Other problems-94 Supercoupe 3.8L

M

MDWoggon

Guest
Got a 94 Ford Thunderbird 3.8L Supercoupe (black.) I've replaced my head gaskets-had antifreeze in the oil, then it wouldn't start. Service shop got it started, not exactly sure what they did besides replacing some tune-up items. Couple weeks later it died again and wouldn't restart, same shop couldn't figure out what the problem was. Towed it to the dealer who found out the converters were clogged. Converters are to expensive at dealer so towed to a muffler shop for aftermarket converters. Car ran okay afterwards except for check engine light is on and cutting out when accelerating, just recently found out electrical plug behind EGR wasn't plugged in causing check engine light and cut out problem (awesome to have the 'power' back in the motor.) Not long after previous problems, car 'ate' couple serpertine belts and I found out the bolt at the end of the crankshaft/harmonic balancer was broke off, forunately it reversed out pretty easily with a reverse drill bit and I got a new one at the hardware shop fairly cheap. Then I started experiencing overheating problems and found out the fan wasn't working, turned out that fuse in box under hood had shorted out and burnt up it's connection, got that fixed by installing a circuit breaker separate from the fuse box. So then I replaced the power steering pump cause of the noise from the pump and now it's runs really rough at normal idle and idles at about 2500rpm at times then drops back down to about 1000 or below and runs rough enough to shake the whole car and act like it's gonna die. Suspicious that IAC or TPS might be the cause, but I read a couple posts here about the harmonic balancer maybe being the source of that. About frustrated enough to take the car back to the dealer to get the car running normally again. Really like the car but sure has been a source of alot of stress over the time I've had it. Also, has a problem with clutch/shifting in cold temps. and afraid to find out how much that'll cost.

Sort of looking for a little feedback and hoped other people with similiar problems could get information to help fix the same problems I've had.

(Not to mention the black paint is faded badly.)
 
wow that really sucks. sorry to hear. i just got my 95 sc black auto withy 82k. pretty mint. cond. only spent about 1000 to fix it up . mechanically wise. just needed a good tune up and some reg maint. paint is really mint.
 
Too long, I stopped reading after you changed the cats.

Did you change the O2 sensors when you did the cats? If not, that might cause you to have some issues down the road.
 
Sorry to hear about all your problems, a SC can put you thru some hoops when it wants some attention. The broken dampener bolt is a real bad sign of a harmonic dampener on its way out. (BHJ or new alternative under group buy)

It could be the source of the surging/dropping idle but with all the people / activities you've had under the hood, it is more likely a vacuum leak. (unlit propane torch test or spinning-wheels.com's intake pressurizer)

Once you have it running right, ALL your frustration will be replaced with a force-fed GRIN :))))) SCya :->>>>>>>>>
Good Luck
 
Speaking of problems with black SCs..
i just changed the alternator, starter, and water pump, in the last few months. SInce i got the car i've replaced a few belts, patched the radiator, and changed a motor mount. Welcome to the frustrating world of SC ownership.
But, there is nothing i would trade for a nice drive on a cool night with the windows down.

My motor mount problem shook through the entire car, that might be something for you to check.

g'luck
-Nick
 
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