There's one thing I just found out that conflicts with what I found out at the time. I found out at the time I changed the plugs, the spark plug gap was .50. I looked on Cool Cats and found out it's .54. Did I set the gap wrong at .50?
Another thing I've noticed now, as I said in my last reply that it has a tick tick tick noise. It's more like a tap, tap, tap noise that sounds like it's coming from the left side hearing it from the driver's seat. It's constant with the motor running. When I give it gas, the tap tap tap sound gets faster, then slows down when I let off the gas. It had a little ping to it before, but now, it's a clearly audible tap tap tap sound.
Might be an old wives tale but I never let mine touch each other
How do I check the timing? When you said the ignition module looked off, what did you mean? I do have some car knowledge, but I've got a long ways to go. hehe
Is there any way I could have inadvertently screwed up the timing? The distributor cap and rotor are original to the car. Over where the coil is (I think), the cover is on it, and I'm assuming it's rivited on there. Do I need to take it off?
All I can say is it seems like it's getting worse, whatever it is. When I'm stopped at a stop light, it idles so roughly it's like it makes a "pew pew pew pew" sound. It's also got a regular tick tick tick noise under the hood. When you give it more gas, the tick sound picks up and when you let off, it slows down.
So prior to you installing the plugs it was fine? Did anything weird happen when you installed the plugs? Like maybe you dropped one on the ground, picked it up, and popped it in? I had that happen years back when and the plug was damaged after it fell.
Double check the firing order again, don't forget you need non-HO firing order...not the 5.0 mustang firing order.. pull plugs and check the gap on them. Take a video with your phone and post the running condition if you can.
Nothing weird happened while installing the plugs and I didn't drop any of them.
To replace the wires, I took old wire off, put new one on, in that order, so I know the firing order isn't messed up. I used NAPA wires as a replacement since Motorcraft wires couldn't be found. I gapped them correctly.
I'll try to get a video of how it's running, but I can promise you one thing... it's idling and running very rough. I'm about at my wits end, but I love the Cougar!
Your ignition is more than likely fine. I can definitely say you didn't need to do plugs and wires with only 19k on it! Wires MAYBE as rubber does corrode but some leakage isn't going to cause these symptoms.
Do a fuel filter as that's easy enough. Check fuel pressure. Take the vac line off the factory pressure regulator, plug that vac line so you don't have a vac leak while testing. Should be 40 psi. Just let it idle for this.
Check codes. You can do this with a paperclip and your check engine light. http://www.troublecodes.net/ford/ Get a clipboard and pencil, watch closely and make tally marks. This will help find a bad sensor/electrical component if the ECU is detecting it. Do this before you go taking things apart or having a repair shop start taking things apart. You don't want to just throw parts and money at it. Fortunately a lot of them are cheap if you shop around.
Certainly could have some bad fuel that plugged things up with that low of mileage. But you never know. Also....talking about passing gear...read up on the TV / Kickdown cable adjustment and bushing. This is a stupid little plastic thing that can easily kill your transmission!!! Very easy to make right and monitor, but they have a tendency to disconnect. Pay close attention to the skinny pedal. It should have a slushy/slow feeling to it. It should not be super-easy to push down, as in a stick-shift car. If it is, your kickdown cable has fallen off the throttle arm and you need to shut the car down immediately and re-attach it. Or put the selector in "1" and limp the car home in 1st gear then fix it.
The mechanic who looked at it said he'd change the fuel filter for me, but he's been really busy as of late. I've changed a fuel filter before, but because I take care of my Mom, who isn't in good health, I don't have the time to devote to replacing parts. Where is the factory pressure regulator? How do I check codes?
The pedal does have a slushy, slow feeling to it, so I believe that's ok.
If this is in the wrong section, mods, please move it to the appropriate section.
For a few months now, I've been having problems with my '86 Cougar GS 5.0 V8. This car has now close to 19,000 original miles as we bought it from a dealership, and the story is the car was driven very lightly by an elderly lady. Her and her husband bought it new in '86. I had to replace the spark plugs and eventually the plug wires as they were both original.
I changed the plugs months ago but kept the original plug wires on it. It eventually started jerking. The jerking only happens when I give it gas. If I let off the gas, it rolls without jerking. I noticed I don't feel the jerking nearly as much when it's put in D1. Eventually, I changed the plug wires a month ago. I couldn't do it earlier because I take care of my elderly Mom, and she wasn't doing well for a while, even ending up in the hospital a couple of times.
I still have the jerking, but now, it idles very roughly. I can really feel this while stopped at a light. It will rumble and bumble for lack of a better way to describe it. It shakes quite a bit. It doesn't have the power it once did as I can't even force it into passing gear. It also has a ping I can hear more than I used to. I thought maybe one of the wires wasn't fully on, so I checked the wires. Everything looks good. If I have the vent/air on and I start it up cold or after having it parked for a little while, sometimes, it will shut off. The firing order is right. I checked to make sure nothing was out of place under the hood, and everything looks ok. The distributor cap and rotor are the originals. The Cougar, oddly enough, came with a Honda battery and I haven't changed it yet.
It's driving me batty trying to figure this out. Does anyone have any ideas or could anyone help me pinpoint what's wrong? I spoke to a mechanic that has helped me out for years, but is busy a lot of the time. He took a drive in it and he told me it could be the distributor cap or rotor. He also thought it could be the fuel filter or even one or more of the injectors.
Any help would seriously be appreciated! I miss the Cat not purring like she should! :-(
Looks awesome! As a FYI it has the wrong size battery.
Thanks! I know, it came with the wrong size battery. I've wanted to change it, just haven't gotten around to it because of Mom being in and out of the hospital over the past year. I take care of her here at home.
Awesome Cat! Love the red! As for your question about your cat being the cleanest in existence... I may just have the most pristine Cougar in the country. I believe without a doubt, it's the most pristine Cougar you can find in South Carolina, where I live (specifically live in Inman). Bought this from a dealership in NC last year. It's a 1986 Cougar GS w/5.0L V8. It spent 99% of its life in Lenoir, NC owned by an elderly lady who kept it garaged and didn't drive it much. Although I can't be entirely sure, I highly doubt anyone can touch this car in terms of actual mileage. These pics were taken last year after I bought it, but the Cougar is still in pristine shape. Check out the pics...
As long as the motor is warm, it will continue to do it. If it's cold, whether starting it for the first time, or after the motor has cooled down, it's smooth.
Where do you find the coil and ignition module? My other question is, will the car shut off while it's still doing this? So far it hasn't, but I'm wondering if it might. Money is tight right now, so I can't change out a lot of parts on it.
I'm having a problem that I'm scratching my head trying to figure out. I had posted a month or so that I had changed my spark plugs as they were the original spark plugs that came on the car. I have an '86 Cougar 5.0 V8. I get smooth idle when I first start the car for the day. If I go somewhere after the motor has warmed up, then come out to start the car again, it idles pretty rough (rumbling and bumbling the way it feels), almost to the point it acts like it wants to cut off. I haven't changed the spark plug wires, distributor or rotor.
Anyone got any ideas? Any help would be greatly appreciated! :-D
Wires MAYBE as rubber does corrode but some leakage isn't going to cause these symptoms.