Also I let it run for 30 min idling and the upper radiator hose gets warm but not hot. I have no problem putting my hand around it and can hold onto it for as long as I want, doesn't burn my hand. Just good and warm. Also the tube that runs to the back of the engine (part of the smog set up) is just sitting there? Should that be capped off? It doesn't tap into anything, stops midway at pass side of motor and has a weird mushroom type end that is open? ?Originally Posted by lph008
What temp thermostat did you put in? Should be about 185º-195º.
If that tube is bolted to backs of the heads, it's from the smog pump. If it's open down by the #4 cylinder, there's a check valve on it so it shouldn't leak exhaust.
'88 Mustang GT convertible, T5, 3.08:1 gears. 5.0 Explobra Jet: A9L Mass Air conversion, Fenderwell Mac cold air intake, 70mm MAF meter = 4.6 T-Bird/Cougar housing + '95 Mustang F2VF-12B579-A1A sensor, aftermarket 70mm throttle body and spacer, Explorer intakes, GT40P heads with Alex's Parts springs and drilled for thermactor, Crane F3ZE-6529-AB 1.7 "Cobra" roller rockers, Ford Racing P50 headers, Mac H-pipe, Magnaflow catback, Walbro 190 LPH fuel pump, UPR firewall adjuster and quadrant with Ford OEM cable, 3G conversion ('95 Mustang V6), Taurus fan, rolled on Rustoleum gloss white paint...
Past Four Eyes: Red well optioned '82 GT 5.0, Black T-top '81 Capri Black Magic 3.3L 4 speed, Black T-top '84 Capri RS 5.0 5 speed.Over 200,000 miles driven in Four Eyes, and over 350,000 in Fox Body cars.
Sounds like what you have is a mess. Prior owners did you no favors.
Taking the thermostat out means someone thought flow needed to increase. In my experience that's usually caused by a clogged radiator. Water pump could be turning backwards too. Lower radiator hose could be sucked flat if the internal spring is missing.
The thermostat is trapped by a pocket in the thermostat housing or the intake, I forget which. If you didn't get it trapped properly, it will be sitting between the mating surfaces preventing a seal. If the thermostat housing is aluminum, it may now be bent or cracked. Coil side of the thermostat goes in the intake manifold.
Better post some pics. If prior owners stripped smog stuff and made other changes, we could be swatting at flies in the dark.
W
As always, "It ain't what you don't know that gets you, it's what you think you know that just ain't so."
Here are some pictures of the smog pump and tubes etc.
OK I just hooked up a mechanical temp gauge that I picked up from autozone (just to see what it reads ) it doesn't read anything. Needle doesn't move. What the hell is going on here. The coolant is right there when I put the sending unit in so why won't it read anything? ?
OK so.after running the car and letting it idle for almost am hour, the temp gauge finally started to work; it only read 180 though, took a while to get up to that also. I know this is low, so I need to figure out why. Is this related to my idle problem? Car idles at 750-800 but doesn't sound consistent as far as exhaust. I have bbk long tube headers, H pipe and Dual Flowmasters that dump right behind bumper. Just doesn't seem like it sounds right, sometimes I get a sputter also coming from passenger side tailpipe and uneven exhaust flow from passenger side at all times, at this point I'm trying to work out the bugs so I can safely drive and enjoy this car
Last edited by lph008; 05-01-2015 at 10:44 AM.
I have a carbureted 85 and I'm not sure how different the 86 EFI will be. If the AIR pump has been removed it is possible that some one swapped in a serpentine belt that fits but now drives the water pump backwards. You'd now have cool water coming off the top of the rad feeding the top of the engine. I don't think they were designed to run that way. Is your serpentine belt diagram still under the hood? Should be a sticker on the upper rad support. Does your belt layout match?
Those mushroom looking things in the first 2 pictures, correct me if I'm wrong, should be check valves where the AIR pump pushes fresh air to the cats to provide oxygen for combustion.
W
As always, "It ain't what you don't know that gets you, it's what you think you know that just ain't so."
I know what your saying about the serpentine belt, they didn't remove the pump, they still have the pump and the belt is still on the pump pulley. I just took it for a ride about 10 miles and it reached 190 degrees. It is running like **** though. Wasn't running like this before. It is idling like **** and the power doesn't seem right, when I get on it you can hear almost like hesitation in the get up. Right now idling after that short drive it is idling from 500-750 up and down
Well, lets say the temperature sending circuit was ok, your thermostat was missing so replacing that corrected the engine temp, and the first long warmup is due to getting the cooling system burped.
You say some one replaced the original headers with long tubes. I presume that could mean cats were deleted. What about O2 sensors? O2 sensors don't do much good if they don't have a cat to work around. The ECM uses them to adjust the air fuel mixture. Bad data into the ECM and you will have bad result.
If O2 sensors are missing or bypassed, that's a whole other can of worms.
Got any engine warnings on the dashboard? Any codes stored? You can get them pulled by Autozone or whomever that has a code reader. You should start another thread on that cause, like I said, I'm a carb guy. There's others that can better help with EFI.
W
As always, "It ain't what you don't know that gets you, it's what you think you know that just ain't so."
OK I'm gonna start a new thread because I don't have any 02 sensors. I can see the two plug ends both hanging under my car. Thanks for all your he'll, I really appreciate it
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Connect With Us