|
The inline timing strobes have a weak light, usually needing reasonably low light conditions. It's the only working sort I have unfortunately. Get the proper powered one if you plan on doing the job yourself.
|
#
?
Nov 21, 2012 08:27
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 12, 2024 10:36 |
|
|
General_Failure posted:Well, that's good that it scares you. It is pretty easy but it also means that you understand the implications of messing with something you don't understand. At first I thought you'd just taken that list out of the manual, that's close to exactly what it says. The Distributor cap, rotor button and the condenser have all been changed. I didn't do the cap and the rotor button (I was late getting to the guy's place where I had it so he started working without me) but I changed the condenser right after the roadworthy, the old one had caved in on itself (Would have happened after the cap and rotor button were changed) and the guy from RACQ thought that was causing the hesitating acceleration (Car was stalling randomly out in the middle of the road). The top of the rotor button was also bent when he opened up the distributor. I haven't touched the points though, all I really knew was that I'd have to start adjusting them a lot. I do have an electronic ignition to go in though, it's a Bosch unit that I need to bolt onto the car somewhere but it's a rare kit these days (and close to new, was only used in an XB for a little bit before being shelved), I really don't want to gently caress it up. Fo3 posted:Get a tacho/dwell meter and a strobe timing light. Had no idea that a multimeter would cover the tacho/dwell meter. The same guy that gave me the electronic ignition is giving me one which has both features (I'm very glad he sent me pictures of it now!). I'll see if I can pick up one of those timing lights as well, I live over the road from a supercheap and have an autobarn and repco down the road. As I said above, I've replaced the distributor cap but not the points. I'll take a look at it before I buy a new one, it'll be replaced with the electronic ignition sooner or later but if I really do need it for now I'll get it. I've put new ignition leads on a couple of weeks ago (made a big difference when starting up the car). The video made the repair manual make a lot more sense. It doesn't seem like an impossible job for me to do any more. I really hope that this is the problem because I really love driving this thing but having the engine hesitate after pushing you forward into a roundabout isn't something I want to deal with any longer.
|
|
#
?
Nov 21, 2012 13:38
|
|
|
When dad and I used to do the points in his old truck, we'd mark where the rotor was pointing, pull the dizzy out of the truck, and set the points that way, then slot it back in. Nice and easy.
|
|
#
?
Nov 21, 2012 22:51
|
|
|
You Am I posted:When dad and I used to do the points in his old truck, we'd mark where the rotor was pointing, pull the dizzy out of the truck, and set the points that way, then slot it back in. Nice and easy. Do that on the subie motor and did that on the VW motor too. Although I just park it at TDC for cylinder 1 or thereabouts and use a reference point somewhere to point the rotor at when I put it back in. Like on the subie motor it's the 'N' of the "JAPAN" cast into the intake manifold. The electronic dissy is in a slightly different position but generally towards that casting. The distributor drive gear doesn't have many teeth so a mistake is really obvious.
|
|
#
?
Nov 21, 2012 23:23
|
|
|
I went and picked up the multimeter and had a chat with the guy about the problem, he ended up guiding me through doing the points and the ignition timing. The points were good but the ignition timing was way out. Took it for a drive while it was set at the factory timing, an improvement on how it was running before but the problem was still occurring. Advanced it above that and I'm really noticing the difference in power but I haven't taken it for a long enough of a drive to say that the problem isn't there any more. He's certain it's a fuel problem and he's leaning towards it being water in the float. He was a mechanic in the early 80s and has worked on a lot X series cars but it's been a while since he's worked on the carby that I've got, he told me he's going to look at the manual he's got and get back to me about it. Even though it's not sorted, I'm still happy that it's running a lot better with the ignition timing adjusted.
|
|
#
?
Nov 23, 2012 05:48
|
|
|
This car hates me, as usual. Intake manifold is definitely leaking and pretty badly. Another hole developed on the underside of it and I can't actually see it. I had a few options: 1. Go to the all Ford wreckers at Redcliffe and pick up the one they had that didn't look too great. Priced at $110. 2. Wait until Xmas and buy the one offered to me by someone (He can't get to it before then), would cost $40 delivered. 3. Take a Redline manifold and a Holley 350 off a guy for $100+40 delivered. I decided to go with the Holley 350. I really hope this ends up killing both of the problems. Am I a bad person for not wanting to keep this all original? Sadly I have to wait a few days before paying the guy so any hopes of it arriving for this weekend are gone. It looks like my Christmas present to myself is a (hopefully) working Fairmont XC! For now, I get to drive my Camry  I also forgot to post about this earlier, I went over to Bobby_Wokkerfella's place I think it was two weekends ago now while he was putting his radiator into his Regal. Even though I didn't get to see it running, I have to say his car has definitely blown mine out of the water for luxury features. I can't wait to see it on the road!
|
|
#
?
