Seems to be running rich, Ideas??

paczowski123 · Dec 13, 2012

Well my 88 lx seems to be running rich. I know this could be result of not being tuned but want to make sure there nothing i can do to get it to lean out a little bit until i can get it tuned out. Its not black smoking or anything, but the oil does smell kind of like fuel after i run it and pull the oil fill cap and smell. I know that too rich is a bad thing and can wash the cylinders out so i dont exactly feel comfortable running the car at the moment. I cannot tell if my fuel pressure regulator is adjustable or not but i do know when i pull the vacuum line off there is a little screw that a flat head could fit into thats threaded. is this an adjustable style or stock?I know that just to get my car to idle steady at around 900 or so the idle screw is maxed out.

is there other areas i can look into? such as:

where should timing be set?
if the fuel regulator is adjustable what should i set it at for my mods listed in my sig?
Any other recommendations to look into?

It could always just be me inventing concerns in my head but the exhaust is just very strong granted there's no emissions on the car whatsoever but what really sparked my interest was the fuel smell when I pulled the oil fill cap.

88LX5.Oh · Dec 13, 2012

First dump the codes. If everything checks out then, set timing to 10 degrees for right now. Set fuel pressure to 39 PSI.

flyinhigh90 · Dec 13, 2012

faulty pressure regulator , vacum leaks ,

paczowski123 · Dec 13, 2012

Does it seem my regulator is adjustable? It's got threads on it and has a slot for a flat head screw driver like it could be screwed in and out underneath where the vacuum line connects but it does not look like most others I've seen with the Allen bolt and lock nut.

One other question I have, and I may need to post a pic up of it but while I was fooling around behind my upper intake manifold I noticed a thick about 3/8 hose that comes from under the upper intake and has a check valve on the end. It's a metal tip and there's a little ball or piece of metal that moves up and down inside there almost like what you'd see on a transmission vent valve or axle breather. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Is it part or pcv or maybe a crank breather I'm stumped?

flyinhigh90 · Dec 13, 2012

its a PCV valve usually when the grommet that holds it down is worn it willl shoot it out too much pressure just replace the grommet and u will be good on that .... ya i have the regulator with the allen head and lock nut and it works great.

88LX5.Oh · Dec 13, 2012

My adjustable fuel pressure regulator doesn't have a lock nut, it's a BBK, if that makes any difference But it does have the allen head stud, and it's located on top of the regulator, not in or around the vacuum port.

paczowski123 · Dec 13, 2012

Hmm ill have to check and see where that PCV will re attach. Will I need to remove the upper intake to re attach that line? My car has a breather on the oil fill port as well is it possible that the previous owner simply omitted the PCV for the valve cover breather? Where does the stock PCV attach to?

88LX5.Oh · Dec 13, 2012

paczowski123 said:
Hmm ill have to check and see where that PCV will re attach. Will I need to remove the upper intake to re attach that line? My car has a breather on the oil fill port as well is it possible that the previous owner simply omitted the PCV for the valve cover breather? Where does the stock PCV attach to?

Rear of the lower intake.

paczowski123 · Dec 13, 2012

Does it just slide in or is there a fitting that's broken etc. could this hose being loose cause any of my idling/rich issues? I've read that you should have one or the other regarding dual breathers or PCV. If I hook my PCV back up should I remove the oil fill breather and just run PCV?

88LX5.Oh · Dec 13, 2012

paczowski123 said:
Does it just slide in or is there a fitting that's broken etc. could this hose being loose cause any of my idling/rich issues? I've read that you should have one or the other regarding dual breathers or PCV. If I hook my PCV back up should I remove the oil fill breather and just run PCV?

It slides into a rubber grommet that's inside the lower intake. I don't think the PCV valve being out will cause any idling issues. And on my car I have the regular PCV set up in the lower intake and I also have a breather in one of the valve covers.

65ShelbyClone · Dec 14, 2012

The PCV being out of the lower intake would make a huge vacuum leak unless both the lower intake and the PCV line were plugged.

paczowski123 · Dec 14, 2012

found the port it plugs into, seems to have helped a lot. I read in the surging idle checklist that there is a way to modify the iac to help with surging idle. What exactly are they s[peaking of doing? Are they talking about dremeling a groove between the two ports meaning on that would connect them? If so how deep does the groove go or is it just trial and error and just take a little off at a time?

Nest i was reading about testing the 02 sensors for 12v heater across the two white wires. does this men i put my voltmeter between the two wires. meaning red connection on one and the black on the other white wire? or testing each of them individually to look that the heater circuit is working correctly?

I was looking into the back side of my motor and was trying to verify that the orange 02 pitagil was grounded but could not find anything accept for this wire that goes under the upper is this the orange 02 wire?its one of the only orange wires i can find and it comes out of the white 10pin
View attachment 137994

Next i found this plug unused it also has an orange wire thats been cut coming from it. does this look familiar to anyone? should it be connected to anything?
View attachment 137996

I also posted a picture of my fuel pressure regulator. Does this look like a factory regulator or an adjustable one?
View attachment 137998

Sorry about all the questions in one link, but i am new to fox bodys and want to make sure i got all the bases covered to ensure it is running to its potential.

tca7291 · Dec 14, 2012

Does your vacuum line go on top of that screw? It looks like the previous owner was having issues with fuel pressure, and for what ever reason plugged that diaphragm. That screw should not be there. IMO I would go ahead and order a new FPR and swap that one out with one that you know is good. That just looks effed up.

paczowski123 · Dec 14, 2012

Yes the vacuum line goes over that, but there is a small hole in the center of that screw as if the vacuum would pass through and you could meter it by turning the screw in an outz

tca7291 · Dec 14, 2012

Oh, disregard my statement then, I thought that it was put there as a plug. I've never seen a FPR like that. Have you put a pressure gauge on the line? I know that you should have 39psi with the vac line off.

paczowski123 · Dec 14, 2012

it looks identical to this holley one:
http://www.latemodelrestoration.com...gle-shopping&gclid=CJXnvoiCm7QCFQ4EnQodolEAUA

I have not checked my pressure yet i ran out of time today. I will do that tomorrow. Got any ideas at to what that spare plug is or to whether that orange wire is in fact the 02 ground?

Boydster · Dec 15, 2012

The connector that you pictured seems to be the EGR connector. The 3 wires should be colored orange/white, brown/light green and black/white. The O/W wire is power that is supplied to several different sensors.

The solid orange wire you are looking for...there is an orange from the salt shaker connector that goes the Oxy sensor ground. Don't confuse it with an orange/white that is the same wire that's cut for your EGR.

This wire is often connected to ground on the back of the cylinder heads, one of the rear bolts of the intake manifold or possibly one of the upper engine-to-transmission mount bolts. If required, you could carefully trace it from the shaker connector back to wherever it is grounded.

Looks like someone did some real chopping on your machine...

paczowski123 · Dec 15, 2012

In fortunately they did which is why I am going through And checking to make sure everything is connected up right I'm kind of debating whether I am going to buy a new engine harness that way I know everything is not hacked and spliced. If I was going to buy an engine harness to plug into this current engine what year what I need to be compatible with the injectors and mass airflow sensor etc

88LX5.Oh · Dec 15, 2012

paczowski123 said:
In fortunately they did which is why I am going through And checking to make sure everything is connected up right I'm kind of debating whether I am going to buy a new engine harness that way I know everything is not hacked and spliced. If I was going to buy an engine harness to plug into this current engine what year what I need to be compatible with the injectors and mass airflow sensor etc

'86-'88's can use an '89 harness and everything will work out right. Any harness later than '89, you'll run into issues.

Seems to be running rich, Ideas??

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