94 GT Startup Problems

[cntchds]

I was working on my car today. (Just finished the seat install 94-99) Once that was finished I was hoping to take it out around the block a couple times. Unfortunately it started once, and I let it idle, and revved it a bit for my dad to be happy enough with it's performance to allow me to take it out for the first time.

I turned it on (first time I've ever not had to give it any gas to do so) then it's idle was extremely low. ~750RPM. From there I revved it up slowly and around 2.5K it was shaking pretty bad. Any higher than that it was running smooth, but any lower the rumble could still be felt.

My dad thinks that could be a cylinder not firing, but that isn't the only problem.

After the revving and idling for ~3 minutes the car died. Not stalled, just died. From that point on it wouldn't start again. This is a pretty normal occurrence with my Mustang in which it starts, then dies, then won't start again for a couple hours, if not a day.

The Check Engine Light does come on every now and then, and I have no idea where to buy an OBD1 scanner to read the codes without trying my hand at making one of the "blinking light testers". Have any of you had similar problems with your 94/95 Stangs? I have been dying to drive mine ever since I bought it, but when it got here it wouldn't start at all. Then one day it started "coughing" then it caught and idle once, etc etc. Which made sense since the car had been sitting for a couple months in a driveway after it started acting up. I don't think it will continue getting better though, and I would appreciate any input.

BTW, if it helps any... The idle came back to the normal (right under 1K) idle after I had revved it. It died when dropping the gas from ~3K.

Thanks Guys.
Peter

 

[Matt94GT]

you figure it out?

 

[red9535]

Sounds like a misfire to me..

I'd investigate things in this order.

1 - Misfire or no-fire. Hook up a timing light to each spark plug wire and make sure it's sending power to each spark plug. Then, after letting it run for a few minutes. kill the engine. Spit or spill some water on each header pipe.. it should start fizzing and cackling. If it doesn't, then that cylinder is cold (not firing).. start with replacing spark plugs..

2 - Harmonic Balancer. A crapped out one of those can cause a shitty idle

3 - Bad fuel?

~750 RPM isn't that low. It should idle decently there..

How is your timing? If that's set the way you want it, but it still seems like its way out to lunch (misfiring like a bitch), i'd next investigate your timing chain. COuld be worn out, loose, jumped a tooth, whatever.


If I had to guess, i'd say this. A misfiring car can run on idle - my car has idle'd on 4 cylinders before, with the other 4 not doing jack shit. Once you rev it though, it's all over - it will tend to just die out.

Also, i'm not sure how long this gas has been in the car.. but it does go bad. And bad fuel can lead to rough starting, shitty idle, and stalling.

 

[bybyz06]

Other than the seats, what else were you working on? If you didn't touch anything in the engine compartment, and it was working fine before you pulled the seats, then I would check the harmonic balancer to see if it's coming apart.

 

[cntchds]

Sorry the seat thing is throwing everyone off on this, it ran pretty much the same before as after, that wasn't the cause of the problem, but no, I haven't figured it out.

Revving does not kill it, it likes revving more than it likes idling. I will have to wait until this weekend before I can work on anything, and even then I'll be short on time.

I'll let you guys know the results of everything I can do.

Fuel may well be the problem since the car has been sitting since December without new gas. Which I assume is a decent amount of time...

 

[bill302]

best guess would be harmonic balancer as stated above or the pip sensor...pull those codes.

 

[cntchds]

OBD1 scanner is on it's way. Will have the codes sometime this week. Where is a good place to look up what the codes mean?

 

[5litrarag]

I'm gonna say the fuel filter is plugged and the fuel pump is dead or dying.
A few months sitting shouldnt make the fuel bad enough to not run the car. There is a mechanical issue here. Get a fuel pressure guage and throw it on the shrader valve so you can see how it acts when the car cranks and idles.

 

[cntchds]

Brand new fuel filter, could be the pump though. Whatever it is, it's setting off the CEL. So hopefully we can figure something out with the scanner.

 

[5litrarag]

If the pump is the original that came with the car, just replace it... its time anyway.

That should do it... but run the codes anyway, its good to see whats in the stored codes.

 

[cntchds]

Turned the car on today, and the CEL is now off... Are the codes still in it, or do I have to run it till the light comes back on again

 

[5litrarag]

The codes are still there...

 

[d_punch]

once it doesn't want to start get your father to sit in the car. you grab the wire for the numer one piston and try to ground it out on the intake bolt while your father cranks it's. if you don't get spark there's your problem. most likely stator/ ignition module bullshit.

if you do get spark check for fuel pressure

 

[1FastGT]

im gonna have to say that most of you are wrong. my car did this 1 month ago i replaced the fuel pump filter fuel pressure regulator, maf, and none of them did anything.

then i tested a few other things and found out that my distributor had shit.

the hall effect sensor (basically its a camshaft position sensor and crankshaft position sensor in one but ford decided to put it in the distributor)

dont change the sensor i did change the sensor then the bushings in my distributor went bad. and it fuckkkkkkkddeded my whole distributor up.

just go to Bennett Auto, or auto zone and get a re manufactured one

 

[cntchds]

im gonna have to say that most of you are wrong. my car did this 1 month ago i replaced the fuel pump filter fuel pressure regulator, maf, and none of them did anything.

then i tested a few other things and found out that my distributor had shit.

the hall effect sensor (basically its a camshaft position sensor and crankshaft position sensor in one but ford decided to put it in the distributor)

dont change the sensor i did change the sensor then the bushings in my distributor went bad. and it fuckkkkkkkddeded my whole distributor up.

just go to Bennett Auto, or auto zone and get a re manufactured one

Thanks for the post. I don't really understand what you are telling me to replace though. Just the Hall Effect Sensor? The whole distributor?

Thanks in advance for the clarification.

 

[5litrarag]

im gonna have to say that most of you are wrong. my car did this 1 month ago i replaced the fuel pump filter fuel pressure regulator, maf, and none of them did anything.

then i tested a few other things and found out that my distributor had shit.

the hall effect sensor (basically its a camshaft position sensor and crankshaft position sensor in one but ford decided to put it in the distributor)

dont change the sensor i did change the sensor then the bushings in my distributor went bad. and it fuckkkkkkkddeded my whole distributor up.

just go to Bennett Auto, or auto zone and get a re manufactured one

Thanks for the post. I don't really understand what you are telling me to replace though. Just the Hall Effect Sensor? The whole distributor?

Thanks in advance for the clarification.

He's saying to do either one, but leans towards buying a remanufactured Distributor.
One problem though is a bad dizzy will usually not throw a C.E. light. So pull your codes, see what they mean and go from there.

BTW, when your car shuts off does it just stumble and then eventually die or does it shut off like someone clicked an on/off switch?

 

[1FastGT]

also when it starts does it run at all. and does it backfire/ping/dentonate. alot or at all if its doing that im tellin you its the distributor,

also i know it wont throw a check engine light.