Dec 3, 2012 11:09
|
|
|
Ansith posted:This car hates me, as usual. Keep at it! You're doing great. As much as Fords poo poo me I have to admit I found on one of the online classifieds a cheap ZL Fairlane and got kind of excited. My ZL was a huge piece of poo poo, but it was huge. I could sort of lay across the back seat and read. If I moved the drivers seat back all the way I couldn't reach the pedals properly etc. Massive turd but I do miss being able to move the seat back far enough and not putting rear passengers in crippling pain with the bloody wheel arches protruding into the back seat. I don't miss the mismatched chrome wheels. The super low ride possibly done with cuts prings. The body kit bumpers held together with duct tape. The fart can. The ability for the engine to stall in carparks leaving the steering and brakes instantly unusable etc. But I do miss that car. When Ford moved to the EA they caused a real mess that they never really recovered from IMHO.
|
|
#
?
Dec 3, 2012 20:57
|
|
|
General_Failure posted:Keep at it! You're doing great. I can almost lay across the back seat but I'm a tiny bit too tall, that doesn't stop me from just putting up my feet on the seat next to me and leaning my back on the door trim. The guys I've met with Fairlanes have made me a little bit jealous over the extra space they get. I think after the XC is complete I'll have to find a Fairlane to slowly build up, I'd need to find a bigger garage though. I don't mind the E-series cars at all, but I can definitely say they really hurt themselves with the AU. As I mentioned in my last post I decided I'd take the Camry for a week or two because of the leak. Someone (me) left it too long and the battery was dead.  I couldn't get the security override to work either so I couldn't start the thing while the bonnet was open. I just let it charge off the XC for a few minutes and it ended up working fine.
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2012 13:55
|
|
|
Ansith posted:snip You're both doing it wrong - why go mid size when you can go full size ala Galaxie? Whilst I can't fit quite comfortably, my dad (5'9ish) can sleep in the boot no worries. Of course American cars of the time seem to minimise interior space, and maximise bonnet and boot (seriously - mum's Getz has more rear leg room, let alone a similar era Holden EH). They were assemblied in Australia until the early 70s, so factory RHD is no worries (although four doors only). They came with 390s and then moved to 351s if I am not mistaken. You WILL need a large garage / car port though - mine pokes out. Good work on the Holley - I've got a 600 on mine - and will be swapping that up when rebuilding the tired 390 early next year. From what I understand the Chryslers of the era were much better equipped than the Fords of Holdens. Their sixes too, generally had much more power than the equivalent. Must've had an image problem to why they died out? The EA was a massive hunk of crap. The later EB and ED were 10x better, and then facelifted with the EF/L (the latter of which I believe sold more in two years than the AU did in four). Big car sales since then have been on the decline generally however, as everyone seems to be moving to SUVs of varying sizes. Am I correct in thinking I saw you had a project thread on the Aus Ford Forums?
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2012 23:42
|
|
|
go_banana posted:Their sixes too, generally had much more power than the equivalent. Must've had an image problem to why they died out? You've never heard they saying "Will pass everything except a petrol station"? I think that was invented for the 245 and 265.
|
|
#
?
Dec 5, 2012 00:12
|
|
|
go_banana posted:You're both doing it wrong - why go mid size when you can go full size ala Galaxie? Whilst I can't fit quite comfortably, my dad (5'9ish) can sleep in the boot no worries. Of course American cars of the time seem to minimise interior space, and maximise bonnet and boot (seriously - mum's Getz has more rear leg room, let alone a similar era Holden EH). They were assemblied in Australia until the early 70s, so factory RHD is no worries (although four doors only). They came with 390s and then moved to 351s if I am not mistaken. You WILL need a large garage / car port though - mine pokes out. I was actually considering an XB Wagon before I found this XC, I measured it up and it wouldn't have fit. With all the poo poo that's stored in the garage there isn't much room for a car. I really hope the Holley works out, I'm a little bit worried because the car doesn't meet emissions standards with it on there, not like it does right now with all the poo poo disconnected but it'll be a little more obvious. I'll probably grab the $40 intake manifold off the other guy as well so if I need to I can go back to stock. The 350 was taken off an XD which I'm told was running before he parted most of it out, the rest of the parts have just been sitting in his garage for 4 years. Even though I'm sure something will go wrong I'm excited to get it installed, I'm told the 4.1 crossflows go really nicely with the 350 and headers combo. Hopefully I'll get better fuel economy too. I do have a thread on the Aus Ford forums, yeah.
|
|
#
?
