Tune-up

Use 10w30 oil and use 87 or 91 gas it's your call on the gas..but if you are not running a supercharger and your engine is not pinging on take off i would use just 87. Do you know what clutch/cable kit you have?..because that may be the reason for the stiff clutch pedal. Post a idle video of your car at idle?.. so we can tell you if it has an aftermarket cam or not.

Even if you took off the valve covers, you could not see the cam in a 302. It is in the block, between the crankshaft and intake. I suppose you could use a magnetic dial gauge and measure lift and then duration with a degree wheel. But at that point, you might as well pull the timing cover and timing set to see if it is marked.
As far as mods, set your goals first or have fun spending money on random parts that might not work well together.

Before You do more than a basic plugs, cap and rotor tune up, search how to check for codes and do a cylinder load test. Use the search, and look for posts from the Guru, jrichker. You may not need anything, but you will know for sure before spending the money. J also has a well written post on power goals and what to get you there. Ask if you cannot find it.

Your stiff clutch could be a worn cable, a stiff, HD clutch set, or it could be the diaphragm springs are cooked hard from clutch abuse. I replaced a racing set that had an X for a disc (and was abused untill it turned blue and was a little warped) with a more street able one. It will get hot if I drive too enthusiastically, but I can drive away smoothly from stoplights now.

Anyway, reading old posts here for research and asking questions is a great place to start before you modify your Mustang!

Checking the camshaft lift and duration is not a simple job. You need a quality dial indicator, a degree wheel and some investment in time and tools . The upper intake manifold gets removed, and the passenger side valve cover gets removed.

Complete details are found at http://www.cranecams.com/uploads/instructions/803_.pdf Crane Cams is a trustworthy source since they are a well known com manufacturer.

The Ford manual recommends either 5W30 or 10W30 premium oil.

Most stock engine cars will run OK on 87 octane. The exception to that is if the ignition timing has been bumped up from 10° to 14 °. This is a common modification to get a little more seat of the pants kick. All you need is a good timing light and the 1/2" universal socket, 12" extension and a matching ratchet to do it. Many auto parts stores will rent or loan a timing light.

The clutch able may be binding or has gotten too close to the exhaust pipes. A flashlight, some jackstands and a jack will be needed to do the through examination of the cable housing for damage.

RochNoure said:

. I just learned about KOEO and KOER, I am going to pull the codes. I still need to read more about the cylinder load test which I have a question about. It says: Immediately after all KOER codes have been output, a quick tap of the throttle will initiate the cylinder balance test. I read in a different article WOT, so which one is it to get accurate readings?

No, it's not supercharged and I have no idea what the timing is set to, I will check it out with the timing light a suggested.

Taking the mods mentioned before into account and assuming the timing has been altered, can I still run 87 without hurting the engine?

Click to expand...

Check the timing and you will have answered your own question. If you run 87 octane and you hear what sounds like shaking marbles inside a coffee can, you need 91 or higher octane. Sometimes the pinging isn't that noticeable, so you need to listen closely.

Cylinder balance test: use this to find dead or weak cylinders:

Revised 25 March 2012 to add necessity allowing the KOEO tests to finish before starting the engine and the need for a properly functioning IAB/IAC to run the cylinder balance test.

The computer has a cylinder balance test that helps locate cylinders with low power output. You’ll need to dump the codes out of the computer and make sure that you have the A/C off, clutch depressed to the floor and the transmission in neutral. Fail to do this and you can’t do the engine running dump codes test that allows you to do the cylinder balance test.

Here's the way to dump the computer codes with only a jumper wire or paper clip and the check engine light, or test light or voltmeter. I’ve used it for years, and it works great. You watch the flashing test lamp or Check Engine Light and count the flashes.

Be sure to turn off the A/C, have the clutch depressed to the floor, and put the transmission in neutral when dumping the codes. Fail to do this and you will generate a code 67 and not be able to dump the Engine Running codes.


Here's how to dump the computer codes with only a jumper wire or paper clip and the check engine light, or test light or voltmeter. I’ve used it for years, and it works great. You watch the flashing test lamp or Check Engine Light and count the flashes.





If your car is an 86-88 stang, you'll have to use the test lamp or voltmeter method. There is no functional check engine light on the 86-88's except possibly the Cali Mass Air cars.



The STI has a gray connector shell and a white/red wire. It comes from the same bundle of wires as the self test connector.

89 through 95 cars have a working Check Engine light. Watch it instead of using a test lamp.



The STI has a gray connector shell and a white/red wire. It comes from the same bundle of wires as the self test connector.


