Well, my new wheels/tires gave me a few weeks of enjoying driving the car again, until yesterday that is...
Very weird confluence of events that seem initially unrelated but ...who the hell knows.
Drove it a couple miles up to McDonalds for an iced coffee yesterday morning, started ok, but I noted a strain on the starter, like it didn't have enough oommphh, or the bendix was sticking briefly...drove out the development ok, but when I pulled onto the main road I noticed a pre ignition rattle when I gassed it even moderately...
Got my coffee and started home, and 1/2 way pulling up to a red light I noticed a miss...was shaking slightly, thought it might stall but didn't, got it home and popped the hood.
Looking at the crank pulley etc. because that was the last thing done on the car, it has a new BHJ on it , maybe 1500 miles....
Everything up front looked good, no wobbles, crank bolt present, then I notice smoke coming from under the driver's side firewall, under the master cylinder. Turn car off. Flashlight reveals oil all over the place, on the top of the valve cover and down that side of the engine...hmmm. Jack it up, look under, can't find a hose loose or crack in anything. Start it up, and immediately I see oil spraying out of a small hole in the dipstick tube, about 6 inches down. Well, The tube lost the tack welded strap a decade ago, but I never secured it better and didn't pose an issue, till yesterday of course.
So hey, I'm thinking "maybe caused a vacuum leak/ miss"...I get some lacquer thinner and clean the tube, some JBWeld quick, and go do my lawn work. Couple hours later, put the dipstick back in the tube , secure the tube temporarily, and start the car. Problem solved.
Well, 1 problem solved.
I take it for a spin and the pre-ignition is still there, and now I've got gray smoke (not steam) coming out the tailpipes. Turn it off, check oil...looks clean and good. Check the rad, coolant is full and looks ok.
Start it again and the starter strains a bit and starts it ok, but it's missing and more smoke.
get my GF to follow me up to the shop to drop it off, and the smoke is bad at times, she said it smelled like oil/ petrol.
Spoke to Bryan this morning and his knee-jerk was that it was a timing issue, even down to the starter part of it since a pre-ignition condition is causing the car to fire before it actually normally would.
The good; The tech at the local shop is an old Ford ASE guy that was working at the dealership level when SC s were made, and he's worked on my car untold times, so he knows it well.
Ideas and comment welcome. I've never seen anything quite like this before. Day before, It was running perfectly, and i wasn't beating on it...What really has me nuts is the dipstick tube issue, what are the chances of these things all happening at once and not being related
?
T-Bird SCs=Never a dull moment...
Very weird confluence of events that seem initially unrelated but ...who the hell knows.
Drove it a couple miles up to McDonalds for an iced coffee yesterday morning, started ok, but I noted a strain on the starter, like it didn't have enough oommphh, or the bendix was sticking briefly...drove out the development ok, but when I pulled onto the main road I noticed a pre ignition rattle when I gassed it even moderately...
Got my coffee and started home, and 1/2 way pulling up to a red light I noticed a miss...was shaking slightly, thought it might stall but didn't, got it home and popped the hood.
Looking at the crank pulley etc. because that was the last thing done on the car, it has a new BHJ on it , maybe 1500 miles....
Everything up front looked good, no wobbles, crank bolt present, then I notice smoke coming from under the driver's side firewall, under the master cylinder. Turn car off. Flashlight reveals oil all over the place, on the top of the valve cover and down that side of the engine...hmmm. Jack it up, look under, can't find a hose loose or crack in anything. Start it up, and immediately I see oil spraying out of a small hole in the dipstick tube, about 6 inches down. Well, The tube lost the tack welded strap a decade ago, but I never secured it better and didn't pose an issue, till yesterday of course.
So hey, I'm thinking "maybe caused a vacuum leak/ miss"...I get some lacquer thinner and clean the tube, some JBWeld quick, and go do my lawn work. Couple hours later, put the dipstick back in the tube , secure the tube temporarily, and start the car. Problem solved.
Well, 1 problem solved.
I take it for a spin and the pre-ignition is still there, and now I've got gray smoke (not steam) coming out the tailpipes. Turn it off, check oil...looks clean and good. Check the rad, coolant is full and looks ok.
Start it again and the starter strains a bit and starts it ok, but it's missing and more smoke.
get my GF to follow me up to the shop to drop it off, and the smoke is bad at times, she said it smelled like oil/ petrol.
Spoke to Bryan this morning and his knee-jerk was that it was a timing issue, even down to the starter part of it since a pre-ignition condition is causing the car to fire before it actually normally would.
The good; The tech at the local shop is an old Ford ASE guy that was working at the dealership level when SC s were made, and he's worked on my car untold times, so he knows it well.
Ideas and comment welcome. I've never seen anything quite like this before. Day before, It was running perfectly, and i wasn't beating on it...What really has me nuts is the dipstick tube issue, what are the chances of these things all happening at once and not being related
?
T-Bird SCs=Never a dull moment...
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