Dec 5, 2012 08:42
|
|
|
Intake manifold and the Holley 350 are on their way, as is a rebuild kit for the Holley. Just need to grab a bunch of hoses and an air cleaner (rip stock air cleaner, I loved that thing far too much). I'm pretty happy with the price that I got them for (even though they're second hand), the manifolds are going for close to $300 from stores on ebay and the carbys are around several hundred as well. As I mentioned earlier I was worried about using the Holley with the emissions laws on the XC, not so much worried about getting pulled over and being told that I need to reconnect hoses (I doubt these things would meet standards with everything connected anyway) but more about the insurance. I was half expecting to call them and be told that the car couldn't be insured with the mods on there. I called them today and got the opposite, the guy told me they encourage modifications and will be perfectly fine with it. On the downside my policy went up $6 a month because I told them about the lowered front springs, alloy wheels and stereo. I really hope it starts going down once I've got a few years on my license, I should consider myself lucky though because up until recently this company didn't insure under 25s. If the parts arrive this week which they most likely will I hope I'll be able to get them in along with the electronic ignition this weekend.
|
|
#
?
Dec 10, 2012 12:15
|
|
|
These arrived today!  The manifold looks pretty good but I'm not sure I can comment on the Holley. I'm at least glad that I bought a rebuild kit for it.
|
|
#
?
Dec 11, 2012 10:00
|
|
|
Looking good there, that manifold is in pretty good condition. Hopefully this will fix your lean issues
|
|
#
?
Dec 11, 2012 23:26
|
|
|
Since you said the carb has been sitting awhile, a rebuild definitely won't hurt things. Just don't do what I did on my first carb rebuild and forget to set the float level  As for the insurance, I'd rather pay $6 extra to make sure everything is really covered, though the policy I have now covers up to $1000 in aftermarket parts without affecting my rate. Detailed photos of all of the aftermarket stuff is good to have as well, and receipts if you still have them.
|
|
#
?
Dec 12, 2012 00:42
|
|
|
some texas redneck posted:
Ehehe. What's just as bad is not realizing that the needle valve assembly you bought, for a premium at that is physically compatible but wrong, leading to massive grief even after repeated float level checks.
|
|
#
?
Dec 12, 2012 00:59
|
|
|
Some progress has been made but not much. They Holley is waiting to be rebuilt by someone who knows what they're doing, it turned out to be really good on the inside, really clean unlike my Stromberg. Otherwise it was pretty bad, the hole for the air cleaner bolt was actually split and bent, the area where the accelerator cable connects was bent as well. Someone offered to fix the bolt hole with a helicoil kit for me and some work with a hammer should fix the rest. I ended up needing a new accelerator cable, one from a V8. Luckily the guy that's helping me out with this has his old one from his Fairlane that he won't be using. Both the choke cable and kickdown cable still fit. To get the cables to fit we're going to be making some brackets, no one sells the type I need even though this was a pretty common modification a while back. I cleaned up the intake manifold, all of the old gasket was stuck on there pretty badly but it did end up coming off and it all looked perfect underneath. The water intake was stuffed with solid crap, I tried cleaning it up but I pulled off some of the metal in the process, I'm told it should clean up okay though. Of course with this car, as soon as any progress is made something else has to go wrong. I can't keep myself from driving the XC and have been switching between cars for the drive to work. Half way to work Friday last week I brake and my seat pushes me straight into the steering wheel. I take it back home slowly and switch back to the Camry. As soon as I get home from work I check what the gently caress happened, right seat rail has snapped in half and the front of it just decided to pop out from under the seat. It tightens up okay, still get a little bit of movement when it's tight but it'll occasionally pop out too. This is probably the easiest thing to fix but I refuse to go back to the wrecker with their insane prices. It's just going to be welded back together when I do the Holley swap, I have a feeling something else is going to be wrong with it for that to happen. I've also just booked the car in to have the exhaust done. The advice I was given was either a 2.25" or 2.5" single pipe system with whatever headers I wanted to go with. I might have mentioned before that I wanted to do dual pipes, which was an option for the V8s. I was told I'd have trouble finding the correct bumper and cutting up the one that I have isn't really worth the effort. I wanted this done sooner rather than later so I took their advice and decided on the single. Called the place that had been recommended to me today, they were booked out all this week and are closed until the 7th after that. So it's booked in for the 7th, and I decided on the 2.25" system with Hurricane headers (I didn't really decide on that last bit, it's just what that shop uses). I've heard this setup on an XE and it isn't too bad, hopefully it'll turn out okay with the Cast Iron head. That's all I've got for now, I think I might be getting the Holley in between Christmas and New years if everything goes to plan. I'll be sure to get plenty of pictures when I do the swap.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 12:25
|
|
|
Sorry, before you go and drop money on go-faster bits, you need to understand that there are exactly two ways to make the 250 go fast: Put it in a Cortina or throw it off a bridge. Honestly, you may do better at this point to pull the XC off the road, drive the Camry, and put the fuel savings towards a 302/351, top loader and 9" swap. Apologies if I come across as a dickhead, but the road you're currently on often finishes up with the car in Blacktown Racing Grey* going to the wreckers because you've gotten the shits with this-or-that going wrong every time it leaves the garage. Pull it off the road, do everything once, do everything right, have a fantastic car which you can jump in and drive to Melbourne without worrying once about reliability. *: Guide coat, if that phrase isn't universal.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 13:01
|
|
|
