Just bought 1990 SC sitting for 15 years

Rockwell90sc

Registered User
Hi, I am proud to finally be able to join these forums after a year and a half on tccoa. I just picked up a 1990 SC with 74k miles on it. It has been sitting for a super long time in a field. It isn't that rusty and it seems in fairly good shape, it had antifreeze and the oil doesn't seem to have mixed or anything. The car was parked due to an issue with the teves system I believe. The previous owner said he had to use 2 feet to stop the car all of a sudden. Also some wiring might have gotten chewed as well so that could be part of it. I've heard you can rebuild teves systems, how would I go about doing that? And how would I go about getting the car running for the first time in forever? Any help is appreciated.
 
Just my 2 cent's, but being parked 15 years, I'd be investigating mechanical condition of the engine(seized, valves stuck open,ect.) before spending any money or time on anything else. The rest of the brake system(calipers, park brake cables, rotors) likely hasn't faired very well either after all that time in a field.
 
Just my 2 cent's, but being parked 15 years, I'd be investigating mechanical condition of the engine(seized, valves stuck open,ect.) before spending any money or time on anything else. The rest of the brake system(calipers, park brake cables, rotors) likely hasn't faired very well either after all that time in a field.
Yea I was planning on replacing everything in the braking system anyways, but how would I check for stuck valves and such? I assume I can just throw a breaker bar on the crankshaft and turn it like that, but I'm not sure if that will determine about stuck valves or not. I was also planning to replace spark plugs and wires so maybe I should take a look inside the cylinders then? Should I worry about fuel lines as well? It's also an auto so idk how the aod has done sitting for that long.
 
My suggestion would be to bar it over with the plugs out & check for compression-finger over hole.
Any pressure at all at that speed(barring over) would ensure the rings arn't totally stuck & the valves are seating.

As far as the trans, the only thing I ever ran into-(not on a S/C though) was the slip yoke on drive shaft was so rusty on the exposed part outside
the trans that 1st time I drove it- the output seal got cut & it leaked badly. Since a S/C or XR-7 driveshaft doesn't really cycle in & out going over bumps like other car's, may not be a issue?
 
You might want to first check at the crank to see if it will turn at all (clockwise), then with the plugs out, squirt oil into each cylinder and spin it all the way over twice, then as Doug suggests, check each plug hole for compression w/finger. Of course, a holed piston, or gummed/rusted/stuck rings can lack compression just like a stuck valve...

Problem is how hard it can be to get to the plugs...

In the end, you might want to simply confirm it has good oil in it, then find a way to use the battery to spin it over. Note that with full throttle while cranking it should kill the injectors so you can see if it builds oil pressure before actually firing it.

Once it wants to turn over, and good oil, fuel and coolant are confirmed, see if it wants to start.
 
As KMT noted, to save yourself the frustration of pulling the plug's out at this time, maybe just bar it over 2 full revolutions & if nothing is binding crank it with starter & make sure it builds oil pressure & listen while cranking at WOT for a weak or low compression cylinder-hard to detect I know, if you dont know what you're listening for. Good luck, hope it works out for you.
 
As KMT noted, to save yourself the frustration of pulling the plug's out at this time, maybe just bar it over 2 full revolutions & if nothing is binding crank it with starter & make sure it builds oil pressure & listen while cranking at WOT for a weak or low compression cylinder-hard to detect I know, if you dont know what you're listening for. Good luck, hope it works out for you.
I will go ahead and do that, if that creates an issue with a stick valve or something then I would've just saved myself some extra trouble. It needs a new spark plug wire too. I gotta make sure the brake booster is back in as well. What about old gas? How would I remidy that?
 
You might want to first check at the crank to see if it will turn at all (clockwise), then with the plugs out, squirt oil into each cylinder and spin it all the way over twice, then as Doug suggests, check each plug hole for compression w/finger. Of course, a holed piston, or gummed/rusted/stuck rings can lack compression just like a stuck valve...

