timing and running issues

[black82fiveoh]

2 questions:
when i bought my 86 capri 5.0, it did not have a timing pointer(the 82 did) so I put one on... the timing was at 19*! that isnt normal is it?? there was no pinging and the plugs were a perfect( tan/white) Whats the deal??

Lately, the car seems to be missing a whole cylinder. doesnt really sputter or anything. seems to have the power of 7 cylinders. wires appear to be ok, it has a new cap, rotor, and plugs.


The previous owner threw on an 89 or newer upper intake... I dont know what else has been done. The only other things Ive done are swapping in my fms 3 core radiator, and fms pulleys and a new tps

just looking for any ideas any of you might have. thanks for all your replies!!

 

[HiFlow5 0]

Did you set your TPS to the proper voltage. If not set correctly then that can cause drivability problems.

 

[black82fiveoh]

yep... it was set

 

[black82fiveoh]

TTT

 

[black82fiveoh]

come on some one!!

 

[black82fiveoh]

can anyone tell me anything??

I've become a little dicouraged by this site. Theres alot more "dude what should my next mod be?" or "how do I remove my air silencer, and how much more power will I make?" threads than real tech questions? Ive been around for a while, but things arent what they used to be here.

 

[black82fiveoh]

still no replies??? do moderators read these threads? whats the deal here? is anyone else seeing this thread?

I am confused as to why noone replies to my thread but "what should I do to build up my car" has plenty of replies!!!!!

I beleive this will be my last post here

GOOD LUCK ALL

 

[MustangLX-5.0]

Dont get discouraged.

Sometimes you just gotta keep the post around for a few days to get an answer.

It's possible you could have a lower intake or possbly head gasket leak.You said your friend replaced the intake.maybe something wasn't tightened good enough and something came a little loose.Check your oil for a milky white color.Also check your coolant for rainbow swirlies.Also,Do a compression test on all of the cylinders.You can find out a lot that way...

 

[HISSIN50]

yeah, dont get discouraged. i post all the time and people dont reply (either cuz question is hard to answer or people dont like me. i assume the former . you sometimes have to wait til the right people read stuff.

dont take it personal. i was gonna post the thread by that Saleen guy a few weeks ago about how no one responded to him, but i cant find it. anyways- dont sweat it.

is there a noticable miss? if so, were it me, i would pull the plug wires one at a time with the car running (be careful, dont die or anything). if you pull a wire and the engine note doesnt change, investigate that cylinder further.
i believe you can do the injector test while doin the diagnostics test (puter cycles the injectors. called a balance test, IIRC).
you can grab a screwdriver or mechanics stethescope and listen for each injector to click (or use a noid light).
if you have a bad injector, i think pullin each plug wire would reveal it (if there is no fuel, ergo, no fire, ergo pull the wire and the engine sounds the same.
and preface all this by pullin codes first.

i think it was mentioned to do a wet and dry compression test (or better yet, leakdown test). if its just a general lack of oooomppphh, id do the comp, leakdown test.
has it gotten a tune up (plugs, cap, rotor and at least ohm out the plug wires)???

all engines (302's) like different timing. are you sure the pointer is in the right place and the balancer has not slipped?

thats what i can think of now. good luck and let us know if this stuff would apply.

now that i read that, i think you would have been better off if i hadnt responded. :roll eyes:
good luck.

 

[black82fiveoh]

Thank you so much for the reply. It got plugs(motorcraft), 2 year old wires(fms)
new cap(motorcraft and a special ordered rotor(motorcraft). yes the pointer is in the right place(im pretty sure). I couldnt tell you if the ballacer has been slipped as i bought this from someone i didnt know- The car ran hard when I first got it(1 and 1/2 weeks before problem occured)


SORRY TO EVERYONE: I was having a terrible day and didnt mean to offend anyone!!


also mustang lx- I flushed the coolant when i put in my fms radiator and heater core(coolant was clean) the oil ,when changed, was black but no white. trans fluid was also clean. I dont know who installed the intake so i have no idea the quallity of the job. when i got it it had oil all over the back side of the engine- turned out to be all the valve cover bols were extremely loose.

 

[HISSIN50]

hey bud, dont sweat it. weve all been there. one time i really needed an answer to something, and no one would answer, so i pm'd a couple guys i knew to really know their stuff and asked them to look at the thread. thats desperate. LOL.

i always start at the "outside end" with the easy stuff and work my way in. if it applies, have you tried pullin a plug wire at a time and see which cylinder may be bad? if that works, ohm out your wire. some dont have a real long life.
were it me, id do that and then do a compression test. that should tell you real quick whats goin on. (or rule out some big things). just me
good luck.

 

[black82fiveoh]

thanks so much for the support guys!! feels good to have people behind you. The only problem is now the snow is coming soon. I cant work on my car at my appartment -has to be at work

 

[black82fiveoh]

more info

compression test- cyl 1-155, cyl 2-158, cyl 3-167, cyl 4-165, cyl 5-167, cyl 6-166, cyl 7-170, cyl 8-167.

when the plug wire is disconnected from the cap(#7) the idle doesnt change much.
i changed plug wire- maybe helped a tiny bit, I changed the plug and it helped alot. ran good all the way home. this morning I started it and back to the old tricks... runs like crap again.
also pulled vacuum and it pulled 19-20- that seems fine to me

any other suggestions from anyone would be appreciated!! THANKS IN ADVANCE

 

[jerry beach]

Check that #7 plug again. Is it fouled? What did the plug look like when you changed it? Try opening the hood at night with the engine running. You can use a spray bottle and mist water on the boots to simulate very humid conditions. Then look for sparks flying around the plug wires. If you see them, replace the wires. I would change all the plugs and pull them the next day one at a time. See if any are getting fouled or just #7. If the plug is wet and black its prolly oil fouling. Smell it and see if it smells of gas.

 

[black82fiveoh]

the #7 plug was black and wet... smelled like oil. what does that mean?
the rest of the plugs were tan/white.

 

[nito88stang]

the #7 plug was black and wet... smelled like oil. what does that mean?
the rest of the plugs were tan/white.

That plug is being fouled. It doesnt look like its the piston rings because compression is fine. Somehow oil is gettin in. That or its carbon buildup. You could try swappin injectors with another cylinder and see if it fouls up the new cyl.

 

[black82fiveoh]

I was also thinking injector... I will try that when time permits

 

[HISSIN50]

i was also thinking injector, although i cant explain the oily part. if compression is good (looks like you had a nice range of compressions; none too much off). the absolute numbers dont really matter, as different methods yield different results. i forgot to mention to do a wet compression test (easy to do if you are already doing dry). i would have done it to see if any jumped a lot, to see where blow by may be coming from (and thus the oily plug).

i liked jerry's advice (jerry, glad to see you back in here. things must be getting settled at the new house ). i hate to admit it, but on another car i had when i was younger, i had a miss on one cylinder. the car used CDI (direct ignition, no dizzy). i played with the plug gaps on the bad cylinder and ended up having luck with a copper (not platinum ever in a poorly functioning cylinder) double pronged split fire that i ran with a smaller gap. i figured if it was getting fouled, maybe a smaller gap would keep the fire from being snuffed out. it worked. just something to try.

thats all i can think of for now. good luck.

 

[black82fiveoh]

UPDATE!!!!!!

got a balancer from a budy and compared to the one on the car...10* off. cant beleive the difference. doesnt seem to be running on 7 cyl any more...
THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED!

 

[HISSIN50]

very glad to hear you are running good.