Ah ha ! The '95 gives up it's secret...

Skritch · 10-30-2009, 04:34 AM

...that PITA truck ! Hey, lets start at the beginning 'cause you know I like tellin' stories.

The '95 just didn't quite run right last May over to Tri Cities. Wasn't much but noticeable to me. Had a slightly high idle (around 1000 RPM), a bit of engine shake (has always been VERY smooth since the roller cam conversion), and was slow to return to idle after revving the engine. Ran fine other than that and gas mileage didn't show any worse than usual.

Got a vacuum leak perhaps. Set out to check ALL vacuum hoses and connections. Nope. Lets try cleaning the IAC, replacing the TPS, the ECT, and the ACT. Nope. Lets check the plenum spacer gaskets. Nope. Lets check the upper intake gasket surface. WHOA ! It's concave !! So lets get it cut so it's flat again. Didn't cure the problem.

Okay, outa ideas.....kid need help. He comes up an' checks the firing via the fuel injectors. Disconnect the electrical to each injector and number 2 shows no sign of RPM drop. Hmmmm, pull the injector, an' have Dr. Injector test it. It's good, puttin' out 30.56 lbs per hour. Stick that injector back in but switch it with another (#1). Nope, problem's still there. Hey, lets try a new OEM O2 sensor. Nope.

Corey gets wind of the truck's temper tantrum so makes the drive up to the frozen north into the little hamlet of Startup and approaches the problem from the electrical side. We swap out a plug wire to eliminate that potential problem. Nope. Replace the plug fer fun. Nope. Confirm the plug wire on the truck does work. Yep it does.

Lets try a compression test. All cylinders are good. A high of 170 to a low of 161. #2 has 162. A leakdown test was done as well on #1 and #2 only and the needle is in the green for both cylinders. Nothing excessive there.

Corey comes back up armed with his arsenal of testing tools, some spare parts to make jumper harnesses, and renewed vigor to figure out that pesky '95 and a dead cylinder. 6 plus hours later after trying everything he can possibly think of, including swapping the ECM out'a the parts truck the '95 ain't changin' her tune. #2 is still not firing but all the rest of the cylinders are.

The kid is called back up to the house armed with a borescope. It's a Snap on and a pretty nice one at that. Go exploring #2 and nothing out of the ordinary is showing up. Have a look at #1 as well just for giggles. All is well in both cylinders. He even manages to get it turned up to look at the valves.

Funny thing though. On the way out from work the kid mentions in passing to another mechanic the problem he's off to try to diagnose. The other guy sez - are ya ready for it - intake gasket is blown. On the way down to CA for the CHHR my buddy sez the same thing after tellin' him all we've done to that confounded truck.

With the borescope sight seeing trip revealing nuthin' the kid sez, "Lets pull the intake and have a look". We do.

There's other ports that look bad on the gaskets as well but #2 clearly has had a failure. Seems the 1262 intake gasket is perhaps not the best selection. Was back in early '05 but a better choice now seems to be a Ford Motorsport (FMS) set made by FelPro but only available via FMS. M-9439-A50 part number. Called my buddy up in Minnesota and told him to send me a set. It'll take awhile to get here but it's not like the truck is goin' anywhere ! Can't say fer sure but believe it to be a HIGH PROBABLILITY that will solve the problem so she can fire on all eight cylinders.

Had another slight problem so had the kid take a peek. The '94 SC had a noise up front. He got out his sophisticated test equipment had a look and resolved the issue in short order.

Noisy, as in shot, bearing in the tensioner pulley.

Oh well, I gotta go back to fiddlin' with the Red One.

my94lightning · 11-01-2009, 10:47 PM

Scott that does explain why the miss went away when we "simulated" the injector pulse, "aka flooding the crap outa that cylinder"

good luck.

that gap looks bigger than i expected to see after talking on the phone with ya. So I think ya found your gremlin.
congrats.

since you allready found the upper warped, might be a good idea to check the angles on that intake to head, to make sure it is correct.

Super Glide · 11-01-2009, 10:57 PM

What a PITA but a happy ending if you ask me. I was sold on it being a chipped piston though.This is much much better

Bad as L · 11-02-2009, 04:37 AM

Is that the correct gasket....it doesn't look like the manifold covers the top side of the gasket enough to hold onto it.

