Jason's 96 Cobra - investigative build

[Musturd]

It has a wide band installed but not working currently. It's on the list to sort out. It's running so rich right now.... it smells like a race car.

Like I said I wouldn’t be trying to drive that car around with out a functional wide band gauge . Things apparently gotta built engine on big boost . The water meth was giving you troubles etc the cars obviously been tuned for meth . So it’s probably got fairly aggressive timing map .

 

[RAU03MACH]

Boy that sure is a pretty engine bay

i have use this motor to worm up some burritos, clean that you eat off it

 

[1BadSVT]

Got a new regulator, cut down the nipple in half, pulled the blower off, and changed it all out. The regulator is now hooked up to the blower intake (indexed to boost is what I've seen some people call this online.
Found some oil underneath

You can see the regulator on the passenger side fuel rail near the firewall.

Mark where the original regulator was hitting the intake



From what I've found, this Kenne bell system utilizes the stock regulator and at idle the vacuum opens the return line so pressure is reduced. If disconnected, the regulator closes, increases the pressure in the fuel rails, dumps extra fuel past the injectors and causes an overly rich condition at idle. The afr improves with more idle but can go lean on top end since pressure is unregulated.

Now that it's hooked up, at idle it draws a vacuum and reduces the pressure fixing the rich condition at idle. Or so I thought... More into this later... Under boost it closes the fuel return line (regulator) to the tank and increases the fuel rails pressure. This gives you more fuel when you need it at higher rpm.

Remember, all 4 new O2 sensors are installed. After install, the car ran very rich when I used the pedal to keep it running and wouldn't idle AT ALL if I let go of the gas. I suspected the IAC, so I bought a new one but it will not be here until Wednesday. Tonight I dug into this a little more, cleaning the IAC, the MAF and throttle body. It ran smoother but no change to the no idle condition.

I got out of the shower and it hit me. I told the wife, be right back, I think I figured it out .. I had hooked the PCV hose into a boost indexed line on the intake....

I was pressurizing the case and now I know why the vac gauge was fluctuating more than I thought was normal for idle control issue. I was actually boosting the crank case, and the engine couldn't find equilibrium...

Anyway, she is running better than I ever dreamed. Taking my son to school in the a.m. and will report back.

Another note: I found the wide band sensor and will dig into getting it sorted after the Thanksgiving holiday. I still haven't torn down the suspension yet since I was having idling issues but I'm running out of excuses. LOL

The Kenne bell boost a pump is on the short list to look into as well. It may not be needed, but until I figure that out, I won't be doing any high rpm fun or racing until after I confirm afr with some data logging and the gauge. A buddy of mine who is near completion of his coyote swap in a 98 cobra mentioned he already got his tune so he's sharing his contact. The new passenger front seat belt also arrived.

Some fun literature was picked up: 96 Service Manual, 2 magazine from 1995 talking about the 4.6 Cobra release, SVT dealer brochure, 96 Cobra dealer spec sheet, Kenne Bell install manual, Kenne Bell boost a pump manual and diagrams

 

[1BadSVT]

Well... Not sure what happened, but the idle issue returned, I can hear a slight random miss again, and I can smell fuel in the exhaust again. I'm fairly sure it's the IAC but it might be a few more items. I cleaned it and the car ran better for a couple days. Also looking at the Kenne Bell install manual, that hose I thought was out of position and needed to be connected to the intake was correct. I changed it back to match the manual. I went back to how it was when I bought it because I thought the car was fighting boost and vacuum in the crank case but that's incorrect. The previous owner had the hose routed to the CAI which doesn't match the manual either.


I also noticed this old hose was sucking closed so I ordered a new line. I held the hose open to remove the restriction and the car did seem to run a little better at idle.


Some new codes did pop up after the last cleaning tests and driving two days, referring to the evaporator canister switch. I've heard those can also cause idle issues and gas smells inside and outside of the car. The new switch should be here Saturday.

We are headed out of town today, returning Sunday which is when all of my parts are arriving. I'll get those installed upon return and see if the idle and running condition improves.

 

[1BadSVT]

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! We are headed back to SC this morning. It looks like most of my parts have arrived so I'll throw a few on tonight and hopefully put this issue behind me.

The plan is to replace the IAC and the two large hoses on the blower (one goes to the IAC from the blower and appears to be collapsing on itself, and the other goes from IAC to intake and most likely collapsing as well.)

Next on the list would be the TPS if needed.

I've been doing a little more research into the start but no idle condition I have right now and it could also be fuel pump or relay related but fingers crossed it's the IAC.

In other news, I ordered my new gauges and pod from Glow shift. I'll have a new boost/vac 30 psi, 100psi fuel, and wide band gauge in a 3 port pillar pod!

