Yup... I know the springs must be getting saggy by now, but first things first.
So, today I cleaned the throttle body (a bit on the gunky side), the TPS and the idle assembly. While the intake was open, I notice a good amount of gunk in the intake manifold, so this weekend I am taking that off and cleaning it... I am not giving up until this damn thing runs right again.
Just an observation that I have not validated yet - When I disconnected the sensors for cleaning, I also removed the battery feed, which resets the dumbass computer (maybe it will come out of its coma) and when I restarted the engine I decide to bleed the fuel rail, in case some bubble was in there... I was expecting a good squirt of gas, but it seemed a bit weak. So, I bled it some more, until it was providing the expected pressure.
I did not run the car on the road yet (got to do some work sometime), but if that fixes it I am lucky, because it was just a fluke idea.
Anyway, I'll test it this afternoon and am still going to clean the intake manifold this weekend - I'll report the outcome ASAP
Keep us posted on how its goin. Seamfoam clean out carbon in your motor, you put it in your gas, oil and in a vacuum line. I think the booster line. I hear it works really well.
After reading this, i really dont want BBK headers...
Yeah if I could go back I wouldn’t buy them again...I bought the most expensive ones thinking id be better off... Piff yeah right!! after I did my headers my car sounded alot better... not a big diff in Hp but it was nice.... then my efffin check engine light would never go off... took it to shops all the time and every time they fixed something and cost about 250 each time easy... its doing it again... efffin BBK fags...but yeah my car was kinda dying out when i would stop at a light but then after take off run fine... then it started kickin.... took it in and at first they said my effin header gaskets blew... Back to them BBk fags... to redo them $800 yeah right!! Did them myself, 4 hours and new aluminum reusable gaskets my beast was back to runnin great only $40 (my uncle is a manager @ a local AutoZone)!!! No exhaust leaks. its was saying something like inefficient flow to my Egr valve and not enough flow to my O2’s but with the fix to my Exhaust leak my O2’s should be getting some air… now im thinking about changing my Egr valve.. bc the light only come on after a few miles of driving… and some time goes off…the other day I hit 120 down the street against some Fag in a cobalt those little supercharged ones..... And the light went off... After a few miles runin low speeds/Rpms it was back on… so im thinking it is my Egr valve and it’s stickin??? I took it off and sucked on the holes and it opens and closes but ppl say it could get stuck... I don’t know???
If anyone knows or has an idea of what the eff is goin on let me know thx
When i bought my car it had BBk longtubes on it and i had no problems at all. Could you run test to see why the check light is on ? ZiggyNamja-looks good, i like the color , What rims are those ?
YEah I ran the Test for the Engine light and it came back what I said... inefficient egr valve flow and its running lean... I believe or rich I dunno and then they said something about my O2's which the exhaust leak which is now fixed.....was im thinking I need to change out my Egr valve... one other thing I was working on my car the other day and it was running a little crappy... so I checked my filter. Then I turned her over and was listening to her and was checking all my wires and sensors then I unplugged my Mass Air sensor and she purred like a kitty..... But the light came on real quick like... plugged her back in and light off/runs like crap.... I think that might b bad 2?? I don’t know im losing my mind over here... lol
OK... theTPS is in and... no change on the bucking/stumbling even though after cleaning the throttle body it seems just a bit (I mean a little) less and I think resetting the computer may have helped some. If the weather holds ( I am glad I don't live in Buffalo!) I am popping the upper intake manifold tomorrow and cleaning that bad boy out. I am pretty sure it is not going to cure it, but I am confident that the top end is going to completely come back after that. There is never any misfiring or detonation, so I am leaning toward a fuel issue... I was wondering if that octane booster I used for a while left some deposits on the fuel system or valves or injectors, so I dumped a can of Techron in the tank, just in case it can clean whatever is stuck in there... I wish I was back in the SouthWest so I could run in the triple digits for a long haul and clean it up quick! About the BBK's - I have been running with BBK shortys and H pipes (w/catalytic converters) for at least 30k and I never had any issues, ecept that the headers were sold with the cheapest gasket you can think of and had to replace it within a month of average driving. I used a good quality gasket with metal grid backing and ran the engine hard all year and it never complained or leaked. About the rims - Ford Racing Silver 2000 Cobra R (18x9.5) I know what is gonna happen... I am going to bust my onions fixing this issue and by the time it's ready to kick ass again, the snow is going to fall and I have to hibernate the damn thing until April
More tomorrow after the scrubbing!
Oh, one question... It seems that many have suggested that the MAF has sometimes acted up in a poor running engine and eventually I will have to replace it as well (it seems I will end up replacing just about all the sensors...) Since I am planning to eventually upgrade the heads and intake, what do you suggest as a reliable replacement that will handle the upgrades and work well with the current setup? OK... two questions... Should I consider retuning/replacing the PCM too? What is the best practice to do that and when?
My friend was having a similar problem on Friday night.... we ran a can of sea foam in the oil filler and in the gas tank..... ran it for about 10 minutes and the truck ran alot better.... hum. On my car the shop said they replaced the mass air with a factory and said that is good enough for what i want to do.
I removed the upper intake manifold and can you believe it looked like the inside of my barbecue grill? Nasty! So I cleaned it out. including the intake ports on the lower manifold, the EGR valve and the PCV assembly. I can't believe how heavy the intake manifold is... I think I will have to loose some pounds there... So... All clean, top end is great, but the bucking continues relentlessly.
I am about ready to tear the damn engine apart!
What shoud I do next? I am thinking of replacing the fuel pump and rail with a 155 or 255 lph pump, a regulator, and aftermarket rails... At the rate I am going, I should have a new engine by spring!
Should I consider upgrading the MAF first? It certainly would be easier than dropping the tank... Wich one do you suggest that will support future upgrades?
SEA FOAM is found at orielles or autozone... that would be the easiest. My car runs a little rough but more so of the problem is the fact it is running lean! Also we are checking for vacuum leaks as well
Ziggy, I know I mentioned this in a previous post but before you go to deep in the engine, make sure your timing chain is in good shape. I owned a 1970 Comet GT with a 302 and put 130,00 to 140,000 miles on it and started doing the same thing you are describing. I ended up buying a short block and rebuilt it with original parts off the old engine, but discovered when I was tearing the old one down that the timing chain had so much slack in it that the timing was jumping all over the place.
I realize we are talking carb vs modern fuel injection and all that and lot more variables, but just a thought before you go to deep.
I believe you said earlier that the timing marks were stable, but when I say stable, the timing light should see very little, if any movement off the mark at idle. Anyway I have rambled enough and probably won't be a problem, but just passing on an experience from years ago.
Thanks Fox. I did not think of the timing chain because I did not hear the familiar rattle and noise that usually is part of that failure. However, this is my first 302, so I appreciate your experience in the matter. I'll have to take a look at my trusty manual to plan for the break down... This is not so bad... I have driven this car for over 150k miles without a problem or major parts replacements, so it is only fair that I do some maintenance... I wish I had a garage!
Thanks for the help and let me know if you come up with other ideas... maybe I'll try the seafoam first and see if it helps... where should I use it? Gas tank? intake? I have never used before...
could try a compression test before you start tearing the top end off. and try the seafoam. throw it in your gas tank and crankcase, then rev the motor, for several minutes, hitting WOT a few times