1998 Explorer 5.0 “Restoration2021” project

[EB4X]

Did the cold start and it struggled. Stalled at first. chugged on second start and eventually got itself together and idled. Just some more spitballing, but sounds like possible minor vacuum leak that once the engine/area is slightly warmed up / expanded, the leak is then temporarily sealed, hence the now stabilized idle / smooth running.

 

[SuperGordo]

Ok, here is how today went.
Work forced me into a junkyard run. So I grabbed some EX parts while I was there. I was lucky to find a 98 5.0 Mountaineer. So I grabbed a throttle body with the TPS, a new Oil pressure gauge from the cluster and some small stuff. I swapped the TB and bolted down the coil bracket properly. I did realize today that up to this point I haven't put the nut on the throttle cable bracket on the bottom stud of the throttle body bolt or the one that holds the bracket to the coil bracket. So I locked those down today too. I think the throttle cable was pulling the throttle blade more than it should. We will see tomorrow.

I got a bit too excited and didn't take the engine temp reading before starting the EX. However. It was 100 degrees out. The car started perfectly on first key turn. By the time I plugged in the scanner and got to live data engine temp was 130. It took me less than 5 min to get it plugged in. I let it idle for a loooooong time before I took it for a drive. Again engine temp is perfect. No leaks either. However It did have a pending code for p0307. Misfire cylinder 7. So i cleared the code and went for a drive. The pending code never came back. I stopped and bought one spark plug. Decided that I will change the one plug and inspect the wire. Now there is no spark knock at all. So things are getting better. Guess I'll have to wait till tomorrow morning to do a 80 degree start and see how it does.

Either way. Sometime this weekend I will vacuum and charge the AC. and send it home to my daughter. I drove it up to 85mph and it was great. Drove at wide open throttle to almost 5,000 rpm and everything was great. I really like driving this thing. So here we are again me wanting one for myself... sigh

 

[SuperGordo]

Did the cold start and it struggled. Stalled at first. chugged on second start and eventually got itself together and idled. Just some more spitballing, but sounds like possible minor vacuum leak that once the engine/area is slightly warmed up / expanded, the leak is then temporarily sealed, hence the now stabilized idle / smooth running.

I agree with you. I just saw your post. I did a bunch of stuff today. Going to re try the cold start test in the morning tomorrow. We shall see...

 

[SuperGordo]

Ok first start today. Coolant temp 82.5 degrees. 81 degrees outside. Started perfectly first try. Also replaced number 7 spark plug. When I pulled the boot off the brand new number 7 plug wire, the metal clip broke off the wire and stayed on the spark plug. SO I just swapped the other number 7 wire in. Seems to run well. I'll hook up the Solus and see if number 7 is better now on a cylinder contribution test. But first to do some dash work and change the oil gauge.

 

[SuperGordo]

Installed the cluster oil gauge. It's in the right position and it activates when the key is on. But it stays at zero. I think the oil sender isn't getting a good ground. As I have a couple adapters in there for the external oil pressure gauge too. So need to check that out.

 

[SuperGordo]

Ran the cylinder contribution test and there is no longer any misfires on 7. That's good!
I also ran the idle control test and now I can get the idle real low during the test. Which is different than it was the other day. I think my mistake with the poor starting was not having the throttle cable bracket completely bolted down.
Just filled the AC system and the system itself is running fine though the vents are stuck on defrost so clearly the vacuum supply is amiss somewhere along the way. It was fine before the engine swap, so I must have disturbed something in there.

Gonna drive it some more and see how it goes.

 

[SuperGordo]

So I went out just now and did the first start. It's about 79 degrees right now. The coolant temp is about 79 degrees. it started the first try, but it did stumble for a bit before it normalize itself. So this is interesting...

 

[SuperGordo]

I was going to give an update last night but then i stumbled onto 410Fortunes 5.0 5speed Sport Trac thread! So I spent an hour reading that till i got tired. What a cool project! Now i want a 5 speed 5.0 explorer. Really cool stuff.

Anyway yesterday i found a broken section of the vacuum supply line to the HVAC. Fixed that and the AC vents are working fine now.
I grounded the oil sending unit and it still doesn’t make the gauge work. So now I’m assuming i have a crappy sending unit. Which is pretty common with aftermarket senders. So I’ll have to find a different one. I drove it around a bunch again last night. Seems fo be doing pretty well.
Did the cold start today, 78 degrees out and it started first try. Seemed pretty normal.
maybe the HVAC vacuum leak was contributing to the cold hard starts. I’ll keep an eye on it.
Still getting some spark knock. So I decided to simply put premium fuel in it and see how it does. I think ive reached the point where I need to give it back to my daughter and let her use it and keep an eye on it.
Need to make sure I’m not over thinking things and looking for problems that don’t exist. Guess we shall see.

 

[410Fortune]

I will be starting my own personal sport trac build right after I deliver the 07 ranger

Ttb trac! Stroker? Diesel? 4 cyl turbo? We shall see it’s for sure getting a Dana 44 ttb and some long travel

 

[SuperGordo]

I will be starting my own personal sport trac build right after I deliver the 07 ranger

Ttb trac! Stroker? Diesel? 4 cyl turbo? We shall see it’s for sure getting a Dana 44 ttb and some long travel

Sounds like a ton of fun!

 

[SuperGordo]

OK. Got the EX passed smog test this morning. "Cold" starts have been good.
Need to find a better oil pressure sender. Need yet another mechanical oil pressure gauge. I guess when they sit in the sun in the car they get wound up. The second one I installed now sits at 55 when the car is off.
Going to have the daughter take it in for tire rotate and balance at Discount Tire.
Needs a wheel alignment from the rack replacement.

AC is working good. Though the airflow from the far left vent is pretty poor. Anyone fixed that before? Maybe it needs fresh foam around the ends of the duct??

So far things are good.

 

[SuperGordo]

I will be starting my own personal sport trac build right after I deliver the 07 ranger

Ttb trac! Stroker? Diesel? 4 cyl turbo? We shall see it’s for sure getting a Dana 44 ttb and some long travel

Just go with a 347 stroker with AFR heads!

 

[SuperGordo]

Just go with a 347 stroker with AFR heads!

My son and I are building a 347 with AFR heads for our 1985 Capri RS. So I'm biased

 

[SuperGordo]

Did a cold start this morning. Scanner shows coolant temp at 82 degrees. The EX started right away. I'd think that the vacuum leak I fixed had a small part in the rough cold starts.
I need to make sure I have some type of working oil pressure gauge and send this vehicle out for daily use.

 

[SuperGordo]

I was going to do another cold start check today but at 8 am it was 91 degrees. That's above the 78 degrees the problems seem to happen around. hahaha!

 

[SuperGordo]

Who among us has installed external gauges? Where have you happily mounted them?

 

[SuperGordo]

Called the Ford dealer. They have the oil sender in stock. Going to get one today from there and see if I can get the dash gauge to work. My Daughter has to renew the registration then the EX can go back on the road. At this point I figure it needs to drive and if anything comes up I can deal with it one thing at a time. She kept the inside nice and clean. I'm happy about that. Those of you who saw where this started, this EX was a mess. Plenty work from several friends went into it to make the inside nice. It is still clean and comfortable.
It's time for this one to go back to daily duty.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Who among us has installed external gauges? Where have you happily mounted them?

not really gauges but ive put switches where the message center/cubby (for the rest of us) was

on others ive put gauges on the A pillar or the dash above the radio (i tried to make it look like the pitch and roll gauge in the 1st gen 4runners)

 

[DintDobbs]

@SuperGordo There's nothing like finishing a good project! Always great to see another Explorer back in good shape.