Stumbling 2.9L

[lil red]

same problem, about to do a fuel filter and clean the air filter(truck came with a k&n),ill check all listed above

 

[The Fox]

Two quick things-
1. A buddy pointed out an interesting point about my truck. When I replaced the plugs, I used ones with more twice as much threads on them. I am wondering if the plugs could be too long since it ran better before I replaced the plugs. So, does anyone have a picture of the factory style plugs and how far the seat is up onto the plugs, as no one around here seems to have shorter thread plugs. What plugs would you recommend using?

P.S.- I am using the world products heads if that makes a difference.

2. I was trying to get the fill plug on my transmission out yesterday and could not break if free, went from a 3/8 ratchet to a 1/2" breaker bar, ended up striping the socket and beginning to round the head of the bolt. I am now looking for the dimensions of the bolt so that if I end up having to use a left hand center drill to get it out I can have a replacement. Anyone know what the thread pitch and length is?
Nick

 

[IMenriched]

Two quick things-
1. A buddy pointed out an interesting point about my truck. When I replaced the plugs, I used ones with more twice as much threads on them. I am wondering if the plugs could be too long since it ran better before I replaced the plugs. So, does anyone have a picture of the factory style plugs and how far the seat is up onto the plugs, as no one around here seems to have shorter thread plugs. What plugs would you recommend using?

P.S.- I am using the world products heads if that makes a difference.

2. I was trying to get the fill plug on my transmission out yesterday and could not break if free, went from a 3/8 ratchet to a 1/2" breaker bar, ended up striping the socket and beginning to round the head of the bolt. I am now looking for the dimensions of the bolt so that if I end up having to use a left hand center drill to get it out I can have a replacement. Anyone know what the thread pitch and length is?
Nick

correct thread length would be something to get correct. shouldn't matter for the world heads.

prolly 3/8NPT tappered pipe thread

 

[The Fox]

Would it run like this if the gap on the plug was wrong?

I am going to attempt to get some of the motorcraft ones, but that is going to be fun as no where around here sells them.
Nick

 

[sjr53]

I've had a poor idle problem that also had a slow to start (2 to 3 seconds) problem on my 88B2 & an 88 ranger that ended up being a bad FPR on both. To check it without a fuel pressure tester, pull the vacuum line off the FPR (fuel pressure regulator) and if there is any fuel in the vacuum line, the FPR is bad. When replacing an FPR, grease the O-ring or it will most likely tear and leak fuel. I used a silicon grease after tearing the O-ring and having to replace it. The injector O-ring is the same size & worked & I happened to have a few spares for injectors lying around.

 

[The Fox]

Did that, FPR is not leaking unless you have to have the engine running to see. I pulled the line and it seemed to be fine.
I am guessing it is a fuel problem, ignition or an air problem, if feels like a cylinder is not firing at full power. No coolant lose or water in oil(changed the oil today and it was just a good as used oil can be). There is water in the exhaust when it is cold out and the engine is cold. I am going to rip out the fuel rail this weekend and try to clean the rail/injectors with cleaner. I now am looking up what is required. I am hoping I don't have to remove the intake manifold to get to it, I assume not for the injectors but the rail.

I have replaced the filter on the rail after the boost pump, I did not know there was a canister on the rail between the pumps, so that is my next check and while I change that one I am going to run the pump to see how it is running. I will be trying to borrow a friend's fuel pressure gauge when I see him next.

It has been running just fine after 1200rpm. In fact tonight when I came home from work it had just rained a little, and making a U turn, the rear end slipped out when I hit the throttle to come out and it was kind of fun. It has the power, just not at idle. Making me think it could be a vacuum leak, but checking all the lines on the, pulling them off and covering them(where the meet the engine) while it is idling did not improve the performance too much. I found that the inlet for the brake booster was so loose I could rotate it and remove it with my hands, there was a small leak that is now fixed.

The injectors are rather loud. I know it is the injectors because I can hear it while idling and when I feel the fuel lines or fuel system I can feel it when the click is heard. Could this be signs of a bad injector?

I am trying to hunt down a gameboy of doom(to pull codes), but no one has one that I can use right now. My high school auto shop has one, but the teacher(who I also bought the truck from) has been putting off letting the students work because of there getting him in trouble. I will try and see if there is a shop that has one I can rent, but that will be after the holidays.

Thanks for all the help so far, it is been a good wealth of information that I have gotten in the thread and forum.
Nick

 

[djurs]

You might double check your work and make sure you got the plug wires back on in the proper order.

 

[The Fox]

Already done. It started doing this when I changed the plugs and wires. That was the first thing I did.
Nick

 

[gertsdsbs]

You do have to remove the intake manifold to remove the fuel rails.I did that last week and put it back together only to find out I had to take it apart again and install a new gasket since there was a leak and it kept sucking in too much air. I would say it's something else. It wouldn't hurt to check though Since its what you are going to be thinking all this time. Good Luck

 

[IMenriched]

Did that, FPR is not leaking unless you have to have the engine running to see. I pulled the line and it seemed to be fine.
I am guessing it is a fuel problem, ignition or an air problem, if feels like a cylinder is not firing at full power. No coolant lose or water in oil(changed the oil today and it was just a good as used oil can be). There is water in the exhaust when it is cold out and the engine is cold. I am going to rip out the fuel rail this weekend and try to clean the rail/injectors with cleaner. I now am looking up what is required. I am hoping I don't have to remove the intake manifold to get to it, I assume not for the injectors but the rail.

