ACT temperature sensor problem?

[Diameg]

I pulled the codes as per my car acting up and came up with a code 114 that won't go away.
This is the Air Charge Temperature sensor higher or lower voltage than expected.
I installed a K&N panel filter about a week ago, but did not touch the ACT. In fact, in wiping the inside of the airbox with a slightly damp rag, I made sure not to touch it as it looks so delicate.
I just tried gently wiping it with a Q-tip but it is totally clean, and looks okay.
Any suggestions?

 

[sdpatt]

The codes are generated when the electrical function of the sensor is out of range for the EEC programming. If a good cleaning doesn't help, you will have to replace the sensor. Try a carb or intake cleaner on the center post in the sensor and wipe gently with a Q-Tip. Are you sure the connector is clean and attached securely?

------------------
Scott

1991, 252K miles, glass hood, police grill, SVO shifter, Catz fogs,
K&N, 73mm MAF, Superchip, PP Y-pipe, Borla cat-back, 190 lph pump
Eibach/Tokico/polyurethane, SHO Shop front & rear strut braces,
16x7.5" Moda R1, 225/55ZR16 Bridgestone RE730, -1 deg camber x 4,
Class II hitch, Silver award at the SHOklahoma Car Show

 

[Diameg]

Scott,

I did clean it again and it now is not coming up when I read the codes. It did not look at all dirty, but I guess my SHO is just playing with my mind a bit.
I am getting 111's for all codes now, however, I'm still having the problem with my car.
With my lack of SHO knowledge, I thought I (A) broke first gear, or (B) messed up the clutch.
However, it still feels like the clutch grabs the same in all gears as it did before and if something in the differential was broken, would it not render itself undrivable real quick?
It is drivable but I still hear that clunk leaving in first gear and I also have the inconsistent acceleration in all gears, especially from 2000 rpm's on.
I looked underneath to see how things looked and noticed a part of the exhaust near the gearbox has a flattened part on top of the pipe. It looks like it was designed that way to clear something above it but what really struck me is, should I be able to see the top of the exhaust pipe in this location just by simply kneeling down and looking under the car? Could both the clunk and acceleration problem be simply due to a broken exhaust hanger and sagging exhaust? It does not necessarily sound louder.

Thanks.

Mike

 

[sdpatt]

Sounds more like a broken motor mount. Apply the parking brake and the brake pedal and slowly let out the clutch in first gear. With the hood open, watch the front right corner (near the battery) of the intake manifold. It should move no more than about 1/2' to 3/4". Reverse should move the rear manifold even less.

Scott

 

[Diameg]

I checked the motor mounts in the way you mentioned but the engine did not seem to move other than a half an inch at most.

One thing I did notice, it seems to 'chug' a little bit. And putting your hand in front of the exhaust pipe, it is not a steady stream of exhaust that comes out against your hand, but more like bursts of exhaust (consistently). Same with the sound, especially from behind the car you can hear what I would describe as small bursts of exhaust noise coming as opposed to one steady stream of sound. Sitting in the car while it idles, you can feel a bit of that as well as the car rumbles.
Best I would describe it is like a very high compression souped up old hot rod or something like that. Obviously not near as loud, along that line.
I drove the car while holding the door open and thought it was louder from directly under the car than it should be, which brings me back to an exhaust problem.
Could the bursts coming from the tailpipes and sound be related to a theoretical problem somewhere near the middle of the exhaust or is that not possible?

***Note to self....do not stand with your hand and head close to the tailpipes for too long in the future***

[This message has been edited by Diameg (edited 10-29-2001).]

 

[Rob94]

Check for oil in your plug wells......what you are describing reminds me of the way mine sounded when the wells became flooded with oil and plugs shorted out....Had to drive her 25 miles on four cylinders....

 

[Diameg]

Really?

I had not checked that. I did pull the codes and both the KOEO and KOER tests come back now with 111's for everything.
So, my car is saying it's A-Okay!
Yet it sounds like crap and I'm concerned that something is going to break, bad.

Would a bad exhaust cause the SHO to run really poorly or would it not affect the performance that much?
Anyone with an MTX, if you kneel down and look under your car, can you see the top of the exhaust pipe from the cat's back to near the gas tank? I don't recall if it's supposed to be like that, but I can see the top of most of the pipe. To me, it looks like it's hanging a bit but perhaps it is supposed to be like that.

Ugh.

 

[RStalveyARFF]

Did you do a cylinder balance test on the car? It'll cut each of the injectors out to check for a drop in engine RPM. If it cuts out an injector and the RPM does not fall, then you know that cylinder is not firing, and will tell you which cylinder is down. It tells you on "how do I do the self test" as to how to activate the balance test.

 

[Diameg]

It will not allow me to do the cylinder balance test.
Keeps giving me '538' codes, meaning invalid cylinder balance test dueo to throttle movement during test.

I tried many, many times and it still would not allow me to do it. I did not touch the throttle in any way, shape or form, so I'm baffled as to how to convince the car that.

I followed the test instructions to a 'T', and it still kept saying that.

 

[Diameg]

Okay,

Strike the post above this one. I got it to work now. My code reader manual lied to me on how to do it so I followed the Sho Shop site one and it works.

So, I got a number 2 each time. I did the test 3 times and each of the 3 times, it blinked twice.
Does this tend to mean perhaps the spark plug needs replacing, or is it usually something else?

