Good use of quarantine time!!
My Mom's 1986 Ford Crown Victoria
- Thread starter XLTbeater
- Start date
I also realized that I need to reconfigure the starter solenoid back to the original configuration. I'm going to eliminate the signal/ignition wire to the solenoid and put the jumper in its place. The more I look at the other wiring diagrams; the more I'm thinking that's the way the Powermaster starters are configured.
I took last Friday off to use up the sick days I didn't take this year. So I used that day to run errands and get a couple things done. Replaced the heater blower fan and blower resistor module in my Grand Marquis. Whilst getting those parts, I got another tarp for the Crown Vic, since the top layer/tarp (3 layers of tarp) was coming apart. I peeled all of the tarp off to put the new one underneath them. I discovered that some vermin chewed up a small section of the 3rd layer and used it to make a small nest under the windshield. So I grabbed the vacuum cleaner and cleaned all of that up. I figured since I done that, might as well clean whole cowl and some of the engine compartment. Then for whatever reason, I started pulling plugs and inspecting all the wires. I found a few plugs had some gel form on the electrodes. I have no idea what it is. It looks like vaseline. Does WD-40 gelatinize? That's the only thing I can think of.
I would post pics, but my files are invalid now for whatever reasons.
I would post pics, but my files are invalid now for whatever reasons.
Dielectric grease? I put that on the plugs.
Oh! Varnish from old gas maybe?
Perhaps that's what it is. I know for my first 1st-start attempt, the fuel pump activated and I got a click from the starter before everything shutdown. Maybe the injectors did their thing and that gas just sat in the combustion chamber. In any event, I will wipe them down and spray the electrodes with gum cutter before I try another 1st-start attempt.
I did a little work on the Crown Vic over the weekend. I was only going to replace one of the tarps that deteriorated. I ended up replacing one of the bottom tarps as well, as a rodent of some sort chewed through a section. With all the sunlight and all of the tarps pulled back; I looked at the engine and decided to rewire the starter. I took the old signal wire off and cut off the spade terminal. I took another (unused) wire that had a ring terminal and soldered it to the small section of signal wire that I had just cut. This is my jumper wire between the battery+ and the ignition lug on the starter. Not much work, but it gave me a little bit of motivation to start working on that car again. I have to turn the engine over next weekend. I hope it has not seized since the last 1st start attempt. It should still have trans fluid in the cylinders though.
Never seen anything remotely like that sparkplug. That is downright bizarre. Aliens...
I must apologize. I should have titled this thread "Other Projects" or something like that; as I find myself working on everything other than the Crown Vic. As such, I finally got around to installing the valve covers on my Grand Marquis. Lately, the passenger side valve cover has been leaking onto the rear header primary tube. And every once in a while, I get into short rev battles (by revving, I mean 3500-4000 rpm) with Scat Packs and a random Supra. When I get home and shut the car down, it's a smoke show. So I decided to put an end to that. I've had a clean(ish) set of junkyard valve covers sitting in the basement for years. I cleaned them up with the intent of installing them right away; which didn't happen. This passed winter, I cleaned them again and painted them.
The passed month, I've been looking at the engine compartment and figured the passenger side (where the smoke show comes from) has the most obstructions and should be tackled first. I spent all of Saturday afternoon removing the obstructions (wiring harness, loosened coils, removed heater hoses, removed a/c box insulation [important], and a pollution control pump) in order to remove the valve cover. It took an hour and a half to remove the valve cover. As I was wrestling with the valve cover, I had to remove more obstructions. Finally, I figured that I needed to remove the a/c box insulation to gain an extra 1/8" clearance. Then I still had to wrestle it out of the engine compartment. The a/c box is thankfully plastic; so there is some give. I cleaned up the flange and stuck the new valve cover on top and covered the engine because it was looking to rain on Saturday night.
Sunday afternoon was mostly spent hunting down an 8mm x 12-point socket; which nobody seems to have (AutoZone, NAPA, Harbor Freight, Home Depot). I have 8mm sockets, but they're all 6-point. I need the 12-point because ARP uses a 12-point head. I ended up using a box wrench for those bolts. So I literally crammed the new valve cover onto the cylinder head. Also, the Ford cylinder heads look to be a 2-piece design; as the timing chains compartment has a seam. So the factory used rtv on the seam to seal it up. I squeezed some Permatex hi-temp copper stuff in that spot and snugged the bolts and studs with my fingers. As I waited for the Permatex to set up, I went to the driver side valve cover and started moving things around. I cracked the valve cover loose and tried to wrestle it out, but I realized that despite there being more open space and less obstructions than the passenger side; the brake booster was a deal breaker. It being metal, has no give. There was no angle that I could put the valve cover at to remove it. So, I made the decision to give up on that side. I would have to either remove the coils, throttle body, and fuel rail to roll the valve cover back far enough to remove; and/or loosen (or remove) the brake booster to lift the valve cover off the cylinder head. I just didn't have enough time for that. So I buttoned it back up and replaced the factory bottom bolts with the ARP bolts. I tightened those bottom bolts a bit more because that is where I can see oil seepage. By the time I did that, an hour had passed, so I tightened the passenger side valve cover and spent the rest of the time putting everything back together.
As I typically do; I went into this with a plan that only half worked. Since I had that mishap with the ft/lb torque wrench with the Explorer valve cover bolts; I tried using the inch/lb torque wrench this time. I've only used it once in my life; and that was when I had the Malibu. So it must have died sitting in the toolbox the last couple of decades; as it too failed to click at the set poundage. So, my next Amazon order will include that, an 8mm x 12-point socket set, and other miscellaneous things. I will probably send my car to the mechanic to install the driver side valve cover; as I want to use the 4th of July weekend to complete house projects. I'm not mad as I at least replaced the leaky valve cover; but I am frustrated because what used to be a simple task; is made complicated by how "newer" cars are put together at the factory. So, here is the 1 pic I took during this process. I have a picture of the cylinder head flange, but my iPhone is refusing to share that pic.
