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302 cfi issues

8K views 23 replies 2 participants last post by  85ltdcrownvic 
#1 ·
Nobody on crownvic.net or moddedmustangs knows a thing about cfi motors so you guys gotta come through for me lol. So Ive got a few problems Im trying to correct on my 85 ltd crown vic 302 cfi.

One thing that drives me crazy is that the fast idle cam will get stuck until I manually pull it off the little hook thing. The diaphragm is ok because itll hold vacuum but the hook thing that holds the fast idle cam will not retract so Im thinking its the electric heating element but my multimeter just died so I cant test it at the moment.

Another problem is that itll hunt for idle a bit but itd throwing a code 34 so it might be related to that.

And the steering rack is leaking out of the pitman arm and other seals, is that normal?
 
#2 ·
Oh and on the egr spacer theres a valve thing thats been capped off even though it shouldnt. Where should this go? Its on the left side of this photo, the bottom cut off hose is where its capped off and the other side goes to the intake manifold.
 

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#4 ·
Thanks I can really use those! I do have a multimeter and have checked the tps but then the battery died lol. Once I get a new battery Ill check the egr position sensor. I cleaned the egr and made sure it held vacuum so Im thinking the sensor may be acting up. Any idea about the coolant line? That one has me really stumped.
 
#6 ·
Yea I didnt think so lol but its not low on fluid and the power steering is fine its just dripping out of the seals onto my driveway. Ive heard its a common problem for these cars to blow power steering lines and it looks like at one time its happened. Theres grease, presumeably power steering fluid, and dirt, all over the lower front cover, oil pan and tranny pan.

Another thing to add is that as I was driving it home from the east coast of fl it overheated and I found coolant under the motor and there was some splashed on the hood insulator near the ac drier closer to the motor. I dont see any coolant lines in that area at all so Im lost at where it came from unless it was just a freak accident that shot out from somewhere else. Its running pretty good now and holding coolant which just throws another curveball at this lol.
 
#8 ·
Its at a normal level now (it was low before) and has been holding steady so far but I havent done a lot of driving with it but I did just get it registered so I can now. I know its holding pressure, the other day I took it for a couple mile drive then let it idle for about 30 mins and slowly undid the radiator cap and it hissed so its gotta be holding pressure. When I turn the car off it will gurgle through all the coolant lines so Im thinking its either getting air in somewhere or I didnt burp it enough still. I put in a new heater core, hooked up the lines (the po bypassed it, burped it a few times and its been holding the coolant steady so far but I wouldnt put it past it if one of the head gaskets was starting to go. Ill do a compression check as soon as I can.
 
#9 ·
Im not sure if I wrote it earlier but Ive been having trouble with the fast idle cam sticking and I think Ive found the problem. It seems to be a combination of the egr sticking, votm intermittently engaging and the thermistor on its way out. I know the votm isnt working right because last night I was driving home and the fast idle kicked in when I took off. I pulled over and noticed it was revving high, surging, and the votm was extended. I tried a few times to slam on the gas thinking it was the fast idle cam being hung up again and it finally came back to normal but engaged again as soon as I hit the gas to start driving. But the wierd thing is that sometimes when I drive itll behave and other times it wants to stay in fast idle and sometimes surge. What a pain! Any thoughts?
 
#10 ·
Well I reset my curb idle but the fast idle cam must have been messed with because it would catch when I gave even just a little bit of gas, so it would keep the revs up. I messed with it to the point that it wont engage at all but Id like to get it fixed so it will work again. Any ideas?
 
#11 ·
Any idea if anyone's rebuilt that carb in the last 30 years? It could be long over due. I haven't messed with carburetor idles and settings in years, and one of my experiences with old carbs is that there's a lot of sins and band-aids placed in the adjustments over the years. Might be worth going to Chiltons or Haynes and getting the book on the carb and it's adjustments and cook booking a total teardown.
 
