97 Cobra build/rebuild

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88stang88

88stang88

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With the help of @Venompower I was able to sort out my vacuum lines last night. Thank you!

Modified my mid-pipe to fix an exhaust leak at the collector and fit up around the transmission utilizing the original mid-pipe mount. Both items had to be finished up prior to the tune session. Also went ahead and changed the oil and filter while I had it jacked up.

Appointment was for 8 am today about 1 1/2 hours away. Arrived about 20 minutes early. Stopped by Hardees right around the corner from the shop for breakfast. Pulled into the shop parking lot and parked. Look up and I have a Police Officer pulling in and stops right in front of me. (Knowing I had not broke any laws) I get out and walk up to the Officer's car because I couldn't hear what he was asking. Apparently he has never seen the Illinois Temp Plates before and had no idea what kind of plates I had on there....ok no issue here. Police Officer was super nice and left shortly after we chatted for 5 minutes or so.

Talk to the guys that work in the shop for about 10 minutes, they pull the car in and start setting it up on the dyno. They give everything a check over and deem that everything is good for the owner/tuner to start working with.

Bob (Owner/Tuner) shows up about 08:15 and asks for the build specifics. Develops a baseline tune to start with. Starts the car up and lets it get up to temp and starts to pull in 1st gear and he immediately shuts it off. He says there is something wrong but he isn't sure what yet. Asks his mechanic to check compression in both banks. End up doing a full compression test on all cylinders and a leak-down test.

Drivers side compression is 190 in all cylinders
Passenger side compression is 138-140 in all cylinders

Tuner deems that passenger side has jumped a tooth on the primary timing gear. (Said this happens sometimes on installation)
Shop mechanic was shocked and said he wouldn't have guess that to be the issue because it runs smooth and felt fine when he pulled it in the shop.

He cleaned up what he could with it running the way it was but it is not making any power like it should.

Drivers side is running rich and Passenger side is running lean due to timing being off. Said the fuel is being sucked out by the exhaust prematurely. Only made 235 to the rear wheels. Said the setup should be close to 100 more when timed and tuned properly.

It never ends.
 

Venompower

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With the help of @Venompower I was able to sort out my vacuum lines last night. Thank you!

Modified my mid-pipe to fix an exhaust leak at the collector and fit up around the transmission utilizing the original mid-pipe mount. Both items had to be finished up prior to the tune session. Also went ahead and changed the oil and filter while I had it jacked up.

Appointment was for 8 am today about 1 1/2 hours away. Arrived about 20 minutes early. Stopped by Hardees right around the corner from the shop for breakfast. Pulled into the shop parking lot and parked. Look up and I have a Police Officer pulling in and stops right in front of me. (Knowing I had not broke any laws) I get out and walk up to the Officer's car because I couldn't hear what he was asking. Apparently he has never seen the Illinois Temp Plates before and had no idea what kind of plates I had on there....ok no issue here. Police Officer was super nice and left shortly after we chatted for 5 minutes or so.

Talk to the guys that work in the shop for about 10 minutes, they pull the car in and start setting it up on the dyno. They give everything a check over and deem that everything is good for the owner/tuner to start working with.

Bob (Owner/Tuner) shows up about 08:15 and asks for the build specifics. Develops a baseline tune to start with. Starts the car up and lets it get up to temp and starts to pull in 1st gear and he immediately shuts it off. He says there is something wrong but he isn't sure what yet. Asks his mechanic to check compression in both banks. End up doing a full compression test on all cylinders and a leak-down test.

Drivers side compression is 190 in all cylinders
Passenger side compression is 138-140 in all cylinders

Tuner deems that passenger side has jumped a tooth on the primary timing gear. (Said this happens sometimes on installation)
Shop mechanic was shocked and said he wouldn't have guess that to be the issue because it runs smooth and felt fine when he pulled it in the shop.

He cleaned up what he could with it running the way it was but it is not making any power like it should.

Drivers side is running rich and Passenger side is running lean due to timing being off. Said the fuel is being sucked out by the exhaust prematurely. Only made 235 to the rear wheels. Said the setup should be close to 100 more when timed and tuned properly.

It never ends.
That's tough, especially after driving that far... that being said you have already done a ton of work, and so this seems to be within your ability to fix. The timing is pretty good too, as we are heading into winter and the car would probably be down anyways. I feel your pain though, most of this past summer my car sat in the garage while I chased down issues.

Edit: Unintentional pun, as the "timing" is not good, lol.
 
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88stang88

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It is definitely within my scope of ability to fix. Honestly the timing could have been better for me. Yes the car is about to be parked for the winter but my schedule gets ridiculous busy from Nov-Mar with coaching wrestling and traveling. I haven't put a ton of thought into tackling this yet but I can imagine removing the valve covers in the car is a pain.
 

lwarrior1016

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It is definitely within my scope of ability to fix. Honestly the timing could have been better for me. Yes the car is about to be parked for the winter but my schedule gets ridiculous busy from Nov-Mar with coaching wrestling and traveling. I haven't put a ton of thought into tackling this yet but I can imagine removing the valve covers in the car is a pain.
That really sucks, but it’s not as bad as you might think. I’ve done it to my coyote numerous times and helped Josef do his. We had to retime both of our engines in the car. It’s easy to do in a day.
 

lwarrior1016

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Just remove all accessories and pull the valve covers and timing cover correct?
Front accessories (alt, power steering, water pump pulley, harmonic balancer) and pull the radiator, then the cam covers and front cover come off and you have access to the timing. Make sure to put the crank key at 9 o’clock before you pull the chains. Make sure not to get coolant down in the oil pan.
 

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