Problem is how hard it can be to get to the plugs...

In the end, you might want to simply confirm it has good oil in it, then find a way to use the battery to spin it over. Note that with full throttle while cranking it should kill the injectors so you can see if it builds oil pressure before actually firing it.

Once it wants to turn over, and good oil, fuel and coolant are confirmed, see if it wants to start.
There's almost no moisture in the crankcase, it was in a dry desert lot for all those years so nothing is overgrown around it. It also had a tarp over the engine and the intake was plugged and any other holes were plugged too. First thing first though I will do an oil change and a coolant flush and fix the brake master cylinder. Is there a place where I can get a new one?
 
My suggestion would be to bar it over with the plugs out & check for compression-finger over hole.
Any pressure at all at that speed(barring over) would ensure the rings arn't totally stuck & the valves are seating.

As far as the trans, the only thing I ever ran into-(not on a S/C though) was the slip yoke on drive shaft was so rusty on the exposed part outside
the trans that 1st time I drove it- the output seal got cut & it leaked badly. Since a S/C or XR-7 driveshaft doesn't really cycle in & out going over bumps like other car's, may not be a issue?
I'll go ahead and check that out, it only has 74k miles on it so it should be alright condition but I will definitely go ahead and take a look at that to see if there is any major rust. As far as I know there's no rust on the underside at all.
 
There's almost no moisture in the crankcase, it was in a dry desert lot for all those years so nothing is overgrown around it. It also had a tarp over the engine and the intake was plugged and any other holes were plugged too. First thing first though I will do an oil change and a coolant flush and fix the brake master cylinder. Is there a place where I can get a new one?
I don't think you'll ever find a new complete master cylinder/pump/ booster assy, but David Niebert did post a N.O.S. pump & motor assy on here Sept 6th. You could try P.M.ing him. You'll need to do some more in depth diagnostics first though, may just be the relay or pressure switch, fusible link, wiring issue. Hopefully it is something simple.
 
Used to be entire NOS Teves ABS units could be had for bug bucks, then there was a time when offers were made to have yours refurb'd, which I think basically included a new pressure switch and accumulator, perhaps a hyd. motor re-brush.

Point is today you may have to scratch around and piece it together. Pressure switches (GM/Buick) were MIA last time I checked, accumulators were available, but you had to dig around. There is a guy in Texas that will re-brush your hyd. motor, not sure he's still around.

Relays and corroded wiring are typical gremlins otherwise.

See this PDF for troubleshooting, ask questions as needed:
 
Used to be entire NOS Teves ABS units could be had for bug bucks, then there was a time when offers were made to have yours refurb'd, which I think basically included a new pressure switch and accumulator, perhaps a hyd. motor re-brush.

Point is today you may have to scratch around and piece it together. Pressure switches (GM/Buick) were MIA last time I checked, accumulators were available, but you had to dig around. There is a guy in Texas that will re-brush your hyd. motor, not sure he's still around.

Relays and corroded wiring are typical gremlins otherwise.

See this PDF for troubleshooting, ask questions as needed:
That pdf is amazing, thank you for that I appreciate it. The previous owner said he did rebuild it, I'll ask again to figure out whether it was part of the teves system or the brake booster. He says if I put it all back together it should work. He has many other old Ford projects so I do believe that he was just too busy to fix it properly. I think I might put it back in and see what's up with it then. If he rebuilt it properly and then let it sit would it still be useless? I would say no if it hadn't gotten any use but I'm not 100% sure.
 