I have replaced the filter on the rail after the boost pump, I did not know there was a canister on the rail between the pumps, so that is my next check and while I change that one I am going to run the pump to see how it is running. I will be trying to borrow a friend's fuel pressure gauge when I see him next.

It has been running just fine after 1200rpm. In fact tonight when I came home from work it had just rained a little, and making a U turn, the rear end slipped out when I hit the throttle to come out and it was kind of fun. It has the power, just not at idle. Making me think it could be a vacuum leak, but checking all the lines on the, pulling them off and covering them(where the meet the engine) while it is idling did not improve the performance too much. I found that the inlet for the brake booster was so loose I could rotate it and remove it with my hands, there was a small leak that is now fixed.

The injectors are rather loud. I know it is the injectors because I can hear it while idling and when I feel the fuel lines or fuel system I can feel it when the click is heard. Could this be signs of a bad injector?

I am trying to hunt down a gameboy of doom(to pull codes), but no one has one that I can use right now. My high school auto shop has one, but the teacher(who I also bought the truck from) has been putting off letting the students work because of there getting him in trouble. I will try and see if there is a shop that has one I can rent, but that will be after the holidays.

Thanks for all the help so far, it is been a good wealth of information that I have gotten in the thread and forum.
Nick

Just because you're not getting fuel to leak out teh little vacuum line on the FPR doesn't mean that it is OK...it coud be still faulty. Most times the diaphram in the FPR springs a pin hole...then leaks out, hence dribbling out the line.

with colder weather it is normal to get a bit of water out the tailpipe, but should go away after the engine is up to temp, driven more that 10 miles.

Yes injectors are very loud/noisy...but you could have a dirty one in there??

 

[The Fox]

I just replaced all the vacuum lines on the truck, nothing there. Most of them were so hard they just cracked when I took them off. Truck still just shaking around alot. The RPM has remained constant(around 1000 at idle, if it drops below that it runs horrible). I asked a buddy who is an instructional designer for mazda(he writes the classes that teach mechanics how to work on there cars) what he thinks. He said take the plugs and wires off and replace with factory ones. He said also check the cap and rotor carfully to make sure there is no moisture in there. I am going to take his word for it because this really started to happen when I changed the plugs and wires, cap and rotor a few months back. I am also going to check the gaping on the plugs, I don't remember off the top of my head what they are at, but I think they are at like .035" or something around there. This is the number that AllData gave me to used. I assume the gaping is off.

If it helps any, I got the truck a little over a year ago, but not having my license I did not drive it for 4 months and just had it sitting in the driveway of the auto shop. I did start it and run it a few mins a day. I moved it seldomly until I got my permit 4 months later. I drove it on weekends and here and there when I got a chance to. Worked quite well. I still ran it a few times a day just to keep it moving and not let it get fat watching tv on the couch. Did the cap, rotor, plugs, wires, fuel filter(after the boost pump), oil and oil filter a few months ago. It then began to run this bad(not horrible at all, just something that is bugging me).
Nick

 

[The Fox]

I noticed something today when I was replacing a vacuum line. It is the one that goes form the air filter box to the intake. It is the same kind of line that is on the FPR, just longer. When I pulled the line off at the intake while the engine was running, the idle picked up and and it stayed up for a few seconds until the computer brought back down. I am wondering what this means, too much fuel maybe since it is adding air into the system. That would mean bad injector or FPR. I should unplug the O2 sensor and see what happens, but it does it cold or warm so that takes the sensors out because the computer is not "calculating". It is just running on presets.
Nick

 

[The Fox]

Again, checked all the plugs, looked perfect. All looking the same is a bit of relief as now I am more sure it is not a cracked head. The plugs don't show running lean or rich. All the wires are in good shape, nothing broken and I ran my hand across each one while the engine was running and did not get me arse shocked. The wires are not arcing at either end, checked when I got home last night at 11pm in pitch blackness.

Thinking about it over the last few days, the best way to describe what it feels like is my boss' Mustang. It is a '69 351 boss with a huge cam in it. That things shakes like nothing else at idle. I am going to ask the guy I bought it from if it is the factory cam and if he modified it. Knowing him he did since he loves power in all his cars.
I am beginning to think that it might be easier to remove all the factory stuff and add a 302 w/ 4bbl to it. I at least know how those work.
Nick

 

[gertsdsbs]

Well i gave up and took it to the mechanic. I will not be guessing any longer i'll post up what they tell me.

 

[Brook]

Dont take it to a shop. all you need is this (IAC) Idle,Air,Control
the IAC is located on the upper intake manifold on the left hand side/ it has a two prog plug into the back of it and is shaped like a cylinder there a link to show you what it looks like. you can clean these and it will help with the idle but its best to just replace. they dont last long once you clean them. i replace the one on my truck about every year maybe every year and a half. there is alot of things that affect idle but if you have good fuel pressure no leaks good vacuum lines and checked all the simple stuff this is your problem i promise. also the 2.9ls are not a very steady idling motor anyway from what iv read and have experienced myself. funny story i was about 3 inches away from rear ending a car at a light because of this (IAC) i had my foot lightly on the brake not really paying attention and all of a sudden my truck revs to about 2300rpm on its own and surged forward lol.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/IDLE...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories
by the way this is not the exact listing for the 2.9L motors but its the best pics and looks identical.