WARNING!!! There is a single dark brown connector with a black/orange wire. It is the 12 volt power to the under the hood light. Do not jumper it to the computer test connector. If you do, you will damage the computer.

What to expect:
You should get a code 11 (two single flashes in succession). This says that the computer's internal workings are OK, and that the wiring to put the computer into diagnostic mode is good. No code 11 and you have some wiring problems. This is crucial: the same wire that provides the ground to dump the codes provides signal ground for the TPS, EGR, ACT and Map/Baro sensors. If it fails, you will have poor performance, economy and drivability problems

Some codes have different answers if the engine is running from the answers that it has when the engine isn't running. It helps a lot to know if you had the engine running when you ran the test.

Dumping the Engine Running codes: The procedure is the same, you start the engine with the test jumper in place. Be sure the A/C is off, clutch depressed to the floor and the transmission is in neutral. You'll get an 11, then a 4 and the engine will speed up to do the EGR test. After the engine speed decreases back to idle, it will dump the engine running codes.

Trouble codes are either 2 digit or 3 digit, there are no cars that use both 2 digit codes and 3 digit codes.

Cylinder balance test

If you have idle or IAC/IAB problems and the engine will not idle on its own without mechanically adjusting the base idle speed above 625-750 RPM, this test will fail with random cylinders pointed out every time it runs. The IAC/IAB must be capable of controlling the engine speed to run in the 1400-1600 RPM range. Playing with the base idle speed by adjusting it upwards will not work, the computer has to be able to control the engine speed using the IAC/IAB.

Warm the car's engine up to normal operating temperature. Use a jumper wire or paper clip to put the computer into test mode. Let it finish the Key On Engine Off (KOEO) code dump. Start the engine and let it go through the normal diagnostic tests, then quickly press the throttle to the floor. Remember to keep the clutch pedal (5 speed) depressed to the floor during the test. The engine RPM should exceed 2500 RPM's for a brief second. The engine RPM's will increase to about 1450-1600 RPM and hold steady. The engine will shut off power to each injector, one at a time. When it has sequenced through all 8 injectors, it will flash 9 for everything OK, or the number of the failing cylinder such as 2 for cylinder #2. Quickly pressing the throttle again up to 2500 RPM’s will cause the test to re-run with smaller qualifying figures.
Do it a third time, and if the same cylinder shows up, the cylinder is weak and isn’t putting out power like it should. See the Chilton’s Shop manual for the complete test procedure


Do a compression test on all the cylinders.
Take special note of any cylinder that shows up as weak in the cylinder balance test. Low compression on one of these cylinders rules out the injectors as being the most likely cause of the problem. Look at cylinders that fail the cylinder balance test but have good compression. These cylinders either have a bad injector, bad spark plug or spark plug wire. Move the wire and then the spark plug to another cylinder and run the cylinder balance test again. If it follows the moved wire or spark plug, you have found the problem. If the same cylinder fails the test again, the injector is bad. If different cylinders fail the cylinder balance test, you have ignition problems or wiring problems in the 10 pin black & white electrical connectors located by the EGR.

How to do a compression test:
Only use a compression tester with a screw in adapter for the spark plug hole. The other type leaks too much to get an accurate reading. Your local auto parts store may have a compression tester to rent/loan. If you do mechanic work on your own car on a regular basis, it would be a good tool to add to your collection.

With the engine warmed up, remove all spark plugs and prop the throttle wide open with a plastic screwdriver handle between the throttle butterfly and the throttle housing. Crank the engine until it the gage reading stops increasing. On a cold engine, it will be hard to tell what's good & what's not. Some of the recent posts have numbers ranging from 140-170 PSI. If the compression is low, squirt some oil in the cylinder and do it again – if it comes up, the rings are worn. There should be no more than 10% difference between cylinders. Use a blow down leak test (puts compressed air inside cylinders) on cylinders that have more than 10% difference.

I generally use a big screwdriver handle stuck in the TB between the butterfly and the TB to prop the throttle open. The plastic is soft enough that it won't damage anything and won't get sucked down the intake either.

A battery charger (not the trickle type) is a good thing to have if you haven't driven the car lately or if you have any doubts about the battery's health. Connect it up while you are cranking the engine and it will help keep the starter cranking at a consistent speed from the first cylinder tested to the last cylinder.

See the link to my site for details on how to build your own blow down type compression tester.

Yep, I'd say it's got an aftermarket cam but that's not saying much since you'll never really know what cam it is. Grab a flash light and look inside your oil fill neck on your valve cover. Sometimes you can see straight down inside and see your rockers. Google pictures for the stock stamped rockers versus after market and you'll know what you got inside there.