I understand where you're coming from, I'm not sure if it was clear before or not but I am still on my Ps. If I could throw a 351 in there, I would. The only reason I'm putting the parts that I am in there is because I can't get good replacements for the stock stuff. I paid $88 for the intake manifold that I bought from the wreckers to replace the one that's on there now, which was the only place that had one and it had holes in it because it had been sitting there for 15 years. I don't want to burn another $100 getting another and finding that it's hosed as well. As for the exhaust, both the pipes and manifold were leaking, really badly too. I don't think there was much else I could do other than replace it, it would have cost close to the same even if it was just a copy of the stock setup. If I had planned buying this car a little better I probably wouldn't have bought it. Everything that I'm doing is just me trying to get it to work so I can use it as a daily, sure getting a little bit more power out of the engine is appealing to me, partly because it's solving issues with the car but right now I still get enjoyment out of putting my foot down, if it came down to it I couldn't give two shits if it was stock or it had the Holley as long as it worked.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 13:27
|
|
|
Hey, don't hate on the 250. The 2V 250s made as much, if not more, torque than the 302 V8, weighed less than the V8 and used less petrol.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 22:30
|
|
|
The standard 250 is decidedly asthmatic; if you want to do a bit of headwork to free it up your gains will be decidedly average next to spending the same money warming over a 302; 351 is no contest. But you're on your provisional licence and I'm told that state authorities are convinced that no p-plater has ever survived contact with a V8 and banned the two from co-existing. So maybe find yourself an XF crossflow, alloy head, multi-point injected motor. Coupled with a factory 5-speed*, it should give a more exciting drive for not a lot of money. You'll also need a surge/header tank, but never have to worry about re-doing your points or the dark arts of multi-stage carburettor tuning again. I'm pretty sure they changed starter motor to be on the opposite side of the transmission tunnel starting with the EA, so unless you want to modify your floor pan, this would not be a good donor. Appreciate that you've just bought a holley and intake manifold, but I think that the XD Sport Pak (or possibly only police optioned) had a twin Weber manifold on a crossflow head. Also an option if you'd like a bit more urgency. *: which you'll have to get from a different donor, since the EFI unit was always coupled to a 3-speed auto. The transmission was not computer controlled, so there shouldn't be any problems with the stock computer.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 23:46
|
|
|
Hey, hey. Slow down there. Depending on the engine swap it'd have to get scrutineered. Anyway I can't speak for the earlier ones but late 302 parts are drat thin on the ground, hoarded like jars of urine and command shocking premiums. And of course being utterly boned until you're off your Ps because the car will instantly crumple and kill you if you try to sit in the drivers seat. Unlike when you were on your Ls and on your full license which is of course perfectly okay. This problem is one I'm all too familiar with too. When my other half gets her Ps she can't drive our goddamn car even though it has the get up and go of an automatic 120Y.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2012 00:01
|
|
|
I've spoken to people about engine swaps before, even before I found this car. I originally was going to buy a '77 Fairmont GXL that had a 351 in it. The plan was to throw a 6 in there until I was off my Ps and then put the 351 back in. Price was 2000 which was pretty good but the rust ended up being more than I would have been able to handle for a first project. It was actually being sold along with another, but the other one was bought a couple of days before I saw them for sale, next to no rust and had a sunroof, I regret not buying that car. I've gone over the same sort of thing with others for this car, put an Alloy head in or a 351 later (As General Failure mentioned, 302 parts are insanely expensive for some reason. I'm told the heads are nearly impossible to find in good shape.) are the options. I had a couple of other paragraphs typed up about why I won't be going with an alloy head but I felt like I sounded like a bit of a dick in it so I'll keep it a bit shorter as I do appreciate your opinion on this stuff. Swapping in an alloy head engine honestly sounds to me like it would just be exactly what you were telling me not to do before. The appeal of the alloy head is slight power increase and better fuel economy. In the end that would have cost me more than the $100 (+$40 delivery) I spent on that Holley. I'll get more power out of the holley than the alloy head with the weber carby and better fuel economy over the stromberg that I have now. I guess you're seeing the holley and headers as me plainly trying to get more power out of my 250, the holley before delivery was a cheaper option than getting another stock manifold from the wreckers (I was quoted $110). The guys who have been helping me out so far know the holley 350 too, they've passed on their knowledge and one of them is helping me get it set up. The exhaust was supposed to be done before I had the car on the road, what I have now is nearly falling off. No matter what engine I had in the car, that probably would have been done anyway. What I'm getting at is that I'm just not seeing how I'm going down a bad path here. I'm not trying to get horses out of the 250, I'm just trying to get my future daily driver to work for a reasonable price without having to take it off the road for too long, if I get some extra power out of the old thing along the way I don't see what the issue is.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2012 14:36
|
|
|
Don't worry, just me failing to read properly. I do that from time to time  I read it as 'trading out satisfactory working exhaust for noisy fart can because AUTOMOTIVE FASHION', not 'current bailing wire and twine set up has been accused of being an exhaust system; I get lightheaded when I drive'. Mea culpa. We now return to your regularly scheduled programming. For comedy: They used to sell heated intake manifolds. V They were sold as unlocking extra power; much the same way as those stupid magnetic turbulence-inducing intake manifold things are now. Except that they actively diminished performance. IPCRESS fucked around with this message at 12:02 on Dec 20, 2012 |
|
#
?