I also bought a fuel gauge to mount directly to the shrader valve on the fuel rail as well.

 

[1BadSVT]

Well, I replaced the hose that connects from the blower to the IAC adapter and then installed the new IAC and saw no change to the start up, drop idle then stall and die condition. I changed the TPS with no luck.

I unplugged the MAF and it magically ran. My gut says I need to check if the car has the KB or another aftermarket chip and then check the connections. If cleaning and resetting the chip doesn't work then it's probably lost the calibration for the MAF and I'll need to send off for a tune.

It looks like this is not OEM and is actually a 90mm Ford Lightning unit.


Thoughts?

 

[RAU03MACH]

my guess is you may have the kb piggy back chip
you could talk to mike kb see if they will repair or retune it
only one way to find out pop that cover off

 

[1BadSVT]

my guess is you may have the kb piggy back chip
you could talk to mike kb see if they will repair or retune it
only one way to find out pop that cover off

Looks like there is evidence it had a chip at one point as there are marks on the connector. The opening was covered with black tape. Is the chip supposed to connect here and protrude out? I'm assuming this is a custom tune with no chip.

In other news, I also found a spliced wire and another cut wire. I'm assuming the cut wire is for the boost a pump that is disconnected. I'll have to check continuity when I get time this week.

Edit: It just hit me. I remembered "SCT" was scribbled down on one of the pieces of paper that came with the car. SCT Longwood, which is headquarters for SCT and the car was originally in Florida so that all makes sense. I'll reach out to them and see if they have any records, but it looks like one of the previous owners had the pro racer package tuning software.

 

[1BadSVT]

Looks like there is evidence it had a chip at one point as there are marks on the connector. The opening was covered with black tape. Is the chip supposed to connect here and protrude out? I'm assuming this is a custom tune with no chip.

In other news, I also found a spliced wire and another cut wire. I'm assuming the cut wire is for the boost a pump that is disconnected. I'll have to check continuity when I get time this week.

Edit: It just hit me. I remembered "SCT" was scribbled down on one of the pieces of paper that came with the car. SCT Longwood, which is headquarters for SCT and the car was originally in Florida so that all makes sense. I'll reach out to them and see if they have any records, but it looks like one of the previous owners had the pro racer package tuning software.

Going to run this test tonight. Nice video on MAf function and readings.
MAF functions and voltage video

 

[RAU03MACH]

was a boost pump installed
look at the wiring in the driver corner trunk going to fuel pump
see if wiring was tampered with

 

[1BadSVT]

was a boost pump installed
look at the wiring in the driver corner trunk going to fuel pump
see if wiring was tampered with

Yes, but it was removed at some point. The wires are cut. I also want to drop the tank or run a volume test on the fuel pump after checking the MAF to see if the boostapump is even needed anymore.

The two wires on the right side in the photo look like the same size as the ones cut in the cab.

 

[RAU03MACH]

my opinion plug and play mega squirt if tune can be made for it
kb will do it
dont know about the others

 

[RAU03MACH]

Yes, but it was removed at some point. The wires are cut. I also want to drop the tank or run a volume test on the fuel pump after checking the MAF to see if the boostapump is even needed anymore.

The two wires on the right side in the photo look like the same size as the ones cut in the cab.

thats an older one one of the first

 

[1BadSVT]

thats an older one one of the first

I'd like to try to restore it if it's needed. I think it's a beautiful unit. If I can't figure it out I'll reach out to KB and see if they can help.

Ordered a few other goodies from glowshift so I can see what's going on.

 

[1BadSVT]

So as not to duplicate posts, I put the MAF/idle/IAC/calibration/intake gasket discussion here...

MAF bad?

In other news, the car runs much better and idles fine... For now... Throughout the whole ordeal I ended up with the stock IAC back on the car. No clue at this point :shrug:

I'm working on getting the new gauge pod installed now so we can see those AF numbers.

 

[1BadSVT]

The car is running a LOT better. There is no excess fuel coming out the tailpipe burning eyes. Sadly, it no longer smells like a drag strip.

The hanging idle rolling up to a stop sometimes stays hanging or comes back down after a few seconds, the car sometimes has a no idle condition at start up, there is a misfire that comes and goes, but it's very random and difficult to track down. I did another check putting a darker oil near the intake gaskets and did not see anything getting sucked into the engine. I had seen what looked like a little coolant on a bracket near and under the power steering pump. After cleaning I have not seen any additional leaks.

I finally downloaded SCT LiveLink Gen2. I logged a couple running files but figured I'd start with a parked run (data linked below). I didn't run it up to 6k rpms just yet, but this was shortly after returning home from a good 20-30 minute drive around town. I started the car up twice and it wouldn't idle. I slapped the throttle and it settled down. I was logging and started the car back up and did not have to tap the throttle again. I let it idle for a bit and slowly ramped the rpm to 2k, then 3k.

