engine not revvin right

[96lt1]

hey everyone, gotta problem. i have an 89 sho i just bought a few weeks ago for $300. had to drive 800 miles to get her but she runs almost perfect and the body is flawless. only problem i have is when i rev up the motor or when i am accelerating the motor gets stuck at around 2k rpm's. if i just give it the littlest bit of throttle she will pass the 2k bad area and after i clear about 2500 rpm's i will get all the power back and she will take off like she is supposed to. the motor runs smooth and doesnt miss or anything, it just wont do anything between 2k and 2500 rpms. its still drivable but i look like a fool trying to leave a stoplight. the local mechanics r tellin me that its my alternator goin out and not givin the voltage the fuel pump needs to supply the fuel. i am stuck scratchin my head on this one and would appreciate any help at all. thanx a bunch guys.

 

[Ishodu]

Have you got a CE light? Did you try pulling any codes yet? Go to www.shotimes.com under maintenance then under EEC self test procedure. this will tell you how to get them. Then there is a chat there to tell you what these codes mean. It will help you out alot.

 

[pete c]

I am reasonably sure that you have plug wells full of oil. This midrange trouble is a classic symptom.

I am 100% sure that your mechanic is a fahkin' *****. How can he explain that a tired fuel pump all of a sudden starts working well at 2500?

Sounds like you got yourself one **** of a deal. Read everything on this board and keep your new SHO away from that mechanic. The first thing you need to do is a 60K service, particularly the top end. You will drop a few hundred bucks on plugs. wires, valve cover gasket set, shim kit rental. If you have any mechanical abilities at all and can read at a 4th grade level, you will find out everything you need to know on this site.

May I recommend you do a search on 60K maintenance for starters.

 

[96lt1]

yes the ce light is on. took it to autozone to get it checked but we cant find the connector to plug in to to read the codes. i know i sound like an idiot but we cant find the darn harness with the plug.

 

[96lt1]

yes the plug wires r full of oil. sounds like i need to do the 60k rebuild?? the car only has 92k miles on it

 

[SilverSHO]

Sounds like bad plug well seals. Over time those can let oil seep into the plug wells, leaving your spark plugs in a puddle of oil and causing ignition problems and loss of power in the RPM range you mentioned. The plug wires don't like being in contact with oil either, so at the least you need a valve cover/plug well gasket kit and new plugs and wires.

The plug well/valve cover gasket kit you need is Felpro, and Autozone has it, but I don't have price or part number handy. The spark plugs you need are AGSP32PP; I got mine at Advance (well, Discount Auto before Advance bought them out here in Cartersville) for about $2.99 apiece. The recommended wires are Motorcraft WR-4033, $83.99 at SHO Nut.

FWIW, the fuel pump isn't an issue unless you can hear it whining inside the car when the engine is running.

*edit* I must be getting slow...there were no replies when I started typing this

<small>[ September 30, 2002, 11:56 AM: Message edited by: SilverSHO ]</small>

 

[GreenBird]

why use double plats? copper is a much better conductor.

 

[SilverSHO]

Oh...the EEC test connector should be up near the firewall, behind the passenger-side strut tower. It's a trapezoid-shaped plug (sort of) with a smaller one hanging beside it.

 

[96lt1]

looks like i get to tear into this thing. anyone know who sells repair manuals for this car?

 

[projectSHO89]

Platinum lasts a LOT longer than copper....

Stick with the Motorcraft plugs unless either a) you know what you're doing or b) you will promise not to come back here complaining and whining when you car won't run right.

The Motorcraft plugs were what the engine was designed to use. Unless you know more than the original engineers about spark plugs or you have a specific condition that lends itself to the use of a different plug (i.e., nitrous, etc) it would be easiest to use the specified plug.

Wanna experiment? Go ahead. Have at it. Let us know when you reach 60 K miles on that set of plugs.

For manuals, keep an eye open on eBay. It took me a couple months to get my set, but they are worth it. Check you local library system. Larger systems may have on hand the original factory manuals available for checkout. Some library sytems buy and maintain a copy of the Mitchell's which are a good substitute. Chilton's or Hayne's are okay for the non-SHO portion of the car. Sometimes you can find bootleg copies of the Ford service CDs on eBay. If you really need the manuals and don't mind paying full retail for them, check out the original publisher's site at www.helminc.com . Spend some time reading through these forums and the FAQs at www.shotimes.com . Good luck!