Dec 20, 2012 00:09
|
|
|
I think I might have taken it too far with my last post, and I was just repeating a lot of what I said before. My excuse is I had to go to work and then help someone move house afterwards (loaded up the Camry with crap and slammed the rear end into a few gutters because of how weighed down it was, that car better be glad it's going to a new home), I was tired. Your description of my exhaust is spot on, I think part of it is coming through the vents, mainly the centre one that is linked with the fan. It smells like petrol if I open it up and use the fan. A lot of the time is also sounds like it's dragging along the ground (worried me so much that I've stopped and checked it). This is something I probably should have fixed sooner. What's the point of a heated intake manifold, won't it heat up anyway? e: something to do with not having to let the engine warm up/gently caress around with a choke?
|
|
#
?
Dec 20, 2012 11:22
|
|
|
No. A heated manifold's purpose is to prevent icing / fuel dropout. If the A/F mix is too cold larger heavier droplets can form and go from being atomized to pooling in the manifold etc. Generally this was compensated for with a richer mix. This is a huge problem in ACVWs with aftermarket manifolds because of the long runners and lack of heat. Not a massive problem in most of Australia but in areas with a cooler climate it can be. My VW when it was having issues managed to freeze its short dual carb runners. When I swapped to a centermount 2bbl Weber it was better but the base of the carb and the runners still got ice cold. The Subaru motor I then transplanted in actually has its main coolant line running parallel to the manifold in the same casting. Sure I guess technically it diminishes performance because you get less in there but it better utilizes what it gets in there too because the fuel is still atomized properly.
|
|
#
?
Dec 20, 2012 13:32
|
|
|
Another hosed intake manifold! Not as bad as the other two but after proper inspection part of it was corroded previously and patched up with epoxy, that repair is pretty old now and will most likely start leaking if I use it for a while. I'm not exactly sure which part is the problem area but I'm told it looks repairable. I'll probably have more to report on that later when I actually go and have a look at it myself. Some good news though, I might have scored a new grill and radiator. I met with some other Ford guys last weekend, mentioned that one of my headlights doesn't sit in the grill and it's only half attached (who decided plastic mounting points were a good idea?) and one of the guys told me he had a few spare not being used. The radiator was offered to me by the guy who has been helping me out with most of the repairs so far, it's out of his Fairlane but is in much better condition and it's the crossflow radiator for V8s (and I think a/c cars as well), recovery tank and all. It'll require some new mounts and a different upper radiator hose, the hose is easy enough to get but I think the mounts are a little harder to find. Otherwise not much progress, I was looking for anything that might be causing troubles, I ended up putting all the vacuum lines back together correctly but no change after that, most of it was emissions gear that most likely doesn't work anyway. Oh and I had a message passed onto me today from one of the old ladies that lives next door. She just wanted to let me know that the timing sounded a bit off. I think I should just give up on this car now, it's obvious I'm not the right person for the job. edit: Got some pictures sent to me of the manifold. After being blasted:  All of the epoxy picked out  Repaired: 
Ansith fucked around with this message at 12:58 on Dec 27, 2012 |
|
#
?
Dec 27, 2012 12:52
|
|
|
If I was going to engine swap I'd say gently caress the V8's. Barra turbo. Do it.
|
|
#
?
Dec 27, 2012 13:12
|
|
|
Barra turbo in everything. I might put one in my RX4  edit: Just checked the rx4's engine bay and the barra in the ute (na). The motor is 800mm long, the rx4 can only fit something about 600mm long. 
Fo3 fucked around with this message at 15:53 on Dec 27, 2012 |
|
#
?
Dec 27, 2012 15:43
|
|
|
I neglected to check my oil for a few days late last week and found that it was dangerously low. I had some oil I bought a couple of days earlier so I just decided to do an oil change at 9pm, which I think was on Saturday. Fast forward to now and I've lost about 20% of that oil in 6 days. I speaking about it with a friend and took some pictures of the leaks around the head gasket for him. Don't ask me where the coolant over the distributor is coming from, I honestly can't find where.  On my hunt for parts I contacted a guy with a stock intake manifold and ended up agreeing to buy a crossflow including gearbox and intake manifold delivered for cheaper than the intake manifold from the wreckers. I'll probably just pull the thing apart or something and get familiar with it (Never opened up an engine before, it will all be very new to me). Picking up a full engine gasket kit off him for a really decent price as well, I have a feeling I'll be needing it soon (I probably need it right now).
|
|
#
?
