Still having problems

35th T-bird SC

Registered User
I got the exhaust on and the car won't idle. Runs if I keep it around 1500. I was getting some drops of clear looking fluid out the tailpipes. Is this condensation from somewhere. The whole exhaust is brand new just put on this weekend. I'm not seeing good signs like bubbles in the overflow tank but that could be air in the system. No signs of oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil. My temp gauge does work I just had to let it run for 5 minutes. It got up to the middle range when it stalled as I tries to get it to idle warm. Now the starter doesn't want to work. Just get a click up near the battery when I turn the key so I can't run it more to diagnos the hissing air and whine I hear around the throttle body and SC area mainly at idle before it stalls. I might break down and get it towed to the Ford dealer this week. I turned the crank by hand ratchet to rule out the seizure or hydraulic lock that maybe would keep the starter from working. It turned easily. I'm not enough of a Super Coupe guru to figure this thing out, I'm getting frustrated because I put a lot of money into this rebuild and thought I did everything the right way.
 
Did you ever put fresh gas in it? I think the water coming out of your tail pipes is normal as my car does the same thing. It is just condensation, probably from the fuel, but not sure.

If you do rule that it was the fuel you might want to pull the plugs as they might be bad because of the fact.

Shane
 
I never got around to doing that, I was planning on driving the car a mile up the road to refuel tonite since there is only a quarter tank in her but now the starter won't turn. I don't know if I just lost the starter or if there is another problem. I might wimp out and take it to Ford. How much do you think they would charge for a diagnosis?
 
I think it depends on what they are diagnosising but probably between $60-90. There is a way to test the starter, but I dont remember how to do it.

Shane
 
Look for vaccuum leaks.

If you touched any part of the intake, Oh say maybe the EGR valve tube, for instance, or the intake tube, or pulled any hoses, those are the places to look at. Just changing out the steel exhaust lines and mufflers or cats should not cause a problem.
 
I had a concern about that egr tube, how do they seal together where the pipe from the manifold meets the pipe from the valve. Because mine didn't thread together or anything, both pipes were just pressed against each other.
It's gone now, tow truck came this morning. Ford ALMOST didn't accept the car. After I said I rebuilt it he said I'm sorry we don't want a SC but I told him I went to night school in auto tech and I threw out some things I did, like deck the block and mill the heads he changed his mind. He said he didn't want any back yard stuff but I told him when you pop the hood it looks completely stock and that I didn't do a back yard wire harness job etc etc.
 
The EGR intake is a steel tube which seals into the exhaust manifold on the passenger side. It feeds into a valve which opens and closes to allow exhaust gas to feed back into the intake manifold. If it wasn't reconnected and is just sitting there or even just covered up, that would be the problem. If it were capped, the car should idle, but the Nox emissions would be too high to pass a state test.
The EGR equipped setup uses 2 stage cats and the EGR-less setups have what are known as 3 stage cats.
Hope this helps.
 
How do they connect becasuse mine was two seperate pieces, one from the manifold and one from the egr valve. There was no way to connect them in the middle other than to push them tight against each other. Do you know what I mean? Is that the way they all are?
 
Why the line is separated, I don't know. If it looks like it was cut, someone pulled a monster-garage mod to move something out of the way. If you had the work done at a shop, they're the ones to talk to.

You might try using the handyman's helper: Duct tape. Seal over it when its cold and start it up for a minute to see if that fixes it. Remove the tape before it heats up very much. If that fixes you up, you will need to replace the tube, find some type of coupler for it, or fabricate something to patch it. ;) ;)

I don't have any pics as mine is non EGR equipped, but most of the manuals have diagrams.
 
From the one fragment of a picture for a 4.6 engine in the Haynes manual (pg 6-11), it looks like a single piece which attaches with one end at the valve and at other at the manifold using normal flare fittings. In the picture, it has one of those fiberglass weave coverings going the length of the tube. You might be able to find a coupler type fitting at a hydraulic shop or, with a bit of luck, at the hardware store.
 
Thanks for all the help but does anyone have a real life picture of how this egr tube looks unbroken? And does anyone have a good one for sale?
 
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