I would highly recommend using an engine fogging oil spray in each cylinder. Sta-bil, Amsoil, CRC and many others make it. They do a great job of coating all the surfaces in the cylinder. Let the engine sit for a day after fogging the cylinders. Do this BEFORE you turn the motor at all. It can make all the necessary difference to prevent cracking piston rings. Then, as someone mentioned earlier, pay attention to the effort needed to turn the motor. Don't force it too much. Give it a couple of turns before even thinking of using the starter. I realize the car lived in a dry part of the country, but it's still worth playing it safe. Btw, the plugs are much easier to reach from underneath.
Many years ago, I stored a car for a winter (granted, it was Wisconsin) and I made the foolish mistake of firing it up and driving it down to Florida without taking any precautions. It went from never burning a drop of oil to burning a quart every 200 miles. I'm pretty sure I cracked some rings.
Good luck with it. It would be great to have another SC surviving to be driven again.
 
If he rebuilt it properly and then let it sit would it still be useless?
Depends on how long and under what conditions. Otherwise, the accumulator might need replacing, depending, again, on how long it sat and how old it was before it was off-lined. You don't have much choice but to work with as much as you have in parts, I think.
 
I would highly recommend using an engine fogging oil spray in each cylinder. Sta-bil, Amsoil, CRC and many others make it. They do a great job of coating all the surfaces in the cylinder. Let the engine sit for a day after fogging the cylinders. Do this BEFORE you turn the motor at all. It can make all the necessary difference to prevent cracking piston rings. Then, as someone mentioned earlier, pay attention to the effort needed to turn the motor. Don't force it too much. Give it a couple of turns before even thinking of using the starter. I realize the car lived in a dry part of the country, but it's still worth playing it safe. Btw, the plugs are much easier to reach from underneath.
Many years ago, I stored a car for a winter (granted, it was Wisconsin) and I made the foolish mistake of firing it up and driving it down to Florida without taking any precautions. It went from never burning a drop of oil to burning a quart every 200 miles. I'm pretty sure I cracked some rings.
Good luck with it. It would be great to have another SC surviving to be driven again.
I'll go ahead and do that. The car is getting towed into my driveway tomorrow. I'm gonna set it up on jackstands since I need to replace the tires as well. But I'll go ahead and do spark plugs as well, I think those are necessary.
 
Hi, I am proud to finally be able to join these forums after a year and a half on tccoa. I just picked up a 1990 SC with 74k miles on it. It has been sitting for a super long time in a field. It isn't that rusty and it seems in fairly good shape, it had antifreeze and the oil doesn't seem to have mixed or anything. The car was parked due to an issue with the teves system I believe. The previous owner said he had to use 2 feet to stop the car all of a sudden. Also some wiring might have gotten chewed as well so that could be part of it. I've heard you can rebuild teves systems, how would I go about doing that? And how would I go about getting the car running for the first time in forever? Any help is appreciated.
Brake problem happened to me many years ago, it was just a relay
 
Brake problem happened to me many years ago, it was just a relay
The relay happens to be missing, I don't think the old owner got around to replacing it. I'll go ahead and give that a shot, but I'm having a hard time figuring out how the accumulator attaches to the brake reservoir. Maybe I'm missing a piece but I don't see a single bolt hole on the accumulator and the cylinder attached to it besides one odd shaped one.
 
Sorry, that comment doesn't talk about how-to remove in detail.

Find a hex driver that will fit into the (6-sided?) recess on the top of the accumulator ball (see image below). Make sure all debris is removed so the driver fully seats...the ball might put up a fight. Use a breaker bar to remove.

Once it is loose, you might be able to finish by hand. Standard fine thread, turn ball counter-clockwise to remove.

Alternatively, you can try a strap wrench like the ones used for oil filters, but again, it might be tough to break loose.

Expect brake fluid to leak out if the ball has held pressure over time - wrap a rag/towel around the lower part of the ball where it screws in to reduce brake fluid/spray...it can damage paint, etc. Pump the brake pedal 10~20 times, at least, to help bleed off any pressure that might still be in the system.

With the ball removed, cover/plug the open port to protect it from debris.

However, not sure I'd do this just yet. The ball is expensive, so I'd want the system working so I could check it in operation first. Your choice of course.


Example...

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