Jan 4, 2013 13:48
|
|
|
Had a fun week so far. Monday was the big day, went and got the exhaust done. When I picked the car up right from the start I knew something was up, it wouldn't start from the usual closed position that I set the choke to on a cold start. I figured it must be to do with the new set up and just closed it a little more to get it started. I let it run for a couple of minutes on the spot to get it warmed up and then opened the choke so I could hear the new system. Died straight away. gently caress. I drive it home with the choke almost fully closed otherwise it would stall on idle. I hosed around with it a bit at home but couldn't get the car to idle normally, I did see that they've plugged a vacuum line from the charcoal canister into the intake manifold (I had this unplugged when I brought it in). This really pissed me off because I'd just spent $850 on something that really shouldn't be stopping the car from idling. I called a friend who had an idea of what it might be and told me to come over the next day. He suggests that because they've actually connected the EGR pipe to the new headers that it's actually unblocked the EGR system and because the EGR valve is hosed it's sitting open all the time and letting exhaust gasses in on idle, which it shouldn't be doing. Checking it with a multimeter we found that the RPM was pulsing really badly, it would spike up to 1000 and fall down to below 500 eventually just dying. We couldn't sort it out on the day so I left the XC at his place and he let me borrow his XH which was a pleasure to drive, it's rare I get to drive something that isn't broken in some way. I come back the next day and we do a temporary job of blocking the EGR valve off from the intake manifold, it won't last but the Holley is going on in a few days so it doesn't really matter. The RPM was still pulsing, not as badly but it was still happening, blocking off the EGR had at least stopped it from dying. Shortly after realising that the EGR was only part of the problem my friend figures it out. The intake manifold had been sucking air through from the charcoal canister from the vacuum hose that the exhaust place had plugged in, it could suck it freely from the canister and was making a few of the cylinders run lean, this had definitely been a problem all along and only got worse when I decided to remove the valve saver bottle. After the vacuum tree had been plugged and the idle RPM had been adjusted the car started running great, the best I've seen it run. Part of this is definitely because of the new exhaust but it's stable at idle now which it hasn't been in a few months. The hesitation with the accelerator is still present, it's definitely an issue with the carby at this point like you've all been telling me the whole time. The Holley is going in on Saturday, hopefully I won't see any more issues for a while after that. edit: Went to grab some hose clamps and found this when I came out of the store, a ZH Fairlane. Horrible phone camera shot, but I had to get one. 
Ansith fucked around with this message at 11:22 on Jan 10, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jan 10, 2013 10:29
|
|
|
Swapped the Holley and new manifold in on Saturday. The swap went smoothly though the hesitation is still there and the Holley didn't make it any better. I got a couple of pictures of the electronic ignition going in before my phone decided it was charging while not on a charger. I was given a camera about half way through putting the Holley in to grab a few photos though. As I mentioned the electronic ignition went in first, we weren't sure if this was going to work (it was taken off a wrecked XB in the late 80s, kept because it was worth $200 at the time. It's a pretty rare unit these days I'm told). We stuck the unit right next to the disconnected heater box and ripped out everything from the distributor.  I didn't have any instructions for it but it was all pretty straight forward. New rotor button and wires linking the distributor to the box and then one to the coil and ground. It left us with wires all over the place because I didn't have anything to run them through. Zipties ended up being the solution, you can barely see the wires in the later pictures are we'd sorted that all out.  It fired straight up after everything was connected, took it for a drive and everything was exactly the same. I guess that means my points were good? Removed the intake manifold and carby after that. Came off pretty easily and apart from the water jacket being corroded and leaking it looked pretty decent. The Carby wasn't looking great, had a few leaks around the top of the float bowl but I guess I know now that it wasn't causing me any real trouble. If they Holley doesn't work out, it'll probably end up going back on. Getting the new manifold on was a bitch because it was getting up to about 45 degrees in the garage. The new one is a fair bit bigger too, getting around to the bottom bolts from the top while you're swimming in sweat isn't fun. After it was on it got easier, we made up the bracket for the accelerator and kickdown cables. Measured up the correct position and welded the bracket together. It doesn't look great but it works well enough. It's held in by the bolts that hold the carby onto the manifold.  Rebuilt the Holley after that, all went smoothly (apart from leaving a screw out, we're pulling it off in a couple of days to put the screw back in. I think we left it out because we forgot to adjust the float). After we got the thing on we started having problems, a couple of fuel leaks popped up but were easily fixed. After those leaks were plugged we ran it for a few minutes and the heater hose decided to remove itself from the water pump spraying half water half rust everywhere. Once that was sorted after putting the car in gear and trying to rev the engine it would hesitate and die unless I took my foot off the pedal. Tried it in neutral and it was fine. The cause of the problem was me, I had my foot on the brake while I was trying to rev it and it was causing it to hesitate, the handbrake is close to hosed and I didn't want it to suddenly jump forward. I've never had a car do this to me before though, didn't think the brakes would cause it to die like that. The next hurdle was the air cleaner, the one I bought was too big and the "power bulge" in the bonnet was made for V8s so the cleaner hit the slope of the bulge. Wasted $70 (it was the only one they had at the store that I went to, I know I'm bad at everything) because it was part the date that I could return it. Went and got another, the cheapest they had that would fit which was $50. I spent more on air cleaners than I did on the manifold and carby.  As you can see, the wires leading to the electronic ignition are tucked away decently.  Picture of the new headers  Everything seemed to be working, so I went home. After experiencing the car hesitating all the way home and even managing to stall it 5 times I finally got home. The extra power made stalling it after it hesitates a lot easier. It's the exact same problem, that suggests to me that it's not the Carby, intake manifold, or leaking exhaust. It's definitely not the timing, it was advanced a bit more to see if it would help. It's been suggested that it's the accelerator pump but the problem wouldn't exist through both Carbys would it? I'm thinking it might be the coil that the dodgy workshop that turned away my car for roadworthy put in. I'll be having a look at it tomorrow.
