seems like a miss under load at low rpm???

ALIENMAN

Registered User
hey all i have a 90sc, auto, canadian version (not that it makes a big diff) it seems like when i am accelerating after the engine has warmed up it will sputter. it really only happens under load at low rpm though. it all started after i had the head gaskets changed. the guy who did it put in champion double platnium plugs which i didn;t like but it was too late by the time i found out. it sputtered after that so i put in new wires, then i had to do the water pump then i did fuel pump and fuel filter and then i did the timing cover gasket. still sputtering...... Help me please. could it be just crappy champion plugs?
 
Well, what kind of wires do you have on it, how many miles on them? Plugs could be problem because Champion are junk but make sure everything else is fine. Definately sounds like an electrical problem of some sort with it only manifesting itself when it is warm.
 
I'm betting that your crank sensor is getting ready to take a dump. Mine has been doing the same thing lately. I had an oil leak from the top of the engine and still have one from the front seal and that was getting into where my crank sensor is. I've used several cans of engine de-greaser within the past 2 weeks and have seen a great improvement. It still does it every now and again, but nowhere near what it was doing before. Start with that, and if you see an improvement, you know it is your crank sensor. I also saw a post earlier on how to change your crank sensor with out taking off your HB. It was very informative with pictures and labels as well.
 
i just put factory ford wires on it, they have prolly 600 miles on them. is there any easy way to change the plugs in this car?

where do i have to spray degreaser to make sure to get the crank sensor and should i use a pressure washer. is there any codes or anything that would come up cause i used a code reader and checked the memory codes and ran the tests that the code machine could do and nuthin came up.
 
I didn't have any codes at all when mine was really acting up. And you won't have any codes at, even if it fails completely. What you will get is the "upshift" arrow will remain on while you are cranking the engine, and the engine won't start.

The engine degreaser should really only be tried if you have had an oil leak. I'm guessing that you probably have, because it seems like most of these cars get them over time. Your crank sensor is located behind the plastic cover that is over the harmonic balancer, (just behind your crank pulley). It is actually positioned about 1/2 way up (behind) the crank pulley on the passenger side. It is easiest to get from below, so I would strongly recommend the use of jack stands. I just made it an engine cleaning event for my car and completely cleaned the whole thing. Begin from the top of the engine and work your way down. That way you make sure that nothing is dripping down into where the crank sensor is from above. Use caution around the electrical parts of the engine too. The simply rinse it off with water from the hose. I would not recommend a pressure washer at all. That will force water into places it would not normally be bale to get to which can cause problems for you.

The plugs are not too bad to change with the exception of the #4 plug (front driver's side plug) which is a b!^@# to get to. The easiest thing to do there is to remove the upper IC tube to get to the plug. You must reseal the IC tubes when you do this. Tbird88 has some excellent re-useable gaskets for the IC tubes. Although I have not needed to remove the IC tubes yet, I don't have them, but have heard nothing but good things about them.

The symptoms you descibe makes me think that it is the crank sensor though. I have had both bad plugs and wires as well as a bad crank. Although the symptoms are similar, they are far enough different to easily tell the difference. Bad plugs and/or wires will give you a "bucking" sensation. It is quite jerky and will happen at any rpm under load. A failing crank sensor tends to begine with a "sputter" that is not nearly as violent as the plugs/wires issue. The crank sensor does not tend to show its symptoms until the car is at normal operating temps either. At least that is the way it has been with mine. And then, only at low rpms (below 2k). At higher rpms it works just fine. This is what I found to be true with my car, so it may be different with yours. I hope this info helps you though in figuring out what is wrong.
 
Maybe the TV cable adjustment.

The second time my '90 AOD went back together, it was stumbling and pinging under medium pressure. After re-adjusting the TV cable at the throttle so it would downshift sooner, the problem was gone.

It may sound TOO simple, but it worked. ;)

Lee
 
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well i get under the hood today to try to adjust that cable and there is a leak so i bring it in to the ford dealer and they say now the thermostat housing is leaking onto the timing cover so maybe the $900 timing cover gasket didn;t need to be changed and it was just the thermostat gasket. so i grab a gasket and go to change that myself and oh surprise the bypass hose from the water pump to the thermostat housing is cut right through from the clamp. in my opinion ford mechanics in saskatchewan don;t know nuthin. we need more mechanics and less "technicians".
 
Yeah, a coolant leak above the timing cover can produce the same miss. I was told "Fantastic" is the cleaner of choice for getting the dried antifreeze cleaned out...
 
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