Steve

<small>[ September 30, 2002, 03:39 PM: Message edited by: projectSHO89 ]</small>

 

[Ishodu]

Your ECC test port may have fallen down and gotten all melted. It has happened before.

 

[96lt1]

first of all let me say thanx to everyone for all the info. u guys have no idea how much u helped me. turns out my ecc fell behind the motor and i found it. only problem is after i tested the codes i forgot which numbers it gave, i think 56 and 63 or maybe 53 and 65. i know the codes were somethin to do with the ignition control module and the ecm. i think the ecm isnt workin because when i unplugged it with the car running, nuthin changed at all. i ordered the gaskets to fix the oil in the plugwells and like every other part on the car, OUCH on the price. around $130 from autozone. i am gonna research those codes and hopefully solve those problems and change the intake gasket this weekend. i had already bought bosch plugs and wires from Advance but everybody tells me to go Motorcraft so i am gonna try and return the wires, the plugs r already on the car. if not i will leave them on, tell myself they r ok, and deal with them when they go bad. thanx again for everyones help and sorry i am so longwinded.

Sean

 

[pete c]

your not longwinded at all. Welcome. This place is absolutely essential to keeping these old cars running right. Spend a week or so just reading through old posts. Pay particular attention to that sdpatt character, although I hear he got his life back and isn't gonna be around quite as much.

 

[Chrisssssssss]

I know that I may be a bit off here, but what about the Throttle position Sensor? Would this cause the hesitating around a certain RPM?

 

[shojuan]

Yeah, it seems to me like the TPS could cause the problems too. Sean could always take the TPS to Autozone and have them check it out, which reminds me that I wanted to check my old one out at autozone to see how bad it got after 148K miles.

Rick

 

[Fine89]

I just replaced my TPS this weekend - made a big difference. It's a variable resistor and they wear out, mine had 170K on it. $29 at the local parts store.

 

[RStalveyARFF]

I run the autolite 3923 copper plugs in my car, for the simple reason that I run giggle gas. I'm looking at about 10k per set of plugs, but for $6 total, that isn't too bad changing them every 10. For a stock daily driver though, the double platinum motorcrafts are the way to go.

 

[96lt1]

well, here i am up the creek again. i found out my alternator was bad so i spent way too much money on a new one only to find out that this new one is bad too. the place i bought it from wont have another one till friday so again my SHO sits lifeless in the driveway. i figured since its not goin anywhere for a few days i pulled the TPS off and i am gonna take it to autozone and get it tested. i bought this car to be my commuter car to work and back and at the same time restore it to showroom condition. i had already put my 96 Trans Am away in storage for the winter but i had to go get it out cause the SHO wont GO. i have been sickly obsessed with SHO's since i was 12(i am 21 now) and i finally got one and i cant even drive the darn thing. since i only paid $300 for the car i am being patient because i know once i finally get her runnin it will be by far worth the wait.

 

[96lt1]

ecc fell behind the motor and i found it. only problem is after i tested the codes i forgot which numbers it gave, i think 56 and 63 or maybe 53 and 65. i know the codes were somethin to do with the ignition control module and the ecm. i think the ecm isnt workin because when i unplugged it with the car running, nuthin changed at all. i ordered the gaskets to fix the oil in the plugwells and like every other part on the car, OUCH on the price

the above was from my post yesterday. in this post i mentioned the codes that i obtained showed that it was a problem with the ecm. i was wrong, its the TPS not the ECM. pardon my mistake.

 

[shojuan]

Make sure your battery is good. A bad battery can ruin a new alternator very quickly. Also a bad alternator can ruin a new battery very quickly. Something to keep in mind whenever getting a jump start, first order of business is to hook up a proper battery charger and let it charge the battery. Even better is to have the car towed if you have free towing. Sorry for going off topic a bit, just thought it important to mention for any young car owners that don't know this already.

Rick