The passed month, I've been looking at the engine compartment and figured the passenger side (where the smoke show comes from) has the most obstructions and should be tackled first. I spent all of Saturday afternoon removing the obstructions (wiring harness, loosened coils, removed heater hoses, removed a/c box insulation [important], and a pollution control pump) in order to remove the valve cover. It took an hour and a half to remove the valve cover. As I was wrestling with the valve cover, I had to remove more obstructions. Finally, I figured that I needed to remove the a/c box insulation to gain an extra 1/8" clearance. Then I still had to wrestle it out of the engine compartment. The a/c box is thankfully plastic; so there is some give. I cleaned up the flange and stuck the new valve cover on top and covered the engine because it was looking to rain on Saturday night.
Sunday afternoon was mostly spent hunting down an 8mm x 12-point socket; which nobody seems to have (AutoZone, NAPA, Harbor Freight, Home Depot). I have 8mm sockets, but they're all 6-point. I need the 12-point because ARP uses a 12-point head. I ended up using a box wrench for those bolts. So I literally crammed the new valve cover onto the cylinder head. Also, the Ford cylinder heads look to be a 2-piece design; as the timing chains compartment has a seam. So the factory used rtv on the seam to seal it up. I squeezed some Permatex hi-temp copper stuff in that spot and snugged the bolts and studs with my fingers. As I waited for the Permatex to set up, I went to the driver side valve cover and started moving things around. I cracked the valve cover loose and tried to wrestle it out, but I realized that despite there being more open space and less obstructions than the passenger side; the brake booster was a deal breaker. It being metal, has no give. There was no angle that I could put the valve cover at to remove it. So, I made the decision to give up on that side. I would have to either remove the coils, throttle body, and fuel rail to roll the valve cover back far enough to remove; and/or loosen (or remove) the brake booster to lift the valve cover off the cylinder head. I just didn't have enough time for that. So I buttoned it back up and replaced the factory bottom bolts with the ARP bolts. I tightened those bottom bolts a bit more because that is where I can see oil seepage. By the time I did that, an hour had passed, so I tightened the passenger side valve cover and spent the rest of the time putting everything back together.
As I typically do; I went into this with a plan that only half worked. Since I had that mishap with the ft/lb torque wrench with the Explorer valve cover bolts; I tried using the inch/lb torque wrench this time. I've only used it once in my life; and that was when I had the Malibu. So it must have died sitting in the toolbox the last couple of decades; as it too failed to click at the set poundage. So, my next Amazon order will include that, an 8mm x 12-point socket set, and other miscellaneous things. I will probably send my car to the mechanic to install the driver side valve cover; as I want to use the 4th of July weekend to complete house projects. I'm not mad as I at least replaced the leaky valve cover; but I am frustrated because what used to be a simple task; is made complicated by how "newer" cars are put together at the factory. So, here is the 1 pic I took during this process. I have a picture of the cylinder head flange, but my iPhone is refusing to share that pic.
I managed to get a little work done to the Crown Vic over the weekend. It wasn't much; but I confirmed that my main relays (fuel pump, ECM, horn, power accessories) were in good shape. I had forgotten that the important relays such as the fuel pump and ECM are 5-pin; and the other 2 relays are 4-pin. I spent a good amount of time on Saturday looking it up in the EVTM manual. I also discovered that I can't go by that manual because whatever factory that this car came from, didn't follow the color code; at least not for the 4-pin relays. I ran out of time to check the 5-pin relays to see if they matched. I kind of remember that 2 relays had broken terminals; but I could only find the one relay that I repaired. Not only that; but I dug around in the basement and found the terminal that I cut off for replacement. Somebody had duct taped that wire because the insulation crumbled off and exposed the copper. I was going to mess with the fuel pump and horn relays to see if the terminals were secure; but I couldn't get to do that yesterday due to the local stray getting injured and parking itself under the Crown Vic. I was told to not go back there until it was taken care of; hopefully sometime this week. When I do get back to it; I distinctly remember a relay with a loose terminal that I want to check out. I bought 2 replacement relay connectors (5-pin) for a reason some years ago, but I didn't write down why.
I think I failed to mention that I never reinstalled the A9P ECM in the Crown Vic last year. I discovered this whilst in Quarantine when I had COVID in June. Like the last run-in with COVID; I spent a good amount of time organizing the attic and my room. I was separating the Crown Vic parts from Putter Project's parts. There was a small postal box in the corner of my room labelled "A9P". I always figured that it was empty and that I already reinstalled it. To my surprise, it was still in there. So this past weekend, I pulled the tarp off the Crown Vic and reinstalled it. At least I was smart enough to cram plastic bags in the firewall where the ECM sits. The inside of the Crown Vic has a musty smell, but a dry musty smell. No mildew or moisture detected. I might have had a rodent in there because there was some plastic dust on my gauge cluster. Next time I am in there; I will inspect that area. If there was a rodent in there; it didn't do no.1 or no.2 inside of the cabin because I didn't smell any of that. My buddy's '67 Chevelle reaked of it (as well as decomposing mice that had died in there) last time we fired that car up; which was 17 years ago. So now, all I have left to do is siphoning the old gas out of the tank. Then start prepping the car for another 1st start attempt.
Forgetting the computer sounds like something I'd do these days... I'm definitely in that whole CRS phase of getting close to retirement.