#12 ·
I lucked out and got an 85 crown vic shop manual to help me out. I keep having to adjust the choke. Like today for example, I start the car and all is good until I hit the gas then the fast idle cam got stuck so it'd rev to like 2k and can hold 50 miles an hour without hitting the gas. I can sometimes slap the gas and itll go back to regular idle until I hit the gas again. Ok then after I let it sit for a few hours it started and idled fine, it wouldnt stick in high idle until about 5 miles down the road it stuck while I was cruising at about 50 mph (I did not hit the gas so I know it wasnt me). So I had to pull over, pull the air cleaner off, physically move the fast idle cam off the hook then mess with the fast idle screw then all was well. Im sure the next time I start it up itll stick again, Im not sure why its so intermittent but Im hoping the shop manual will help me with this.
 
#13 ·
Couple of possibilities, but if you are having to adjust the choke, that would be the place to start.. Not all choke thermostat springs are the same, they are sized to the spring return for the butterfly. If someone replaced it in the past with the wrong spec, you will have the wrong spring tension against the butterflies. You're heat source could be improperly applied, the inner ports could be fouled it's tough to tell, particularly since it doesn't seem to be consistent. Oncwe again, it might be time for a rebuild of the carb, including the choke.
 
#14 ·
I checked the choke wiring for continuity but keep getting strange numbers so Ill skip it. I reset the curb idle, its a tad low but its fine, and messed with the choke and so far its been idling well. I actually adjusted it so it doesnt kick on at all, Ill verify that after a couple more ignition cycles to rule out that the coil is moving erratically causing the fast idle cam to catch at strange times. Sometimes when it catches it will surge about 500rpms which I find odd. I also tried to check my base timing but Im not sure I did it right. There is a notch thats on the crank that I was looking at and it was about 120* btdc. Yea Im sure I did something wrong but I noticed even when spout was connected that spot didnt move so my timing isnt moving at all. Maybe just because there wasnt a load on the engine but I found it to be strange the timing wasnt moving with or without the spout connector plugged in. That was the only thing I saw to check timing.
 
#16 ·
Ill give that a try thanks. I used a buddys timing light but it lit up on that chunk that is missing on the drivers side of the motor around the middle. Im pretty sure Im doing something wrong because that cant be right, and yes it was the #1 spark plug wire I attached the lead to.
 
#17 ·
My buddy verified the timing was good so Im thinking heater element is faulty. I have to hold the gas for a bit to keep it running from a cold start and this is in florida... So I need to fix this. Also Im throwing a koer 41 so Im thinking its idling strange because the o2 sensor is not working correctly so its trying to hold an idle with an incorrect o2 sensor reading. Thats my theory anyway.
 
#19 ·
The problem is that it only uses 1 o2 sensor, and its on bank 1 so its tough to know if its on one bank or both short of pulling the plugs. Ill check again for vacuum leaks and check the plugs either today or tomorrow. Its strange how this thing idles, it can be relatively smooth, low, a small surge, randomly start idling higher (like when you turn on the ac, but I dont have ac at the moment), etc... Thats what makes me believe either the map sensor or o2 sensor as its having a hard time trying to find the correct idle rpm.
 
#21 ·
Haha yea its strange but I guess it wouldnt matter on a carb'd or cfi setup. Ill pull the plugs to verify its actually running lean. When I first start it up itll knock a few times and quiet down, my guess is detonation or mechanical damage. This happened after an oil change but only a quart or so of dirty, gas smelling oil came out so Im not sure why that would cause it to start making noises.
 
#22 ·
Im thinking it might be running lean due to me taking off the air cleaner to have better access to the choke cap and fast idle cam. I pulled the plugs and saw they smelled like gas and so does my exhaust so Im thinking its getting too much air with the air cleaner off its dousing the cylinders with gas to correct the afr and that would explain a knock on startup because itll run lean until the o2 sensor picks it up and richens the afr to get back to its target.

I checked the choke cap wiring and its getting 7vdc when warm so the wiring is ok but the choke cap doesnt get warm so Im thinking the bimetal spring is broken and not heating up. So far it looks like Ill just need a new choke cap, reset the fast idle and Ill be good to go!
 
#24 ·
Im going to reset the codes, reinstall the air cleaner and see if the lean code comes back. Im betting the air cleaner being off is causing the lean issue but I know the choke cap needs to be replaced. Thanks for all your help!
 
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