Replacing broken secondary chain on 94 lincoln mark VIII

Hey folks, went to turn the key and get a click and that's it. I suspect either the little wire next to red cable at the starter I connected something incorrectly. Should this red and gray cables be like this or? Thanks in advance.
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In your picture, the heavy gauge red wire should be the positive battery feed. I believe the smaller gray wires should be the fusible links with one coming from the alternator.

As far as the 'click' when you turn the key... check the smaller wire at the starter. That is the solenoid feed and is a common symptom of corrosion. Clean, tighten or replace the spade connector.
 
I continued my troubleshooting and found the starters brush lead or whatever was loose. Tightened the nut up and now have crank but no start. Tried unplugging crank sensor and plugging it back in no luck. Will continue troubleshooting, feel free to throw out any suggestions tho
 
Fuel, air, spark.

Fuel...
  • Check for presence of fuel at schrader valve on fuel rail after cranking.
  • Key on for 3 seconds...key off, repeat 3-4 times. Recheck for fuel at fuel rail.
  • Hook up fuel pressure gauge to schrader valve on fuel rail. Key on and observe fuel pressure.
  • Unplug cam sensor (behind power steering reservoir), inspect and clean connection, apply dielectric grease and reconnect.
  • If fuel seems adequate, it may be flooding... floor accelerator while cranking and see if it fires.
  • You can use a noid light to check injectors are firing.

Air...
  • Check MAF sensor is plugged in.
  • Check for obvious air leaks between MAF and throttle body. The rubber seal at the throttle body on the Gen1 is a common source of air leaks.
  • Leaks at the IMRCs and intake manifold are less common and usually not enough to cause a no start condition.

Spark...
  • Unplug crank sensor, inspect and clean connection, apply dielectric grease and reconnect.
  • Test for battery power at coils with key on.
  • Use a spark tester and test for spark while cranking.
Keep at it, you'll get it. (y)
 
Well, happy holidays Mark VIII fans. I come with holiday greetings and 1994 Lincoln Mark VIII updates. Not going well at all; last i communicated I was getting crank no start. Troubleshooted with the following; unplug crank sensor and re-plug, unplug cam sensor and re-plug, removed passanger front side tire and confirmed fuel filter was in tight and not leaking, getting fuel at fuel rail, getting spark at plugs, changed out plugs and wires (plugs smelled like fuel by the way). Still crank, no start. removed valve covers to look over a few things and remembered on of the cams on each head not having a key chuck (or whatever thats called) in place. Theres a key way but no chuck; i had decided before compeling the build and before even cranking the key to input my own chuck in those key ways. So back to looking things over by removing valve covers when getting crank no start. Removed keys id put in place and slightly loosend up bolts holding down retaining caps. Why? I dont know, thought motor would spin, turn better. I had torqued these down to 90 inch pounds by the way. So, after removing MY keys, looseing retaining cap bolts from 90 inch to 82 inch pounds, bolting down valve covers and hooking everything back on. I go and turn the key, split second crank then a clunk-motor not turning, try again to get another clunk. Get and and turn motor by hand a quarter left, a quarter right go turn key same thing. Extremely frustrated; walk away from the car to return back to later day. Now im at point to removed front cover, valve covers, camshafts and I cannot turn the motor any way by hand. Hit me with honest feedback folks as I feel kinda leaning towards making a call to the junkyard. This is a 1994 Mark again.
 
Wow... there's a lot to unpack here. :unsure:

Before we address the mechanical aspects of your symptoms, let's review your fuel/spark troubleshooting.

You seemed to have confirmed the presence of fuel, but did you check fuel pressure with a fuel pressure gauge? The reason for asking is to ensure fuel pressure was adequate for the fuel injectors. If so, beyond that I would've questioned the confirming proper operation of the fuel injectors. I've personally experienced fuel injector issues following certain work done to a vehicle which would not allow the engine to start. :(

You comment "getting spark at plugs" but then changing plugs and wires while noting plugs smelled like fuel makes me curious as well. How did you test for spark? What did the spark plugs look like? The plugs smelling like fuel is concerning as well. Either the engine was flooded, there was no spark or the timing of the fuel and spark is suspect.

I know that sounds like a lot more questions than answers but proper diagnostics is crucial to a no-start condition. I acknowledge it can be extremely frustrating though it should never lead to removing the valve covers. At the minimum, a compression check would've been advised before diving under the valve covers.

Regardless, none of the above addresses your current dilemma. Unfortunately you appear to have some type of mechanical interference going on which could be indicative of the prior no-start condition. It's purely a guess on my behalf at this point but considering you apparently can only rotate the engine but 1/2 a revolution, I would suspect a piston/valve interference. I would start by removing the plugs and using a bore scope camera in each cylinder. If nothing obvious is seen, inspect the valve train, looking for proper rocker positioning and any obvious valve issues perhaps like a dropped valve from a missing valve retainer. If the rockers/valves all appear proper... the valve timing is not proper which takes us all the way back to the beginning. :oops:
 
Did you do the proper timing procedure? The keys in the cams were left out on purpose for that.
 