Super Glide · 11-02-2009, 11:54 AM

That gasket fits the windsor heads, however, your point is correct Dale, there is no reason to use a gasket designed to fit the larger ports on a small port head. The 1250 fits much better, the stock intake gasket cannot be improved on IMHO, just that it hangs into the intake port a smidge put can easily be trimmed.

Skritch · 11-15-2009, 12:41 AM

Gaskets arrived Wednesday (I was at the Seattle Auto Show), Tom came up today and we put her back together. Yep, that solved the problem after all this time ! Started up, idled down, smooth engine no shake, idle showing around 900 on the tach in Park, drops a couple hundred in drive, revs up and returns to idle as I'm used to it.

Let's call it FIXED !!! Just in time for winter......

my94lightning · 11-15-2009, 12:59 AM

Good to hear,

that should cover it, lol

Skritch · 11-16-2009, 06:53 AM

reconfirmed tonight. She starts up, revs up, and behaves just like she's 'sposed to ! Yahoo, IT'S FIXED !

So I gotta say thanks to son Tom for helpin' the ol' man in diagnosing and disassembly and reassembly, BIG thanks to Corey for comin' up not once but twice to troubleshoot the truck. Thanks to Steve and Dale fer makin' me even more nervous with the "chipped piston" thoughts ! Did cause a nice borescope to arrive here which confirmed #1 and #2 are just fine. Also caused Tom to comment to another mechanic at work about why he was borrowin' the borescope which led to the blown intake gasket !

Thanks again to all for your help !!!!

Just a part of what makes WashLO so GREAT....

10-30-2009, 04:34 AM	#1 (permalink)
Skritch Moderator Paid Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: The socialist kingdom of Washington State Posts: 4,507 NLOC member #: 1461 View this user's gallery iTrader: 6 / 100%	Ah ha ! The '95 gives up it's secret... ...that PITA truck ! Hey, lets start at the beginning 'cause you know I like tellin' stories. The '95 just didn't quite run right last May over to Tri Cities. Wasn't much but noticeable to me. Had a slightly high idle (around 1000 RPM), a bit of engine shake (has always been VERY smooth since the roller cam conversion), and was slow to return to idle after revving the engine. Ran fine other than that and gas mileage didn't show any worse than usual. Got a vacuum leak perhaps. Set out to check ALL vacuum hoses and connections. Nope. Lets try cleaning the IAC, replacing the TPS, the ECT, and the ACT. Nope. Lets check the plenum spacer gaskets. Nope. Lets check the upper intake gasket surface. WHOA ! It's concave !! So lets get it cut so it's flat again. Didn't cure the problem. Okay, outa ideas.....kid need help. He comes up an' checks the firing via the fuel injectors. Disconnect the electrical to each injector and number 2 shows no sign of RPM drop. Hmmmm, pull the injector, an' have Dr. Injector test it. It's good, puttin' out 30.56 lbs per hour. Stick that injector back in but switch it with another (#1). Nope, problem's still there. Hey, lets try a new OEM O2 sensor. Nope. Corey gets wind of the truck's temper tantrum so makes the drive up to the frozen north into the little hamlet of Startup and approaches the problem from the electrical side. We swap out a plug wire to eliminate that potential problem. Nope. Replace the plug fer fun. Nope. Confirm the plug wire on the truck does work. Yep it does. Lets try a compression test. All cylinders are good. A high of 170 to a low of 161. #2 has 162. A leakdown test was done as well on #1 and #2 only and the needle is in the green for both cylinders. Nothing excessive there. Corey comes back up armed with his arsenal of testing tools, some spare parts to make jumper harnesses, and renewed vigor to figure out that pesky '95 and a dead cylinder. 6 plus hours later after trying everything he can possibly think of, including swapping the ECM out'a the parts truck the '95 ain't changin' her tune. #2 is still not firing but all the rest of the cylinders are. The kid is called back up to the house armed with a borescope. It's a Snap on and a pretty nice one at that. Go exploring #2 and nothing out of the ordinary is showing up. Have a look at #1 as well just for giggles. All is well in both cylinders. He even manages to get it turned up to look at the valves. Funny thing though. On the way out from work the kid mentions in passing to another mechanic the problem he's off to try to diagnose. The other guy sez - are ya ready for it - intake gasket is blown. On the way down to CA for the CHHR my buddy sez the same thing after tellin' him all we've done to that confounded truck. With the borescope sight seeing trip revealing nuthin' the kid sez, "Lets pull the intake and have a look". We do. There's other ports that look bad on the gaskets as well but #2 clearly has had a failure. Seems the 1262 intake gasket is perhaps not the best selection. Was back in early '05 but a better choice now seems to be a Ford Motorsport (FMS) set made by FelPro but only available via FMS. M-9439-A50 part number. Called my buddy up in Minnesota and told him to send me a set. It'll take awhile to get here but it's not like the truck is goin' anywhere ! Can't say fer sure but believe it to be a HIGH PROBABLILITY that will solve the problem so she can fire on all eight cylinders. Had another slight problem so had the kid take a peek. The '94 SC had a noise up front. He got out his sophisticated test equipment had a look and resolved the issue in short order. Noisy, as in shot, bearing in the tensioner pulley. Oh well, I gotta go back to fiddlin' with the Red One. Last edited by Skritch; 11-16-2009 at 07:15 AM..

