Running rough...code 18

BTW, when in July and where are you coming on down to TX?

 

Eddie (the latest mechanic to work on the CV) suspects the timing chain has slipped. He is only finding 14" of vacuum at idle and 90 psi of compression on the #1 cylinder. He set the #1 piston to TDC and the timing is way out. He thinks the engine had the nylon/composite coated teeth on the timing set and the coating has begun to disintegrate. He's tracking down parts before tearing it down to verify this. Assuming he is correct, is there any way to pull the oil pan to clean it out without pulling the engine?

 

The Falcon Club of America is holding their national meeting in Irving TX from July 7-10...assuming you guys have power back by then.

 

I doubt that the gear has crumbled apart. I've never seen a SBF do that. My guess is it's just worn enough that it just runs that bad. Back when the 240 Ford 6cyl came out they would shear off the plastic teeth on the cam gear. There was enough room with the front cover off to fish out all the big pieces in the pan. The rest we would flush out with mineral spirits. There wasn't any worry about pieces running through the engine because when the gear came apart it just quit. The 302 timing gear isn't made like that.
Once someone went in there and pulled the distributor to do repairs they reinstalled it with the distributor in time with the crankshaft timing mark but the cam was still out of time. That just causes the next guy working on it more time to figure out what's wrong.

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The Ford engine factory timing gears are Nylon-covered aluminum, up to the point they figured out it was a bad idea. I've had a 302 Granada and my brother had a 302 Zephyr wagon, which had those gears, and both crumbled, causing a timing chain jump in both instances. I also mentioned my '74 Ranchero's 351C, and it was totally devoid of nylon on the aluminum gear when I pulled off the timing cover. The Granada still had some Nylon at the base of the teeth. Anyway, it can be said that if the timing set was replaced, both the chain, and the dizzy, can be off one tooth, but when just doing the timing set, you don't remove the dizzy as it's in the block, not the timing cover.

 

As long as everyone's heat pumps don't bring down the grid, I think we'll be fine then. I'll talk to Joe and Ash about going out to the show, as her parents live in Richardson, I think. And Joe and I can hunt up the junkyards while we're up there.

 

Thanks for the thoughts on my problem. I think I'll suggest that Eddie run a borescope through the drain plugs if he's concerned about plastic in the oil pan. That should be cheaper than pulling the pan.

Silvertwinkiehobo...look forward to see in you TX in July if things work out. We can work out the details later.

 

We have time, and I'd like Joe and I to have the Butterscotch Barge running anyway.

 

Still no joy with the CV. Eddie has worked on it intermittently. It idles fine but will still not rev up. If he pulls a wire off the alternator (green with red trace) it will rev fine. As soon as he touches that wire to the alternator, it starts cutting out again.

The green/red wire shows as part of the instaclear windshield. Don't have eyes on the car now and not sure if it had/has that windshield in it or not. I've found an article (may be a Ford bulletin) that tells how to modify the wiring if you want to replace the windshield with a regular windshield. I'll share that with Eddie and let him look into it the next time he can work on the car.

 

A shill for Advance Auto should be, that's usually where the malwares are hidden. If a well-known member just said 'Go to Advance, they're cheaper than parts store XYZ,' with no highlighted links, I'd say that would be safe to leave.

 

In addition to probable malware, I don't think hellacd70 is adding any value to the discussion. If I thought a coupon would help Eddie solve the problem, I'd certainly get him one.

Think we're better off without him/her.

 

Yeah, I'm naturally suspicious anyway, and have learned the hard lessons about clicking bait. Even if it quacks, waddles and swims like a duck, it's likely not a duck.

 

I missed this the first time around, it's hysterical and absolutely true. "Running rough and it keeps throwing code 18? Here, have this 10% off coupon to AutoZone and they'll get you squared away" sounds way too good to be believed...