no, you said you lost all steering capabilities....what caused it????
Ah, in the accident! :hick: Sorry about that... It was because it had just started raining, and the oil hadn't washed to the sides of the road yet. Lititz is terrible for that, with their massive amounts of traffic. It was that bad, at first the cop tried telling me I had popped an oil line or something because you could see all the telltale rainbow colors on the ground right around the car (and on up the street)
Oh no, it's still there... just wobbly as hell xD The coolant overflow wailed it in the crash, bending and slightly mashing it in further on the shaft (Gotta love those compression-press pulleys)
To be honest, I'm on a bit of a limited budget for now (just past the holidays and all) So maybe $500 to $1,000? More towards spring and Summer I could possibly go higher. (Or even interest someone in a partial trade with my 302 I'm selling? :D )
So, for the lack of any better place to put it, I thought I'd throw up a bit of a story about my 1986 Thunderbird. I acquired the car from my father, who bought it all-but new back in 1987 (One owner, mysteriously traded it in after about 6 months... we found out why 3 years later) Turns out these cars have one flaw-- Ford Technicians. After a routine check up at the dealer, one of their techs overtightened a body bolt, piercing the main harness. Now at first, this really didn't cause any troubles. But, as time went on, it got weirder and weirder. At first, the car would sputter while driving, or shut off and pop right back on. Then, a few months later, it'd be sitting in our driveway, a parking lot, wherever; No one in it, no keys, nothing, and it would just choose to start right up and idle, as if you had remote start :hick: . Well, after countless trips to the dealer, and no luck fixing the problem, (Mind you, they changed EVERYTHING but the motor and harness) We finally get the shiznits of it and send it down to our local dealer, stating "Either you find the problem, or your eating the car and refunding what we paid." Two weeks later, they finish tearing the main harness apart to find the aforementioned bolt wedged into the harness, shorting out god knows what. After some tweaks and a few rolls if Vinyl Tape, she was good as new (literally, considering it was only 4 years old at this point ) Ever since, the car has run fine for years, only needing your occasional tuneup, oil changes every 3000, and of course, an alternator every 2, 2.5 years (It's a pig, I know...) And after 250,000 miles, it needed it's first trans swap (3 speed auto mind you - f*ing heavy) So we grab one from a local salvage yard, out of a 86 Cougar with only about 80,000 on it. So, we throw it in, and it of course runs great. Of course, this only lasted for 90 miles or so because some local kids thought it'd be a swell idea to include our car in their spree of thefts back in '95 or so, stealing it and basically taking out every gear but reverse. Did you ever try driving 10 miles in reverse to avoid paying for a tow? Yea, apparently neither had the cop, so he was laughing his ass off at us all the way home (I could see his face the whole time form the passenger seat...) Fun times though, really :D I'll never forget it. So, within a week, we were back to square one with the trans... So we hit up our local s yard, of course finding a less than stellar tranny with about 120,000 on it, still not in bad shape. We tear it out, bring it home and swap it in, and for the second time that week, had it fired up and running strong. (With added bonus mud and scratches to boot!) That tranny to this day is still in the car, which now has over 310,000 miles on it doesn't miss a shift, ever. I love this car, since I learned to drive in it, got my license in it, and took many a memorable trip in it. Sadly, her story doesn't end happily. After sitting for roughly two years (2003-2005-ish) from the lack of an inspection, I had sold my car at the time and needed transportation, hence how I acquired the car; My father had since been given a 1991 Tbird as a gift, since my friend's father thought it had a cracked block when in reality the head gasket had been mashed from factory right along the coolant journal on the passenger back corner. (Ran great, drank coolant... coincidence?) Slapped in a new set of gaskets from the heads up, and to this day it runs just as great as new. (only had about 40,000 on it when we got it, now I think about 120,000 last I looked) So I was given the car, which only needed some bodywork here and there to pass inspection (Our lower panels do not take kindly to Eastern PA's road salt...) Got it inspected, and drove it for about 3 months until April 2006, when fate had it out for me and my baby. It was a warm, drizzly Sunday morning, when I woke up early (8 A.M., lol) to head up to Hershey Park for a company event. I left the house around 9, going to pick up a friend. Now, where I was living at the time, roads were well paved, but treacherously slick with oil, and curvy to boot... Well, I had gotten about 2 miles away from my place when I rounded a right-bound S curve at about 20, and to my sheer disgust, lost all steering and plowed headfirst into a Subaru Wagon. Now, normally at slow speeds, these bumpers would just absorb the shock, maybe scarring the paint, but no... I had to hit her so oddly pen 15wards, the bumper shocks didn't even react-- the force shoved the whole front cowl to the right about 7 inches, murdering two headlamps and a bunch of fiberglass, pretty much totaling my front grill. This thus brings us to the present, where my baby still sits, patiently waiting for a transfer into a new body, or by some miracle being pulled straight and having panels changed or perhaps a new clip. Hard to say really, haven't torn it apart much (lack of space)
On the upswing, it still runs strong, no smoke, and I can still walk outside and fire it up without even so much as a second tap on the key. Hell, I drove it home for the last 3 miles of the tow home since our F150 decided to die on the way there (clogged Fuel filter) and it didn't even rub tires :burnout:
And now, since I'm sure your eyes are bleeding from reading, Pictures!! (Of why I hate wet roads):
Also, Don't mind the terrible paint job. That's the result of absolutely no paint left, and using about 10 cans of spray primer and 4 cans of paint. I'll get it professionally done next time, I promise :D
I'm looking for a rolling chassis for my '86 Elan. It can honestly be any 4 eyes from 83-86 and I wouldn't mind. Mine's been hit in the front driver's corner, and I'm afraid to even ask a frame shop what (if at all possible) it would cost to be pulled straight.
