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1988 Ford Mustang Convertible Stalling - Engine
Question: Car was running ok till last night when it seems one of the cylinders stopped running. I checked the plugs and wires and dist cap, all seem to be fine. What else could it be?
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Technican: Hello, All seem to be fine, but can you swap parts with another cylinder and move the problem? This trick would address parts that look okay but fail to work properly.
Could a fuel injector be stopped up?
Owner: Possibly, I use a cleaner on a semi-regular basis. I did just get gas on a near empty tank the day before yesterday, maybe I got some crud in them. How can I check the injector?
Technican: Really, it would be great if the cylinder with the problem could be identified.
Can you run the engine with a spark plug wire disconnected from a spark plug and find the cylinder with no effect? If you have spark but the cylinder acts the same with the wire off then you can believe the spark plug is bad or, there is a fuel issue present.
Fuel injectors are commanded by the computer. By plugging in a noid light to the injectors harness connector you can see if the computer is firing the injector. The noid light flashes with each command. If you unplug an injector and the car runs the same... this is another way of identifying which injector has the problem.
Owner: I am currently disassembling the I guess it's the manifold? In order to reach the fuel injectors as they are completely unreachable until I do. I will chek the condition of the injectors as soon as I get there, hehe.
As far as finding which cylinder it is, I'm pretty positive it's the #3 starting from the front of the car going back. There was some slightly yellowish residue on the spark plug. I presume from unburnt fuel. All the other plugs were perfect. The car will not even start right now unless I rev the engine really high when trying to start, if it falls below say 2000rpm it just stalls and dies. There is also a substantial rattle when accelerating.
I will get back to you as soon as I can get to the injectors. Might be a few hours or longer as I also need to get some additional tools (extra deep sockets) to remove some nuts on unusually long bolts to remove the "manifold" to reach the injectors themselves. There's not enough room to get a standard open end wrench in there either.
Technican: What engine do you have, please?
Owner: I have the stock 4 cylinder 2.3 liter with EFI.
I removed the injectors after taking apart what seemed like 1/2 the engine, heh. They all appear to be clean and in working order. I had switched plugs and wires around yesterday before taking the engine apart and that yielded no difference in the car's performance. I don't think it's a plug or wire as they are both pretty new, the wires less than 6 months and the plug less than 1 month (NGK Platinum).
Technican: Hmmmm, You can't move the problem by swapping parts around. Lots of rattle on acceleration...is your timing belt serviceable?
Jeepers, I can't get too far away from the fact that you encountered the problem quickly after a recent refuel. Bad gasoline??
Owner: The timing belt is the covered belt that is connected to the rod that activates the valves? As far as bad gas, I have seen stuff at the auto-parts store that says Fuel Treatment "neutalizes bad gas" does that actually work? Could I have lost a ring on the piston? Could the wiring harness that activates the injectors be bad? Could the ECM that's attatched to the distributor cap be going or gone bad? I replaced the ignition coil about a month ago also.
Technican: Yes, the timing belt turns the cam that actuates the valves.
I'm weak on addatives and I rarely use them. I cannot say I have experience with them to take an advisory position.
I doubt you lost a piston ring. A compression test would give a clue if you had.
The wiring to the injectors very rarely has problems as it never gets disturbed. The noid light would check the harness as well as the computer's commanding the injectors to fire.
That module near the distributor cap is the Ignition Control Module (ICM). A typical failure of the ICM is for the engine to run 10-20 minutes and die. Restart cannot happen until all cools down and then the cycle repeats. To drop one cyliner is not logical as you say you have spark at all cylinders. It is a $100.00 part.
An auto parts store can bench test an ICM. Call them and see if they have the tester. The test is often free of charge.
Owner: The belt appears to be in serviceable condition. Is there an adjustment that I should look for on it. How can I tell if it's adjusted correctly?
Technican: At the time the belt is installed new it has identifying marks that are indexed with the gears when they are set in time with markings on the block and the head.
If the belt looks to be in good condition and you do not see cracks or broken teeth there is no reason to assume the belt has jumped over timing gear teeth and cause the engine to be out of time. There is a tensioner that keeps the belt tight to prevent such an event. But, if a tooth breaks on the belt the engine will be out of time. That's why there is a scheduled time to replace the belt before big trouble results from neglect.
To tell if the belt is adjusted correctly simply line up the timing marks on the cam and crank gears. If they will line up then the belt has not jumped and all is in order. I'd have to research to see just how the gears are positioned for timing. Do you need this info? An engine out of time usually will not start and mechanical damage to the valves can result.
Owner: I will look at this issue further. I have a chiltons, will that give me the info? If not, yes I could use it.
Technican: Chilton's should show the correct position for the gears. Try looking at the proceedure for replacing the timing belt. There should be a drawing you can rely on. If not, please advise,
Owner: Ok, I pulled the entire cover off of the timing belt and the little marks on the gears more or less line up with the "adjustment" marks next to the gears themselves. I say more or less because they are about 1/4 a tick off but not enough that the belt would have slipped teeth. The belt appears to be whole and complete and in good repair with no missing teeth at this time.
What should I look at next?
Technican: Not much else to do but go back together and try different fuel supply. Can you borrow a noid light? If not they are a cheap tool even from Snap-On.
Owner: I don't know anyone with a noid light. I could probably buy one. I presume the full term is solnoid light? the local auto parts should sell them? Should I just try replacing the #3 injector?
Technican: Ask for an EFI-Harness tester. They should know how to look it up. Find it on the phone or on eBay.
I cannot advise replacing anything at this point. There has not been results from a diagnostic procedure that identified a failed part.
Owner: Ok, I will try that. I'll get back to you when I get the results. Thanks
Technican: Great, with your shopping.
Owner: What about the Fuel Filter. You seem to be aiming towards a fuel issue. It's about 2 or 3 years old. Should I look at replacing that? Since the car wont run to take it to a technician I can't get a comp diagnostic on it. :(
Technican: I'm thinking #3 cylinder has a fuel issue because you stateed you have spark and cannot move the problem be swapping parts with another cylinder. Do you have a way to test the fuel rail pressure?
A fuel filter should be replaced at 30, 000 miles service or, in my opinion, every two years service. Whichever comes first. You could remove yours and blow backwards through it to see what comes out. (Be sure to depressurize the fuel system first.)
Owner: The fuel rail is the tubing that connects the injectors together yes? I already have it off the car (to remove the injectors) It allows fuel to flow freely through all points that I can tell.
By the by, should I consider using a higher grade of gasoline than regular unleaded? I know some people tell me it helps with certain things but I also know the manufacturer does not recommend using anything other than what they say in the manual.
Technican: Yes the injectors are supplied by the fuel rail. When assembled, a fuel pressure gauge is connected to the schrader valve on the rail to test the pump output and ability to hold pressure.
A higher grade of fuel is not necessary. Even the 300 hp Northstar Cadillac will run well on regular unleaded fuel. The manufacturer states Premium Unleaded only. Thats what they used to qualify during emissions testing with the EPA. Most owners state the extra expense nets no real benefit.
Technican: Hello, What is happening with this question please?
Owner: Turns out to have been a cracked head. I misdiagnosed the initial symptom. $600 later my car runs again. hehe.
Case closed.
Technican: Thank you for the response. You may want to write to, Administrator, .com and request a refund.
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