|
|
#
?
Jan 14, 2013 13:19
|
|
|
Have you gotten a vacuum gauge on to the intake yet? They really are one of the most fantastic bits of diagnostic kit you can have. I mean the fast reacting mechanical tool, not a dash gauge. It'd probably be quite telling as to the hesitating issue.
|
|
#
?
Jan 14, 2013 20:58
|
|
|
Definitely seconding the vacuum gauge, you can find out all sorts of things, including valvetrain problems too.
|
|
#
?
Jan 14, 2013 22:15
|
|
|
I'll see if I can get one, all I have is a pump to check if something is holding vacuum at the moment (though that's not even mine, I had to borrow it to test an EGR valve). The vacuum leaks I've fixed recently behaved a bit different, so I'm not sure if that's the problem. I will give it a go though. I'm 99% sure it's not the ignition system now. The coil isn't the problem, either are the plugs and leads. I'm glad I won't have to spend anything on that. I'm not sure why I thought it was, might just be because I was paranoid about that coil. It's possible that it's the accelerator pump, it's probably a bit of a long shot if it's a problem on both Carbys. When I took it out for a run today it stalled a couple of times on the initial push of the pedal, so something is definitely wrong there. The cam is most likely the problem I'm told. The float needs adjusting, smaller jets need to be put in and I need to check what power valve I'm running, so the Holley will definitely be coming off in the new few days.
|
|
#
?
Jan 15, 2013 14:43
|
|
|
A vacuum gauge does a hell of a lot, like what DJ Commie said. It's easily my favourite bit of diagnostic gear. Mine's a secondhand pretty old U.S made one that also does fuel pressure which would probably also serve you well. What carby do you have? a 2bbl Holley / Weber looking at your manifold. I feel like poo poo today and am having some trouble reading much without wanting to rip my eyes out, sorry. With the engine off you should be able to see the accelerator pump squirting if you take the air cleaner off, look down the primary throat and crank the throttle with your hand. I can also tell you that the exact charge it delivers doesn't realistically matter much as long as it is. Also it's possible to feather the throttle to build RPMs if the accelerator pump has packed it for some reason. Really if you can, get a vac gauge, connect it to a convenient point on your manifold and point a video camera at it. It'll be able to tell us a lot about what's happening with your engine.
|
|
#
?
