302 no start?

[Kinserin]

Ugh.. Engines hate me. So its in a 1986 Mercury Cougar still (its the candidate for my 302 swap) and I had it running, 3~ days ago. Threw a battery at it and it started fine on the first try in over 6 years. Idled wicked rough but thats to be expected with fuel that old. I tried to load it onto my trailer yesterday and was having a helluva time getting it to even idle let alone drive properly, and now today it wont even start.. It can crank all day but still nothing.

I pulled the plugs and they was oil on all of'em, so I wiped it off and sanded the contacts just a hair to ensure sparking (I just want it running so I can go from there for a rebuild and what not) and I had spark, cleaned out the distributor and I even tried ether in the intake, and even that wont start it.. Its an EFI engine with a Speed Density system.

I've read a little tiny bit about a TFI (Thick Film Ignition?) module that appearntly just dies randomly? I'll have to check that tomorrow since its at my shop, but anyone else have any suggestions? The only guy I know that works on engines knows nothing about EFI and only ever does carbs.. But even then hes shoddy at best, like me.. We're not engine gurus by any means lol
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Convict1997]

The first things I'd check are

1 bad gas
2 timing
3 is it getting fuel


Let us know what you get from there. For a car that has sat that long I'd say the valve seals are probably shot and that might be where you're getting the oil on the plugs. Or, the motor could be just plain wore out and you might have worn piston rings allowing oil into the cylinder.

 

[Kinserin]

I pulled the fuel line just before the rail and it was redish in color.. Im not sure if the tank is plastic or not, but Im hoping it isnt rust. As for the timing, I havent checked it since I dont have a timing gun, and I know squat about timing anyways.

Im hoping the engine isnt 'worn' out because it only has 137k kms on it, half of what my 91s 4.0 had on it before I pulled it. And it did burn oil when I had it running the first time, and it was a lot of blue puking out of the exhaust, but my main goal is to have it run for a weekend and then tear it out for a full rebuild with new heads etc.. lol

 

[Exploderpilot]

Bad gas dude. I just spent the last 2 months trying to get 10 different cars running from storage. Every one we couldn't get started, pulled and cleaned the gas tank. Now they run fine.

 

[Kinserin]

How'd you go about cleaning the gas tank? I can pull it since its in an easy to get to location (and even if it isnt.. I dont mind beating the car up, all I want is to ensure the engine is running properly so I can use it for a bit then rebuild it) just under the trunk.

-Edit-

oh and what are the odds of the bad gas screwing up the injectors?

 

[Exploderpilot]

I just used mineral spirits. I poured a gallon into each gas tank, swirled it all around, then let it sit in the bottom of the tank a few hours. poured it out and put fresh gas in. had to crank some of them a long while to get all the old gas out of the lines, but eventually they fire. I would definitely recommend some injector cleaner though.

 

[Kinserin]

I'll try that tomorrow along with a set of new plugs and wires, and hope the distributor+rotor+cap+coil are all ok still. As for the old gas in the lines, couldnt you just turn the key to on and let the pump prime it all out of the system if you opened the pressure line up?

 

[Exploderpilot]

yeah you can do that too. my pops is a hippie and I have to do all this without polluting mother earth....

 

[Kinserin]

haha your dad would hate what the guys at my shop pour into the ground some days... Just knowing what they do sorta makes me feel bad.

If I end up having to replace all of my ignition components, should I just go straight for MSD Ignition parts? Or would I be better off with just part store brand for a trail rig?

 

[Exploderpilot]

I think it's personal preference. Some guys have no problems with stock stuff the life of their rig, some guys swear by the aftermarket. Basically, I look at the difference in price. If I can get an aftermarket product that looks like better quality than stock for say 60 instead of 50 bucks, I'll buy the aftermarket piece. But if it's 200 instead of 50, screw it.

 

[Kinserin]

Yeah Im just curious because I've never actually ever bought anything for my engines other than plugs and wires... And an air filter. I wish I was a lot more engine savvy but whenever I go to work on them, they never fire, so I cant ever actually 'work' on them, because Im to busy trying to figure wtf I just did to break a perfectly good engine lmao

 

[Exploderpilot]

Seriously, buy this book.
http://www.amazon.com/How-Build-Horsepower-David-Vizard/dp/0931472245
David Vizard is a genius at explaining engine building. And once you start reading his books, you learn the guts of ANY engine. so you actually learn theory and practice. Great source of knowledge. I have like 10 of his books.

 

[Kinserin]

Noticed the how to rebuild a small block chevy book, dont suppose hes got a small block ford book eh? At least I cant find it on amazon.ca, but the Canadian Amazon sucks...

 

[Exploderpilot]

I think he's a chevy specialist, but if you buy one of the general engine theory books, and a haynes manual for your car, between the two you can't go wrong ya know?

 

[Kinserin]

Got it running again, was a combination of a weak spark and the bad fuel. Got'er pulled and gettin ready to drop her in the Ex and see if I can get the EFI to work in my truck