Another thing, this all happened together it seems. I still have not figured out the clunk coming from below the car low in first gear. The day before this clunk sound, I did a 0-60 run of 6.62, so the car was running at that point pretty strong for a stock SHO. Then the clunk sound, and the same day with it running poorly which thanks to SHO91MTX I now know is a problem in the #2 cylinder.
Could all of this be related or just a bizarre coincidence?
Like for example, did I run it too hard and perhaps break something in the exhaust throwing a problem into an injector or some odd thing like that (I know that does not make sense, but I'm just using an example).

What to do about the #2 cylinder problem. Am I best just to take it to a mechanic now to really find what is going on there?

 

[sdpatt]

The throttle movement is sensed by the throttle position sensor. Disconnect the TPS connector and try the cylinder balance test again. If it runs, your TPS may be sending a varying signal and would therefore need to be replaced. It is an easy replacement.

Scott


[This message has been edited by sdpatt (edited 10-30-2001).]

 

[Rob94]

Scott, correct me if I'm wrong here, but if the cats turn sour, isn't it cylinder #2 that generally takes the brunt of the damage from dust/sand being sucked out of the cats and into the engine??

 

[RStalveyARFF]

check the middle rear plug. check to see if there is oil or anything, if no oil, pull plug and see what it looks like. If you have a haynes manual check what condition your plug matches.

 

[Diameg]

Originally posted by Rob94:
Scott, correct me if I'm wrong here, but if the cats turn sour, isn't it cylinder #2 that generally takes the brunt of the damage from dust/sand being sucked out of the cats and into the engine??

Oohh....that does not sound good at all.
I do have a new Y-Pipe sitting at Sho Nut right now but if there is stuff being sucked into the #2 cylinder, that could be big problems, could it not? How do I tell if stuff is being sucked into the #2 cylinder?

 

[Diameg]

Originally posted by SHO91MTX:
check the middle rear plug. check to see if there is oil or anything, if no oil, pull plug and see what it looks like. If you have a haynes manual check what condition your plug matches.

Okay, you're losing me here.
I do not have a Haynes manual nor do I have any tools to pull plugs.
I already had asked Sho Nut to order me some plugs in preparation for the 60K so I guess I will just have the new one's put on and see how that makes a difference.

 

[sdpatt]

I think that is an old wife's tale about the catalytic converter debris getting sucked into the cylinders. I had a SHO Shop Y-pipe almost completely destroy its ceramic cat guts. That was a couple of years ago and my car is still running strongly. How is anything going to get sucked into the exhaust port? The only time the exhaust valves are open there is a positive pressure in the cylinder. There is also flow from the other cylinders moving the mass of exhaust flow down the pipe - out the exhaust.

This wife's tale rivals the other one about the SHO engine "needing" backpressure for low end torque. The engine doesn't "need" backpressure. It needs exhaust scavenging that helps draw the spent gases out of the cylinders. This is more a function of the flow velocity due to the proper (not too large) pipe diameters than to the presence of converters. You can tune an exhaust system for low rpm torque with small tubes and high velocity at the lower gas volumes or you can tune it for high rpm power with large diameter pipes just like the shorter, large diameter runners on our intakes (but you can't tuna fish). Read Ted Breaux's SHO exhaust theory topic for more information.

Scott


[This message has been edited by sdpatt (edited 10-30-2001).]

 

[Diameg]

Phew Scott.....

You just eased my mind a bit.
Thing is, I planned on changing the plugs and wires soon anyway, so I guess that's going to happen sooner as opposed to later.
Also, I have a Y-Pipe and will have a cat back exhaust for Josh to install from Sho Nut sometime this month.
Does it sound like these are my likely problems?
Regarding the cylinder situation, I know it could be a number of things but given my 75000 miles, would (A) Spark Plug, (B) Wires, and reaching a bit (C) Fuel injector be the most likely suspects?

 

[Rob94]

If Scott says it is not true, that is good enough for me. IMHO, Scott is one of the most knowledgeable people I have ever had the pleasure of "talking" to.

 

[sdpatt]

[In Elvis voice] Thank you. Thank you very much.

If you have 75,000 miles on the original spark plugs, they are definitely in need of replacement. The gaps are probably above the 0.046" upper gap limit. The wires are usually good for about 120,000 miles, but age and heat can damage the insulation before that mark. If you have oil in the plug wells, it would be a good idea to replace the wires.

The flat spot on the top of the center exhaust pipe is to provide clearance from the bolts sticking out of the bottom of the manual shifter box. I didn't think the clearance was needed. Ceratinly not at the expense of exhaust flow. That crimp reduces the cross section and creates flow killing turbulence. That was one of the sins Ford committed with the 1999 SVT Cobra Mustang to provide clearance to the lower rear lateral links. Those crimps helped lower the power output of the Cobra's engine. The Borla and other aftermarket SHO pipes don't have the crimp.

Humbly,
Scott

 

[Diameg]

Scott,

Okay, thanks for your advice.
I am just going to change the plugs and wires since I was going to anyway, and go from there. If there is still a problem, at least I know it's not plugs or wires.

On the exhaust question though, can you see the top of your exhaust pipe clearly just by looking under the car? Realizing that we're talking 2 different generations here, they may be different. So, anyone else with a Gen II, can you see the top of the exhaust pipe from the cat's to about the gas tank just by simply looking under the car? (I'm not talking about slithering under it or anything like that, just simply kneeling down and looking under the car).