No Start condition

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Modemagic

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Progress on my '89 SHO. It's still dead, but I can get her to crank over now but she won't fire off. At one point the starter had it cranking to where it almost sounded as though the motor was running, but disengage the starter and nothing. :( Basically I just would like some input of things to check, (besides the starting triangle, fuel, air, spark) so I can start diagnosing it.

Thanks all!
 

Machspeed

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Have you checked the crank posistion sensor? Also go in your trunk and make sure your fuel shut off switch hasnt been pushed. Is your fuel pump ok?
 

Modemagic

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Fuel pump works fine. I suspected that previously but checked it all out. Is there a way to test out the CPS or will it kick out a code?
 

projectSHO89

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Dave,

Sorry, been very busy..

Yes, you can test the output of the CPS and CID sensors with a mter.

I posted the procedure a month or two ago, but I don't have time at the moment to dig the posts up for you.

Maybe the SEARCH function will work, sometimes it misses very obvious stuff. Hopefully you can find that post.

Steve
 

Devin

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I posted a new topic, but since this one is almost exactly the same, I'll post here too. I'm somewhat of a beginner, unfortunately.

I bought my 90 MTX from a junkyard, and I finally got a chance to start it the other day. The reason it was never started earlier was I had to put the intake and the valve covers on (my friend also took the spark plugs out and the oil that was laying around in the plug holes drained into the combustion chamber(?), thinking that could be a problem...).

Just wondering what some things to look for are. I'm going to check out and see if the spark plugs are sparking or not, and I hope that letting the oil drain down didn't mess it up. Any suggestions?

Devin

<small>[ February 05, 2003, 08:09 PM: Message edited by: Devin ]</small>
 

projectSHO89

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Allowing the oil to flow into the cylinders was unfortunate, but what's done is done.

The actual long term effects won't be known for awhile (dirt/grit contamination of the cylinders), but your short term problems will be oil fouled plugs and alot of difficulty in getting the car started.

Since the oil is already in the cylinders, about all you can do is try to expel it by cranking the engine. Perhaps an intake cleaner drawn into the vacuum port on the throttle body will dilute the oil enough to allow it to go out the exhaust. You may very well have to replace the plugs with a fresh set of Motorcraft plugs to get it to fire. Once it does fire, you will will have a tremendous cloud of smoke out the exhaust. Once the exhaust manifold and cats heat up, the oil will (hopefully) burn out of the system.

Good luck and keep your fingers crossed.

Steve
 

91 SHOplus

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May be alot of things....
  • <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">CPS
  • <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">CID
  • <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">spark wires out of order
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">shrug

Try to pull any stored codes. Go Here to see how. Good luck dude. thumbs_u

<small>[ February 06, 2003, 12:44 PM: Message edited by: 91 SHOplus ]</small>
 

Devin

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Since the oil is already in the cylinders, about all you can do is try to expel it by cranking the engine. Perhaps an intake cleaner drawn into the vacuum port on the throttle body will dilute the oil enough to allow it to go out the exhaust.
How do I go about doing that?
 

bradman

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Devin,

(Sorry to get off-topic)

How much oil are we talking about here? Were the wells full? A large amount of fluid in the cylinders could cause damage when cranking. A small amount should clear after enough cranking and your car should fire,... assuming nothing else is wrong. Do you know why your SHO was in the junk yard?

<small>[ February 07, 2003, 02:11 AM: Message edited by: bradman ]</small>
 

Devin

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Yes. They said a lady owned it and she tried to find what was making a "knocking" sound. They said the car drove, but when it got there it didn't have the upper intake and the valve covers attached, they were in the trunk. My friend and I put it back together again.

The oil was probably about half an inch to an inch at the worst. Some didn't have much at all.
 

Devin

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I did a compression test on Saturday, and I got these numbers for each cylinder constanly: 150 150 150 120 120 90. There was no sign of a leak in the compression. Also, the spark from at least one of the plugs was extremely weak. I purchased new plugs to check it out.
 

projectSHO89

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Sorry, but those compression numbers are NOT good news.

The lowestpressure reading should be within about 15% of the highest. Yours is definitely out of that band. This indicates either ring or valve wear in sifgificant amounts.

Good luck.

Steve
 

Modemagic

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Devin,

How'd you do your compression test on your '90? Just use one of those gauges that you screw into the spark plug holes? I need to do mine, so I'm wondering the best way to go about it. I think I am close to the same boat with you even wondering if it is worth getting running at this point.
 

DougLee25

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The car will still run with one cylinder being low on compression. Get the car running first before you condem it as a loss.

Doug
 

Devin

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Modemagic, yeah it's a gauge and hose that screw into the plug well. It's really easy, especially if I can do it. Do yourself a favor, buy one with a pressure release button :)
 

'92SHO

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I had a similar problem that turned out to be the crank position sensor. But I didn't have the compression problems.
 

Devin

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It turns out my friend was on crack or something, the compression isn't nearly as off as he measured. I'm starting a new thread and condensing all that I've found out.
 

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