Not sure if a engine or tranny issue...92 SC/Auto

Buddy of mine went to check out a 92 SC/Auto today. The owner has all of the service records from Ford from day one. HG/Heads replaced by Ford 30K miles ago, suspension all redone by Ford. The guy spent boookooo bucks at the Ford dealer. Annnyyways.....

Driving it around on the flat, tranny shifted fine, boost was up there, all is good.

Get on the freeway on-ramp (which is uphill) at 50% pdal, pulled good through 1st and 2nd. When it shifted into 3rd, it was like it had MSD 6AL box on (tach dropped 3-400rpm). Got out of the throttle and back in and it was fine. He said he rolled into it on the freeway, the car flat out hauled the mail. Got off the freeway to loop back. The on-ramp the other direction was once again on a uphill incline....same thing, like a shudder-whole car shake.

The owner response when it did it the first was that he didn't know what it was...first time it did it. Thing is my friend didn't pull the dipstick....so who knows if the tranny was low, or the fluid is cooked?????? Or is it MAF/Fuel issue???

No CE lights, power good....but what in the wild world of sports was this hiccup???

Owner asking $2600 bucks, very motivated to sell. Friend was thinking about offering 1800-2000 bucks. Odometer is showing 150K, but the odometer is not counting, speedo works, and the A/C turns on but not cold. Body is dead straight, original Black paint-not faded, interior is clean-no rips, new brakes, tires near new, suspension/shocks,HG/Valve job, oil changes all done by the Ford dealer. Carfax is clean.

Whatcha guys thing is going on with it??

Thanks

sounds like the tranny,mabye OD bands slipping.

But that would cause the rpms to go up.......in this case....the rpms dropped

Any other possible ideas???????

I think it had a stumble that affected the electronics in such a way that the tach dropped out/jumped from being on/off/on'd. If not that - perhaps the auto trans hiccup'd/hunted for another gear and tried a quick up/downshift, then decided differently. Any chance the pavement was wet/tires bald and it spun the tires, then bit?

These cars are hitting the age where grounds and ground paths deteriorate and start causing a laundry list of electrical problems, which can include: cut-out, stumbling (tach dropping out/jumping around), missing, stalling, hard(er) starts, low idle, no-start, lights/accessory/gauge malfunction and loss of hair.

Sounds like bad plug wires are a possibility.

Some times its as simple as a cracked spark plug. Have seen this many times and it does just what you described. Shorted wire or bad coil. It could be the trans as well but I will bet something in the ignition system. 150K is alot of miles on a tranny.

check all grounds. sounds like a good deal to me!

uphill battle

sounds to me like the beginnings of a harmonic balancer going. had the identical prob myself. and, it will get worse.

If it is the balancer, what's the best way to check? What's the fix??? Is it as simple as replacing the balancer?

Update!!!!

Went with my buddy today to check out the car myself.

Its not a tranny issue.

It does it when it want to....under load or in park.....

The car can be in park, and if you floor it.....it will studder and buck and then rev up. Two seconds later....its fine.

Driving it........

Taking off from a light.....less than 10% pedal or so....its fine.
More than say 10%....bucks. The next light at heavy pedal...runs great.

Go to the next light....its runs like a bat out of hell.

On the freeway, ran fine. Go WOT...pulls hard. Next time you go mid pedal/5psi of boost...hesitates...then its fine. Or it will back to back to back....hesitate everytime you get a little into the pedal.....then its fine.

MY GUESS.....(.02 of worth)

MAF
TPS
Alternator
Plugs/Wires
???

One point in the parking lot, when bringing it up on the converter....it hesitated/bucked...then died. Started it right back up, brought it up on stall and it was fine.

Looking at all of the service records (its about 2 inches thick all from Ford), the heads were done by ford, and they replaced the balancer. Fuel pump has been replaced by ford. There is receipt for a fuel line installed by Ford also.

Kinda perplexed. Drove a 95 SC today also (another one for sale)....and it seemed that it was quicker than the 92 (SOTP feel), but the 92 runs great when it doesn't hesitate/buck.

Only other thing on the car is under heavy braking the ABS and Brake lights come on.

But the interior on the car is like brand new, the paint is shiny (couple of chips being that its black), and its runs really good when it doesn't hesitate and stall.

>Kinda perplexed.

Know how to pull the codes..? - this helps to reduce the confusion/guess work.

>under heavy braking the ABS and Brake lights come on.

Time for at least a fresh accumulator for the ABS unit.

>...runs really good when it doesn't hesitate and stall.

...just wait...

There are a number of possible issues but it doesn't sound too bad. Could be anywhere between $0 to $600 to fix.

• HB could be shot whacking out the crank sensor. Remove all the belts and watch the HB spin. Pull on it like your picking up the end of a barbell.
• Crank Sensor could be shot. Watch the tack and see if it jumps around.
• Pugs and wires could be having issues. How many miles on the car?
• Is there an aftermarket coil installed?
• It's a long shot, but check the fuel pressure and insure there's no creased fuel lines under the car.

The car is solid stock.

I did notice when it was parked.....that when the rpm was coming down, the tach needle would wiggle around the 3K mark. But driving around it when its not bucking....the tach is solid.

The heads were done about 40K miles ago..........so plugs and wires could be.

The balancer is new and was done at the time of the heads.

Also, just remembered.....

The oil pressure gauge was at the very bottom within the normal. Engine wasn't making any noises. Thinking