I'm not an expert at reading these logs...yet... but I saw a few things that stuck out.

1) O2 bank 1 rear sensor appears dead (0.0V across the board), all 4 were replaced but I've heard the Bosch sensors are hit and miss. It might just be a dirty or bad connection, but I believe it's not reading at all. I also noticed a big spike in bank 2 front sensor circled below; however, in the next spike the other O2 sensors followed suit. You can see bank 1 and 2 front sensors seem to be trailing fairly consistent.
View attachment 39473

2) Spark advance seems to be all over the place. Initial research shows this could be worn timing components, programming, vacuum leaks, issues with ignition system or engine management sensors.
View attachment 39472

3) Battery is new but seems to be a little low. I brought it to Advance Auto and they tested the battery twice. I'm planning to drive by there and have them check my alternator.

4) Recently, I noticed the car shocks me when I get out. It might just be my jacket since it's cold, but just an observation for now in case it's a bad starter or short somewhere.

Summary:
OEM IAC was put back onto the car, OEM TPS was put back on the car, reads around 0.96V, 4 new Bosch O2 sensors, new NGK TR6 plugs gapped to 0.032, new Ford Performance 9mm wires, new belt, regulator was disconnected but installed a new one and hooked back up to boost index line (I believe this was biggest contributor to fixing the rich condition at idle)

Other:
1) The donut gasket on Passenger side is leaking, bought a replacement
2) Coils are stock

link to data log
1BadSVT log 12.7.24

 

[1BadSVT]

Still digging. Code P1443 popped up.

"Code 1443, also known as the P1443 code, is related to the Evaporative Emission (EVAP) control system in a vehicle. The EVAP system traps vapors in the fuel system that could be harmful to the environment."

I replaced the EGR regulator valve but somehow didn't follow this line to the EGR vapor canister or to the charcoal canister. These lines are falling apart. I'm trying to find the OEM part to replace the canister and removing the passenger wheel well to replace the lines. Im curious if I can just unplug the line and cap it to see if the car runs better just as a test to see if this is where I might be getting unmetered air into the car. I'll have to try that tomorrow. These hoses look nasty...

 

[95opal]

Still digging. Code P1443 popped up.

"Code 1443, also known as the P1443 code, is related to the Evaporative Emission (EVAP) control system in a vehicle. The EVAP system traps vapors in the fuel system that could be harmful to the environment."

I replaced the EGR regulator valve but somehow didn't follow this line to the EGR vapor canister or to the charcoal canister. These lines are falling apart. I'm trying to find the OEM part to replace the canister and removing the passenger wheel well to replace the lines. Im curious if I can just unplug the line and cap it to see if the car runs better just as a test to see if this is where I might be getting unmetered air into the car. I'll have to try that tomorrow. These hose looks nasty...

View attachment 39485

I'd say you more than likely found your source of the vac leak.

 

[1BadSVT]

Looks like the "canister purge regulator valve" was installed backwards. The flow arrow labeled "eng" was routed towards the charcoal canister.
Motorcraft CX1324 or Ford E4TF-9C915-AA for those in the future.


Removed the inner passenger side panel enough to pull out the old vacuum hose and get the new one installed. This hose was terrible!!!

 

[1BadSVT]

Super busy end of the year and only one full week left at work before the holidays! I did find a few hours today and got the full front suspension taken apart. I removed the calipers and tie strapped them up and to the side, then removed the abs sensors and moved them out of the way. I removed the tie rod cotter keys and loosened the castle nuts, then turned the steering locked each way to hit the upright on the inner side of the tie rod to get them to drop down. Next, I loosened the strut bolts, removing the lower bolts (using a jack to release pressure when needed) to make room to loosen the lower ball joint nut. I left a few threads on the nut, dropped the jack support and struck the upright to drop the control arm. I jacked the control arm to relieve pressure, then removed the final bolt in the strut and finish removal of the uprights from the control arms. Luckily a neighbor checked in right when I needed an impact driver and he happened to have one. I used it to remove the tower bolt on the struts.

Tomorrow, I hope I have time to get the coil springs and control arms removed.



I also moved bank 1 sensor 1 O2 to sensor 2 bank 1, removed bank 2, sensor 1, then installed new NGK brand O2 sensors in both sensors 1 positions for bank 1 and 2. I found out why the old wideband didn't work. LOL, photo below


New wide band sensor installed and wire connector ran to engine bay. I also installed fuel pressure plug wire and routed it in the engine bay.

The last thing I started was the oil spray issue form the Kenne bell SC snout (Apparently, an issue if boosting 12+ psi) I found a 1/8NPT to 3/8 barb and installed a hose. I haven't quite figured out where I want to install the additional catch can so it is incomplete.