11-01-2009, 10:47 PM	#2 (permalink)
my94lightning wallet hit by lightnings Paid Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Washington Posts: 830 NLOC member #: 2485 View this user's gallery iTrader: 0 / 0%	Scott that does explain why the miss went away when we "simulated" the injector pulse, "aka flooding the crap outa that cylinder" good luck. that gap looks bigger than i expected to see after talking on the phone with ya. So I think ya found your gremlin. congrats. since you allready found the upper warped, might be a good idea to check the angles on that intake to head, to make sure it is correct. Last edited by my94lightning; 11-01-2009 at 10:50 PM..

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode




Home \| Classified Ads \| Gallery \| Join the Club \| Register on the Forum \| Merchandise \| Supporting Vendors \| Chat

11-01-2009, 10:57 PM	#3 (permalink)
Super Glide Super Moderator Paid Member Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 10,398 NLOC member #: 343 View this user's gallery iTrader: 14 / 100%	What a PITA but a happy ending if you ask me. I was sold on it being a chipped piston though.This is much much better

11-02-2009, 04:37 AM	#4 (permalink)
Bad as L Student of Horsepower Paid Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Auburn, Wa Posts: 6,166 NLOC member #: 391 View this user's gallery iTrader: 5 / 100%	Is that the correct gasket....it doesn't look like the manifold covers the top side of the gasket enough to hold onto it.

11-02-2009, 11:54 AM	#5 (permalink)
Super Glide Super Moderator Paid Member Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 10,398 NLOC member #: 343 View this user's gallery iTrader: 14 / 100%	That gasket fits the windsor heads, however, your point is correct Dale, there is no reason to use a gasket designed to fit the larger ports on a small port head. The 1250 fits much better, the stock intake gasket cannot be improved on IMHO, just that it hangs into the intake port a smidge put can easily be trimmed.

11-15-2009, 12:41 AM	#6 (permalink)
Skritch Moderator Paid Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: The socialist kingdom of Washington State Posts: 4,507 NLOC member #: 1461 View this user's gallery iTrader: 6 / 100%	Gaskets arrived Wednesday (I was at the Seattle Auto Show), Tom came up today and we put her back together. Yep, that solved the problem after all this time ! Started up, idled down, smooth engine no shake, idle showing around 900 on the tach in Park, drops a couple hundred in drive, revs up and returns to idle as I'm used to it. Let's call it FIXED !!! Just in time for winter......

11-15-2009, 12:59 AM	#7 (permalink)
my94lightning wallet hit by lightnings Paid Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Washington Posts: 830 NLOC member #: 2485 View this user's gallery iTrader: 0 / 0%	Good to hear, that should cover it, lol

11-16-2009, 06:53 AM	#8 (permalink)
Skritch Moderator Paid Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: The socialist kingdom of Washington State Posts: 4,507 NLOC member #: 1461 View this user's gallery iTrader: 6 / 100%	reconfirmed tonight. She starts up, revs up, and behaves just like she's 'sposed to ! Yahoo, IT'S FIXED ! So I gotta say thanks to son Tom for helpin' the ol' man in diagnosing and disassembly and reassembly, BIG thanks to Corey for comin' up not once but twice to troubleshoot the truck. Thanks to Steve and Dale fer makin' me even more nervous with the "chipped piston" thoughts ! Did cause a nice borescope to arrive here which confirmed #1 and #2 are just fine. Also caused Tom to comment to another mechanic at work about why he was borrowin' the borescope which led to the blown intake gasket ! Thanks again to all for your help !!!! Just a part of what makes WashLO so GREAT....