Literally all I need is a body, don't even need glass, interior, etc. Just the frame and a shell ^_~
So, I've got the original v8 out of my brother's 1988 Thunderbird Sport for sale. It's the stock 302, includes everything from the intake down to the oil pan. (No Accessories, i.e. Alt, A/C, etc.) The heads haven't been disturbed, pulled as a whole motor. (Just the intake is loose.)
Not really asking much, looking to really just get it off my hands and out of the garage space (Was originally going to use it in my '86 Elan, but figure I'd rather keep it the 3.8 cfi for nostalgia)
Asking price is $175 o.b.o., and motor is in good shape, no leaks, decently painted/clean, and to my knowledge has roughly 100,000 on it, give or take a few hundred. It ran clean when pulled 6 months ago, no smoke, noise, etc. Local pick up only, unless someone has a way to ship (I've never done something that large before, so I don't know how)
Located in York, PA (local zip 17347)
PM me if interested, will post pics when I get home from work.
Nah, when I release the key it stays running... or at least it attempts to. Just got back, getting ready to throw the cap on and start it up *crosses fingers* I've never had a neutral switch issue before, so I'm not sure if maybe that was just a stored code or not... I cleared them anyway, so if it returns I'll worry with it then
Here goes nothing! :hick:
**EDIT**
So it runs, smoother than this morning, and hopefully the cause was carbon build up leading to the detonation of the rotor. Thanks all!
Alright, I just got back from pulling the cap for laughs... and this is what I found (images attached)
My Dist. rotor is FRIED... what would cause that? It was perfect yesterday. Also, the cap's coil point is also charred and missing (now my dist. is filled with giblets...great...)
I'm heading off to grab a new cap and rotor, but I hope it doesn't do this again ><
But would that be enough to keep it from running at all? It literally sounds like I'm missing cylinders right now, that's how bad it runs. But I suppose I'll look into the ECT sensor a bit more, it's better than nothing :hick:
There are none, except for the normal 111, and then I also got:
21 (Engine Coolant Temperature (ECT) sensor out of range) 54 (Intake Air Temperature (IAT) or Vane Air Temperature (VAT) signal high) 57 Intermittent in Park/Neutral/ Switch or Neutral Pressure switch circuit 337 EGR feedback signal is/was was high
I couldn't warm up the engine, since it won't stay running long enough.
So, I'm back. The 87 TurboCoupe's been sold, and the new toy is giving me grief already. The car in question is my father's 1991 Thunderbird with the 3.8 multi point motor (Yes, the cursed one which runs ridiculously warm and has the grill opening sufficient for a Pinto). Originally the car came from a friend who thought the block was cracked, turns out the passenger head gasket was mangled on the water jacket, and coolant found it's way into the cylinder. After a complete top end overhaul, the car's been running great for about 3 years now, only having little issues now and again (faulty IAC, TFI module, etc.)
So out of nowhere the thing decides today it's going to crank, start, but sputter and shut off immediately. If the throttle is held, it will run, albeit py. It pops and cracks as if it's running rich (and believe me it is) but otherwise it'll run until the throttle's released.
I've checked the coil, it's fine, Fuel pressure at the rail is 40 psi, pumps runs good 'n loud (and yes, I checked to make sure there was gas in it... 3/4 tank XD), and I don't have any codes (other than it complaining the motor wasn't warm enough :D ) I'm honestly stumped, and rather than take it to the dealer I'd like to know if there's anything else I could test before 'fessing up some serious dough. Thanks!
I said to hell with it, and set up my own fan and fan controller. Got rid of the big, ugly fans, and kept the car cooler.
Could you send me some pics of your setup? I need some help deciding which I'd rather do... Take it to Ford or swap in say, a Taurus fan with an aftermarket controller...?
)