Took me a week or so to re-balance myself and letting the frustration ride away. Stepping away for a bit is just as important as completing the project i feel. Heres the short and stinky, one night driving home from work i remembered the number one piston's rocker arms having a lot of play, i mean almost the point of being able to yank them off by hand no matter where the cam lobe was. All that play go me thinking the only logical reason would be the incorrect cam lobe.. Hmmm, next morning went to a junk yard which had a 93 mark 8 stripped top of that motor like an animal and took pics of part numbers stamped on camshafts. Low and behold; and i think most would be ashamed to admit doing this but I had camshafts flipped on passanger side. Problem found, now tear everythig off again, got the crank turning again only when both heads were naked again and even then he did not want to turn. Crank turning smoothly i re-timed necessary components put him all back together. Got him running, blew a crap load of white smoke so shut him off, left him alone for a day. Went back out started him up, let him idle on his own for a bit. Idling rough but staying on and idling. Gave him a rev up to about 4500 rpms for about 5 seconds, let loose and shut him off two seconds after. Only this time driver side exhaust manifold caught a little bit of fire.. Lol, what the heck. got the fire out, no cables for anything was burned but still concerning. I recall reading somewhere these guys are somewhat prone to catching fire on that side due to brake fluid leaks but i cant say ive got a brake fluid leak from master cylinder, maybe damaged the valve cover gasket on driver side since that one is a pain in the ass to get on, i wouldnt be surprised if it is damaged. I kinda feel like its an oil leak from valve cover gasket as opposed to the brake fluid. Comments and of course questions are welcomed; what do you guys think?? Thanks in advance
 
:oops:

Firstly, kudos to your tenacity.

I doubt you are the first to mess up on the camshafts... I'm trying to sort through my head the effects and consequences of such a misadventure. It certainly explains the crank/no-start experience however. At best, the intake valves would be open when the exhaust valves should be and visa versa. The concerning part to me would be the cause of not being able to rotate the crankshaft. Definitely uncharted territory for me at least.

Not sure what to make of the white smoke. Usually that is indicative of burning coolant but it could also be simply excessive condensation depending on the length and propensity of the smoke? This could be much to do about nothing or catastrophic. :rolleyes:

Fire... never a good thing for sure. An oil leak would seem the likely explanation and it certainly merits further exploration. Seems odd to me that the exhaust manifold temperature would be so high to ignite fluids so soon? How long had it been running?

Where do we go from here? Well, if it were me, I would investigate for an oil leak or other source of a leak and satisfy myself there would be no fire hazard moving forward. Then I would run it at idle with some intermittent throttle (2000-3000 rpms) while getting it up to temperature and very meticulously looking for any fluid leaks, particularly fuel and oil but also coolant. Once you are comfortable with its status then I would address the rough idling or any other running issues.

My curiosity would extend to reading the spark plugs and doing a compression test and/or a leak-down test to evaluate the health of the engine mechanicals. I would also be curious of the oil pressure and the integrity of the cooling system.

Thank you for getting back to us with your update and best of luck moving forward! (y)
 
The leak prone brake pressure sensor is located on the passengers side in front of the wheel. Only on the 93 was the brake pressure sensor located below the master cylinder. I would still make sure you don't have a brake fluid there though, you might have damaged a brake line when you removed the head. Brake fluid is very flammable so I would make sure there are no leaks of it.
 
Very good points; hand shake to the both of yous. Another wonder; when cams I mentioned were flipped and trying to get him to start. The odor of fuel in spark plugs.. If valves are opening and closing, incorrectly of course. I kinda feel it's more likely than not likely fuel may at some point possibly leak past the valves, below the pistons. Is this rational-possible?? Maybe same scenario for coolant??
 
Thanks.. Precaution taken. Another step I took prior to turning that key over second time around was attach clean vacuum line to an actual vacuum hose. Remove spark plugs, turn motor and vacuum up whatever the vacuum could suck up while each piston was at its lowest. Fuel odor has deteriorated significantly. Changed out valve cover gaskets last night, putting stuff back together. Shall report back later.
 
94JAMarkVIII said:
It keeps catching fire at the catalytic converter on the driver's side after being on a few minutes. Accompanied with a few back fires
Click to expand...
Not that I've seen it before but it sounds like you are pumping fuel in the exhaust?

Couple thoughts... perhaps an injector is stuck open and/or you have no spark or a severe misfire in one cylinder?
 
Either of those could be possible. I lifted front end of car. Removed driver side tire to look for any possible leaks. Possibly from the oil sensor that goes into pan on the driver's side of it.. Also, noticed cylinder number 8 from under the car a slight oil drip for lack of a better term at the very last bolt of exhaust manifold.. possible to have a significant oil leak at that sensor I mentioned or at that area of exhaust manifold?
 
Anything's possible I suppose but the oil drip at the exhaust manifold stud or bolt could be coming from anywhere above it, like the valve cover?

I realize the engine compartment in that area is quite crowded but try to clean the area as much as possible with degreaser or brake clean and dry wipe the best you can. If you can't manage to get your hand where it needs cleaned, use a makeshift swab on the end of a stick or tool of some sort and/or an aerosol spray application followed by wiping dry. Clean and dry is what you are trying to achieve. Do not fall for "good enough" or you will have to start all over to find the source.

Once clean and dry, then you can start to trace any leak to its source and identify the fix.
 
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