My engine runs !......like crap

[Newcastle knight]

LOL nooooo, all this effort was to keep the TPI

[Newcastle knight]

I checked my leads with my timing gun last night just to make sure spark is going to all the plugs, which it is, but its definatley missing on a cylinder or 2, on the passenger side going off the noise.

so im really hoping its just a crapped out plug, new set on the way anyway, and if thats not the answer then the valve covers will have to come off again for one more look before ringing the engine rebuilders to tell them they are useless

[thirdgen]

i have had a new dud pug before and a crap lead

[Newcastle knight]

Well they were fine in the 5.0 engine so im setting my sights low, its probably gonna be something disastrous that involves stripping the engine down knowing my luck

[thirdgen]

Positive thinking

[Newcastle knight]

Me and my mate had another look at it today and its sort of gone from bad, to good, to worse.......

We checked for spark at the plugs which i had, then he checked the injector pulse and that was also fine

we were sort of scratching our heads then the car on its own increased RPM's to about 2k and was running real smooth, i got back in the drivers seat and gave it a few revs and it felt great and the revs came down to about 800 so i started smiling. By time i got back out of the car and walked round the front it dropped the revs quite quickly and started stumbling around sounding like it was going to cut out so i shut the engine off.

And now, it wont restart, it just keeps cranking over and over, even after i left it for an hour it just cranks. What in the name of all that is holy is wrong with this car

I even pulled the codes after it wouldnt start and nothing, it just keeps flashing code 12, no saved codes.

[thirdgen]

Computer problem ? Why no code ? Maybe have you looked on thirdgen.org

[Newcastle knight]

yeah ive got a thread on there too.

I couldnt even fit my new plugs today as it looks like ive ordered the wrong ones, they are for my car......but with aluminum heads ! i didnt even know you could get aluminum heads from the factory.

[SUPERCHARGEDGTA]

going back to basics, have you got a spark at the plugs?
have you got fuel pressure in the fuel rail?

what size injectors did you get?

[Newcastle knight]

Yup, got spark, got good fuel pressure, the injectors are Bosch 3's from south bay fuel injectors

[Newcastle knight]

They are the 22lb ones. Might he time to check the wiring harness

[SUPERCHARGEDGTA]

have you checked for pulse at injectors?
you can do that with a test light or meter

[Newcastle knight]

We did yeah, we checked them when it was running yesterday and they are pulsing fine. Its really starting to test my patientce now, i was in the garage tonight, reconnected the battery, checked all the fuses, checked for any ropey looking wires that might of been moved with the engine running, checked the connectors on my relays, rechecked the coil and leads on the cap, and on the plugs.......and nothing. It just kept cranking over and over yet again.

[thirdgen]

checked the fuel is ok fuel filter ?

[Newcastle knight]

i put some fresh fuel in last weekend as it was a bit low, and it was still running then, and i replaced the fuel filter about 3 years ago so that should be fine, i dont think ive even done 2000 miles since then !

Its like something broke while it was running to cause it to suddenly drop RPM's and start sputtering and chugging, then now it wont start at all ?

[ccckeeper]

Not too sure if they have one but sounds like the problem I had with my chevy astro turned out to be a dodgy ignition module

[Newcastle knight]

yeah its in the dizzy, and is only a couple of years old, it went on the 5.0 engine and the car was bucking around and stalling at junctions etc, so i re-used it on the 5.7 as i know its all good and compatible

I had an unexpected visit off the guy from the engine place tonight, he was going past and thought hed stop in and see how it was going, and also had a bit of info, he said he had been reading up on the valve clearance which he adjusted and according to him the nuts should only be tighted a half turn. When we done it we went off my 87 factory service manual which says once you feel the pushrod start to drag you tighten the nut 1 full turn then 1/4 turn, so i dunno where hes got that info from ?

He reckons if they are too tight it will be restricting the valves opening properly causing running issues, which sounds plausable but i mean we went off the huge factory service manual i managed to get off ebay years ago, so you'd think that would be right

[bhm1712]

Sounds like he is clutching at straws to me.

You need to eliminate every component until you find the culprit.

[ccckeeper]

If the Ignition Module is the same as mine it needs heat transfer paste under it or will overheat and cause misfiring.

[bhm1712]

Also don't fall into the trap that "it was fine when I took it off my other engine"

The very fact the distributor has been disturbed may have upset something inside. Or a component could have failed between when it was last working and now.

Did you do a compression test?

[Newcastle knight]

I havnt done a compression test no, i wonder if its something like the pickup coil ?

[thirdgen]

would not have ran at all if that as gone

[bhm1712]

Is the ECM from your old engine?

[Newcastle knight]

No its the one that came with the 5.7, and i had the memcal reprogrammed to delete my EGR valve etc, that was done by a guy from thirdgen.org who has a cracking rep and does them all the time so i dont think that could be at fault.

If the pickup coil was on its last legs, making the car run crap, then it let go while the car was running on Sunday causing it not to fire up anymore ? i dunno. I will stick my new plugs in when they get here and take it from there

[SUPERCHARGEDGTA]

if pickup coil etc packs up you wouldn't get a spark from HT lead/plugs

if you have got a spark, fuel pressure and injector pulse signal then engine should fire, backfire even if it dose not start

have you tried a spray of carb cleaner into intake while turning over to see if it fires?