recent purchase - couple of problems

J

Jason_s79

Registered
well so far I've only noted a few problems. The tach isn't working, the coolant temp never rises into the normal range and the engine stumbles when it is in OD at lower speeds - say 35-45. Also when I let off the gas to coast down (like when going from a 35mph zone to a 30) it doesn't really seem like it slows much, or quickly. Hopefully all minor issues I can work out quickly.

I need to find key fobs for it, and a working power antenna. The buttons on the climate control are wore thin so I'll be replacing it as well.

I was wondering if there was a thread listing compatibility of parts between years, models and other cars. For example I would like to know if the climate control from a '96+ will swap in.

thanks in advance for any help.
 
Cracked buttons make it a 93-95, more likely a 93/94.

As far as I know the 96 should swap in.

For the transmission "issues"; what color is the fluid?
When was it last changed?
How many miles are on the car?
 
its a 1994. havent checked the tranny fluid yet, far as I can tell the stumble is from the engine but I could be wrong. 113k on he car, and he tranny is supposed to be newer.
 
Trust nothing about your transmission other than it too has been neglected in all likely hood. If you go to our how to section there is a write up on replacing your accumulators and converting to Mercon V which should help your stuttering problem. Keep in mind if you are just driving around in traffic you would do well to push the small button on your shifter to keep the tranny from shifting into 4th which is an overdrive gear. Your tach is also an easy fix and the fix is outlined there as well. If you search around you will also find the fixes for the climate control
 
Change the tranny fluid. Change plugs and wires. Drive it. The "not slowing down" thing is normal.

If the car won't get warm, change the thermostat. If it's getting up in the "normal" range but just not to the middle, don't worry about it.
 
The EATC (Electronic Air Temperature Control) unit from a '96 model is the one you want. Do not get one from a '97 or '98 as they will NOT work even though they look identical!

Call Max at Five Star Ford if you can't find one. ;)
 
well, here's the update... phoned it in to work and spent the better part of the day working on it. I replaced the plugs, pcv valve and changed out the out for mobile one. When I started it up I immediately noticed the miss. I started going through the connectors, and the ignition wires to make sure nothing was loose and I noticed that one of the injector plugs had the entire side broken out of it..

So I went down to the local u-pull it and gathered up all 8 pigtails for the injectors. So far I've only replaced the one that had the side broken out, but on a few of the others the ears/clips are bowed out so I may go through and solder all new ones in.

So far it seems to be 99% better. No bucking at cruising speeds, but under hard acceleration from a dead stop it did still seem to miss a little. Still night and day better than it was.


driller said:
The EATC (Electronic Air Temperature Control) unit from a '96 model is the one you want. Do not get one from a '97 or '98 as they will NOT work even though they look identical!

Call Max at Five Star Ford if you can't find one. ;)
Click to expand...


Good to know. Definitely a nicer looking unit. I did manage to pick up a clean one from a '95 today but I'll still keep my eye out for a '96. Now if I could just figure out ho the bezel around the climate control comes off... need to swap that out, and I need the put a new bulb in the gear selector.

Besides that I need to out the thermostat and Get a decent working head unit in the dash and I think it'll be set for a while. I would like to change the tranny fluid and filter, but I'm not an automatic guy and I don't have the first clue how to get ALL the fluid out. I know if I just drain it there will still be some atleast in the torque converter. If I can't figure out how to do it myself I'll just take it in and have it done with one of the machines.

Thanks for the help - Jason
 
Torque converter isn't a prob. Just bump engine over (remove coil wires so it don't start) until the plug is where you can see it after removing the rubber dust plug. Pull drain plug and be sure you have a BIG container for it to drain into.
 
The engine misfire might be old 02 sensors, mine acted like that before they were changed. It increased the fuel mileage too.

Have you checked to see if any codes are stored?
 
Jason_s79 said:
... Now if I could just figure out ho the bezel around the climate control comes off...
Click to expand...

From the manual...

Heater A/C Control Panel Applique


Removal and Installation

1. Pull bottom of panel away from instument panel by using lower edge for leverage until RH and LH lower corner retainers unsnap.

2. keep panel as close to instrument panel as possible and pull LH upper corner to unsnap retainer.

3. Pull RH upper corner to unsnap retainer.

4. To install, insert the top tabs into position and then push in the lower two snap-in-tabs.
Click to expand...
 
budpytko said:
Torque converter isn't a prob. Just bump engine over (remove coil wires so it don't start) until the plug is where you can see it after removing the rubber dust plug. Pull drain plug and be sure you have a BIG container for it to drain into.
Click to expand...

+1...it is easy, you can do it...save the $80. A big help is if you can have someone bump the engine while you are underneath watching for the plug...I had my wife help me when I did it.
 
billcu said:
The engine misfire might be old 02 sensors, mine acted like that before they were changed. It increased the fuel mileage too.

Have you checked to see if any codes are stored?
Click to expand...

had the codes pulled today. came up with 116 - ECT sensor out of range during self test - Which may have something to do with the fact it wasn't warmed up, the test was done less than a mile from my house after the car was sitting all night.

Also got 412 - unable to control rpm during high rpm test. That one has me a little on the confused side, and I'm wondering if it couldn't point to the cause of my miss. Just a little too vague for me. When it comes to computer controlled cars I like codes that specifically list the offending component. So I'm not sure what this points to. Any ideas???
 
Code 412 may indicate a faulty IAC valve.

Reading your other post(s) concerning the fuel injectors, I would try a seafoam treatment of the air induction system and some seafoam in the fuel to help clean the injectors. IF you use seafoam in the fuel, I highly recommend changing the fuel filter after using the tank of treated fuel. ;)

I would clear the codes and drive the car. Then check for any codes that return.
 
Well tonight has been fun..... I decided that I had the car close enough to take it on a 500 mile drive. About an hour in I was coming through an uphill right hander and as I crested the top - there was a frickin pallet in the middle of the road. I had no time to react and went right over the top of it at 65mph. A roadside inspection showed things to be a whole lot better than I expected. No body damage, no blown tires, no anything I could find... all seemed well until about a mile up the road when the CEL popped on. So I turned it around and I'm back home.

In the morning(I guess its already morning - so when I wake up)I'll pull codes and see what its upset about now, and get underneath it and do a much closer inspection. It's looking like I'm going to have to change the valve cover gaskets. From the sound of it thats going to be a fun job.
 
Pulled the codes this morning, and I got an IAT code, and an O2 code saying bank 1 is lean. I suppose I'll replace both O2's and see what happens. The IAT I believe is a stored code from when I left it unplugged after the tune up. Hopefully the O2 sensors help that miss I've got.
 
had a thought. the O2 code - if bank 1 is the drivers side, that code could be stored from when the pigtail on the injector was bad.

Here's a good question. When I pulled the codes I got the IAT and O2 from "slow codes", I also pulled "fast codes" and came up with 4095. Now the difference between the two (as listed on an actron scantool) is something beyond my knowledge. But I dont recall any 4 digit codes fir anything pre-obd2. Any thoughts?
 
Ok... that helps a bit. The next question is - is bank 1 actually lean, which is possible or is the O2 bad. I'm not the best at reading plugs, but I guess the next step would be to pull them and see if any on that side look off...

Actually I just was looking at Blue oval chips website, and they have the codes listed. 172 which in the book says bank 1 lean, is being listed as left side(drivers) on his code list. That sucks.. I was hoping it was the passenger side. Atleast then it would likely point me in the direction of the problem.
 
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