Jan 15, 2013 23:09
|
|
|
So in neutral, with the brakes on, it wouldn't rev? It shouldn't do that. (Edit: by that I mean it shouldn't be a problem and should rev fine). Or do you mean you had it in gear with your foot on the brake and it stalled out under load? If in neutral with your foot on the brake: Maybe leaking vacuum brake booster? Does it have a no return valve/one way valve in the brake booster line? Even if it does, it may be faulty. Is the brake booster line in good condition, no cracks or bad joints? And if it doesn't have a non return valve, maybe get one for a couple of bucks to see if it makes a difference. I know I had one fitted in my old car with a rough idle before I went to the expense of a new booster as ex factory, they didn't have them, and just to see if it made a difference. Actually thinking about it, they wouldn't help, it's more to keep a vacuum in the booster than to stop air leaks from the booster to the manifold... But if this scenario is true, could be a leaking brake booster that needs replacing. Maybe I've got it arse over tit and it could still help if that's the cause and the manifold leak, not sure now myself. If in gear and revving it with your foot on the brake, what where you thinking? Besides doing a burn out that is. Fo3 fucked around with this message at 17:15 on Jan 30, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2013 17:01
|
|
|
poo poo, I completely forgot to post updates on what's been happening recently with the XC. I was suspecting a leak on the brake booster hose because I was hearing a lot of air being sucked through somewhere, I checked the hose and changed clamps but it didn't turn out to be an issue. The noise I was hearing was just the Holley being twice as loud as the stromberg (In my defence the sound of it sucking air is louder than the engine idling). I think it was the day after that the guy who I was buying another engine off came by with it. To my surprise it wasn't just the engine with the gearbox attached, it had the alternator, intake, carby, and exhaust manifold (including a good section of the pipe hanging off). He'd taken it out of another XC, got it running while it was out of the car, and then brought it over. Picked up a decent looking gasket kit off him with it, and he decided to throw in what looks to me like an unused intake manifold, pretty much exactly what I was looking for before I bought the Holley. At least I'll have the perfect backup now. He offered to take a look at the problem for me after we'd dumped the engine in the garage, took him for a drive around the block and managed to stall it a few times off idle. He was thinking that the hesitation was the gearbox and the stalling was definitely a lean issue. He was pretty confused why I'd been having so much trouble with it since every other 250 crossflow he's owned had been perfect, even when beaten to poo poo. Had an offer to head back up to my friend's place to take another look at the Holley again (mainly to mess with the accelerator pump), in total I think the car stalled 10 times on the way there. At one point the car stalled 3 times while I was trying to take off at an intersection, the Miata driver behind me wasn't happy. I did eventually make it there, I wasn't too happy about having to drive it back home later though. Pulled the Holley off, I noticed that there was a pretty big wet spot where there shouldn't be on the gasket that sits between the carby and intake. I think I mentioned before that we'd missed a single screw when putting it back together, it was one of five. It was stupid of us but one out of five wasn't going to hurt anything, right? That's where the fuel was leaking from. Float was fine (It was suggested that it was too low), we adjusted the accelerator pump, and changed the power valve from 4.5 to 7.5 - I'm told that was a good call for me to make as it's a bit of a mid point for what people usually use when they put 350s on crossflows. Put it back on and everything went perfectly, it was like nothing had been wrong before. No stalling and no hesitation. The drive back home was great, lot of extra power and no troubles at all. It was good timing too because the Monday after we did that, I went on a camping trip with a few friends, I thought gently caress it, why not take the car that gets 20L/100km.   I guess it was pretty risky taking a car that wasn't working two days prior 250km away loaded with people and camping gear. It survived though and on the way back we went the long way back to Brisbane and took the mountain roads, best bit of driving I've ever done. Oh and about having my foot on the brake while in gear, my handbrake it a little bit hosed (Only seems to be working on the left rear drum). I can't say the heat was helping me think at the time and I was being told to accelerate in gear after we'd just done in it neutral, stupid me didn't think we needed to go anywhere and had my foot on the brake. It was definitely going fine in neutral, it must have been a mix of the fuel leak and me having my foot on the brake causing it to die at the time.
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2013 14:28
|
|
|
The XC is officially my daily now so I haven't really had much motivation to gently caress everything up again. I did pull the old dash and glovebox out and put in a padded one to go with the glovebox lid I bought a while back. The flash really shows off how dirty it looks,  I've tried about 5 different cleaners on it but nothing seems to work, I've just decided to leave it and maybe get some sort of vinyl paint later on. Oh and when I removed the glove box, I found the build sheet!  Cars with towing packages (and taxi pack cars too I think) all got C4 autos, but people were given the option to go back down to a B/W 35 for a discount. Just for those wanting to know what the special instruction was there for. The instrument dash is padded as well and adds a tacho and swaps the oil pressure light to a gauge, as a bonus I get a light that tells me when I leave the lights on while the car is off - very handy. The swap was a bitch to do, mechanical speedo cables are not fun to mess around with, especially when your arm has to fit in a space it really shouldn't fit. I should have got some pictures but really couldn't be bothered because of how cut up my arm got from doing it. The reward of having the full GXL dash was worth it I thought to myself as I put the thing in, sadly when I did get it all in I found that the tacho was broken, the oil gauge doesn't read anything useful, same with the new temp gauge, the speedo needle lags a bit, and the fuel gauge is worse than the old one. I can still use it but I'll just have to get someone to have a look at it for me. That was a little while ago now, more recently I decided to look into the problem with my handbrake (I think I've mentioned it before, it only works on the left side). This lead to someone else doing a quick test of the brakes for me and I was told that the drums are just stuffed all together. The main problem being that they lock up whenever they want to, something I've noticed but just put it down to them being drum brakes. It's also likely the cause of the handbrake issue. It's going to cost me $155 for new hubs and $40 for new shoes, I really wish I had disc rears right now. As a bonus, I went down to the gold coast with a few other Ford guys for lunch and a couple of people were taking pictures, only one other classic car came along because of the rain. 
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2013 13:16
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 12, 2024 10:36 |
|
|
Its really a good idea to fit disk brakes and a vacuum brake booster, drums are hokey at best with barely any modulation, are completely ineffective when overheated, and have terrible heat rejection so they get hot and stay hot.
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2013 18:53
|
|