whole situation reminded me of a shop I used to go back home for body work and the owner (a Chevy guy mind you) argued with me that my car wasn't a 5.0L. Um....HELLO even a dumb blonde can clearly see that on the engine it says.....5.0! lol

I have never heard of a harmonizer....? Currently, I'm getting someone to replace my upper radiator hose and spark plug wires and going from there. I wish I could do this myself right now but my coworker and her husband just had their baby and I'm 3 weeks away... = ( gah!

toyman · Oct 28, 2008

I have never heard of a harmonizer[/QUOTE]

Harmonic Balancer. Located on the crank shaft at the front of the engine. Very critical component. If it has "spun" you will experience a lot of vibration and you will not be able to time the engine. Look for pieces of rubber coming from the inner edge a sure tell-tale sign of failure.

mustangapril · Oct 28, 2008

Sorry, "harmonizer" (rolling eyes at self) now I sound like an idiot..........

ok, wrote it all down and will take a look at it tomorrow night and will look in my chilton's tonight so i can really understand......

thanks!

94-302-vert · Oct 29, 2008

Not hard to change... I had mine off in 25 minutes last night (worked at a snails pace too)... The worst part is breaking the bolt loose.... I used a 18" breakder bar with a 12" extension, then put my 270lbs into it and it finally cracked loose... The balancer can be as cheap as about $70 and figure one hour labor for someone to swap it.

cbarr300 · Oct 29, 2008

He is correct on one thing. The timing on our cars is computer controlled...or should I say the timing advance is computer controlled. But you still have to set base timing at the distributor.

A harmonic dampner (this part has like 3 different names) works in conjunction with the flywheel to keep your rotating assembly balanced. You don't want this to go bad on you. If the crankshaft is out of balance it can quickly snap the crank, wipe bearings, etc. I've seen one take out the timing cover and crack the block.

We had one come in the shop yesterday. A guy was complaining that he took his car to 100 and downshifted and heard a clank and that was it. I looked at it and the balancer was in two pieces....he got lucky however and didn't have to replace anything other than the balancer and a hose.

point is....definitely check your balancer...it's important

oh yeah....and run from that shop. They obviously aren't too up to date on electronics in cars

blksn955.o · Oct 29, 2008

mustangapril said:
I wish I could do this myself right now but my coworker and her husband just had their baby and I'm 3 weeks away... = ( gah!

Are you saying your expecting a baby as well? I may have totally read this wrong.

If you are expecting a baby Congrats

mustangapril · Oct 29, 2008

blksn955.o said:
Are you saying your expecting a baby as well? I may have totally read this wrong.

If you are expecting a baby Congrats

Yes, I am. My coworker's husband has been helping me with my car but obviously they are busy. I wish I could do this completely on my own but with this heat and the fact that my daughter is totally draining me right now (not to mention a fat belly in the way lol) I would work on it myself, as much as I can.....

I'm due Nov. 19

And thanks.

p.s. I think she should become the next Danika Patrick ha ha.

94GTCoupe · Oct 29, 2008

congratulations on your baby.careful not to strain yourself too much,that little lady is depending on you

changing the HB involve's a lot of leaning,laying and bending over your car.if your buddies can't help you now,try to wait til after you bring that girl home if you have to do it yourself:SNSign:

blksn955.o · Oct 29, 2008

I know we have some members on here in your state they may know of a shop that can help/be a tad better than were you went.

My little sister (26) is due at the end of Nov. (turkey baby). She is an Executive Pastry Chef (went to school in Scottsdale AZ actually) and its getting hard for her to get around the kitchen.

I would 100% try to get it looked at/fixed ASAP like said you dont want to cause some major damage.

Get some rest and take care bringing a gearhead into the world.

Need Reassurance With Knowledge Of My Own Car....(?!)

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