Engine Miss Diagnosis
I recently got my car up and running after being in the garage for nearly 3 years. I took her out for a drive a few times but the car just didn't run very well. I couldn't figure it out at all. So I had to kind of start at the beginning and do some research. I really had no clue as to what was wrong.
Before I parked my car to take on new projects I did have it running pretty well. It was strong, fast, and smooth. I was pretty proud of this. Since my new projects didn't have much to do with the motor I was really scratching my head.
So to start my trouble shooting I started with making sure I had gas. I recently fixed my fuel level gauge and installed a new fuel sending unit. So I pulled the fuel line off the car and cranked the car a couple of times and the gas came (I used a rag to catch the gas). Then I hooked that back up and double checked the carb. Looking down inside I could easily see the gas coming in. Since the car did run I thought 'maybe' it was a problem like a stuck needle but I could get it smoothed out so it seemed that gas was OK.
Next I went with spark. I started with the timing. I double checked TDC and reset my timing to 14 BTDC. Still the same problem. I discovered that only when the car was under load did it really suck and shake. So I checked plugs next. Pulled one at a time and checked them all. There is less than 5k miles on them and they looked fine. On a whim I decided to take my timing light and place it on each spark cable to see if it was good. Interestingly enough, I had a big miss on #8.
So to start my trouble shooting I started with making sure I had gas. I recently fixed my fuel level gauge and installed a new fuel sending unit. So I pulled the fuel line off the car and cranked the car a couple of times and the gas came (I used a rag to catch the gas). Then I hooked that back up and double checked the carb. Looking down inside I could easily see the gas coming in. Since the car did run I thought 'maybe' it was a problem like a stuck needle but I could get it smoothed out so it seemed that gas was OK.
Next I went with spark. I started with the timing. I double checked TDC and reset my timing to 14 BTDC. Still the same problem. I discovered that only when the car was under load did it really suck and shake. So I checked plugs next. Pulled one at a time and checked them all. There is less than 5k miles on them and they looked fine. On a whim I decided to take my timing light and place it on each spark cable to see if it was good. Interestingly enough, I had a big miss on #8.
Now with a miss on #8 I wondered what was causing it. I first suspected my PERTRONIX unit. I have read many times that these tend to go bad. I explained my problem to a 'guru' and he agreed that it sounded like it was going out. So excitedly I bought the new 'Crane XR-i Points-To-Electronic Ignition Conversion Kit' and swapped it out. I figured for sure I had nailed this! I didn't. Exactly the same problem. So I thought, OK.. My plug is good, my points are good. That leaves the cap, the button, and the wires. I now had a big problem. I just bought the fancy big Ford Racing cap that adapts to the standard distrubutor and the nice thick Ford Racing wires.
During my 3 year project down time, I splurged on this new cap and wires. I spent some coin on these. It couldn't be these could it? They were the only thing I changed on the motor. So I went to find the old cap and wires. DARN! I sold them some time ago. Off to the local parts store and I purchased and cheap set.
During my 3 year project down time, I splurged on this new cap and wires. I spent some coin on these. It couldn't be these could it? They were the only thing I changed on the motor. So I went to find the old cap and wires. DARN! I sold them some time ago. Off to the local parts store and I purchased and cheap set.
Fixed!
I installed the cheap cap and wires. Fired up the car and checked each wire. No miss! Could I have solved the problem? I carefully backed the car out of the garage and took a drive. No problems. Man was I happy and upset at the same time. So now I either have a bad high end cap or a bad high end wire. Either way it cost me more than I had to find out. In the future I will not make so many changes to the car at one time again. Its better to be careful.
(You can see the new 'cheap' cap and wires in the picture to the left)
(You can see the new 'cheap' cap and wires in the picture to the left)