97 exporer 5.0 running rich? help

[Young_unn]

hey im new here, also im new to fuel injection and computers in cars.

i have a 98 ford ranger with a 97 ford explorer 5.0 in it.

everything to do with the motor and trans is the explorer but in the body of the ranger.

the 5.0 to the best of my knowledge has the gt40p heads on it, i think it has the E303 ford racing cam, (i think its this cam, not 100% sure) i know the motor has a mild cam in it though. it has aftermarket injectors (teal, buddy thinks they are 150) and a cold air intake system.
it has dual exhaust with no cats.

all the sensors are hooked up as they should be.

now heres my problem, the check engine light is on, the only code is that

engine running rich. (bank one i think)

now i hooked it up to a good computer, and pulled info on it and with it running at idle it is running about 25-30% rich.

i put a stock mass airflow on and it dropped it down to 20-25% rich.

now im stuck, i dont know enough about new engines and computers to figure this one out, i can build and figure out any old v8 engine but this new stuff is killing me, any ideas to fix it?

also i changed the plugs and the car started running like crap, it had autolite double platinums which had turned golden( rich) and they looked to be worn a good bit. i put in regular champion copper cores in. with .052 gap

what happens after i changed the plugs is that truck will run great for 45 seconds to a minute on a cold start, then run on maybe 4 or 5 cylinders and have no power, after a minute or 2 of driving, it will start all of a sudden running on 8 in the higher rpms 2800 or higher but still miss at low rpms. as the truck warms up it will run on all 8 at lower and lower rpms untill when its warm and been running for a while(driving) it will run on all 8 all the time, with the exception of if i sit at a red light for about 30 seconds or more. it will skip a few beats for a second when i pull off( just as i hit the gas )

any iades on what i can do, i need to fix this, i have to use this as my daily driver since mine died.

 

[CHEESYPOOFS]

i do remember hearing on the forums somewhere that our cars do not react well at all to copper plugs. I went all out and got E3 Diamondfire plugs for 7 bucks a piece but you in no way need to go that extravagant lol i believe the most reccomended plug for out cars is the Bosh Platinum plug.

 

[Young_unn]

i do remember hearing on the forums somewhere that our cars do not react well at all to copper plugs. I went all out and got E3 Diamondfire plugs for 7 bucks a piece but you in no way need to go that extravagant lol i believe the most reccomended plug for out cars is the Bosh Platinum plug.

thanks, ill throw the old plugs in and see how it runs, then go buy a decent set of platinums .

any ideas on the running rich code?

 

[CHEESYPOOFS]

could be the F150 injectors are just too high flowing for the 5.0 without forced induction you may have to go find a set of stock injectors. try going to your local junkyard and pulling some from an X in there if there is 1

 

[Young_unn]

could be the F150 injectors are just too high flowing for the 5.0 without forced induction you may have to go find a set of stock injectors. try going to your local junkyard and pulling some from an X in there if there is 1

i was thinking about doing that, the injectors arent out of a f150, they are high flow or high pressure. like 150psi or 150lb, not sure. my buddy looked them up and said they are pretty ridiculous.

i cant tell if i have aftermarket fuel pump or not and i dont know what my fuel pressure is. i dont know if its regulated.

man this whole fuel injection and computers thing is screwin with my head lol

 

[CHEESYPOOFS]

yea at the beginning of getting into FI and CPUs its a ***** when ur used to stuff being alot simpler lol oh and srry for some reason i saw f150 instead of 150 lol i guess its still too early for me lol

 

[Young_unn]

yea at the beginning of getting into FI and CPUs its a ***** when ur used to stuff being alot simpler lol oh and srry for some reason i saw f150 instead of 150 lol i guess its still too early for me lol

hopefully ill get it all figured outon this one.

 

[Cobraguy]

what color are the injectors? Let's see if we can identify what you have.

The MAF sensor must be calibrated to match the injector size.

You may need to find one of the old 460 truck IAC spacers to smooth out your idle with an E303 cam. Some need it, some don't. This spacer has adjustable air bleeds in it to allow a little more air into the engine at idle to tame the camshaft. It is (was) a factory ford item if you can still find one.

 

[Turdle]

You really need to do some data logging, and get that thing tuned. I would contact James
www.hensonperformance.com

Speaking from experience, it will be the best money you spend, and bring all the mods together

the 150lb injectors are way to big. Try for a set of 30's

 

[Cobraguy]

My God! If you have 150 lb injectors, that's for a seriously boosted engine!

With all due respect to JT, the stock 19 lb injectors should be more than enough for you. At most, 24 lb injectors. Make sure your MAF sensor matches your injectors.

I do agree completely about having this thing tuned.

 

[Young_unn]

My God! If you have 150 lb injectors, that's for a seriously boosted engine!

With all due respect to JT, the stock 19 lb injectors should be more than enough for you. At most, 24 lb injectors. Make sure your MAF sensor matches your injectors.

I do agree completely about having this thing tuned.

my buddy looked and found out what kind of injectors i had and said i could run a hell of alot of boost on the engine.

the injectors are a sorta light blue.

when the truck is running good it does idle smooth. but then other times it'll rock the truck a bit.

also how would i calibrate the maf to the injectors?

also with henson performance, do i buy a program to tune it or do they tune it. its a bit of drive for me to get down there. ive never tuned a computer car before?

sorry for my ignorance on alot of this fuel injection and computers its a crash course for me right now


also update on the truck here. i pulled the copper core plugs i just put in out after 50 miles.

it looked like they were running rich at the base and the tip was white with build up on it like it was firing weak. or maybe to hot, but im pretty sure it was weak spark.

i fired it up after sitting 24 hours with the old plugs back in it and it did its bad misfire again ( as described in the beginning ) i parked it back in the garage for an hour with the battery off, and when i hooked everything back up and fired it up, and it ran almost perfect, i ran for 15 minutes then drove it for about 20 and it ran great. no codes popped up or anything. but when i pulled back in the driveway it would skip a beat on first acceleration, and when you tap the gas hard it would rev up and then when the rpms drop to idle it would go a little bit to low and feel like it was almost about to stall out.

 

[Cobraguy]

Aftermarket MAF manufacturers will want to know what injector you are running so they can calibrate the meter for you. You can't do it.

Here is what I would do if this were my truck. I would put this engine back to stock. Get the factory recommended plugs and injectors and MAF meter. Make sure you are using a factory airbox, or at least an aftermarket cold air system that is proven to not cause problems. Changes in the air flow around the MAF can and will cause problems. For now, let's eliminate that possibility. Make sure you are using an ECM for the year and model engine you have. Don't guess...know for sure. I see nothing in your description that makes me think a set of stock injectors won't work just fine. If you want to bump up later for performance mods, you can. But let's get this thing back to stock and running right so you know where you are. Right now, you are totally lost and we have no idea what has been done. When I say stock, really get it back to stock.

You should be able to sell your 150 lb injectors and recoup your costs. I just can't see you needing those ever. Not if you are going to drive this on the street. I have a set of 42 lb injectors supporting just over 500 hp to the rear wheels on a 4.6.

 

[Young_unn]

Aftermarket MAF manufacturers will want to know what injector you are running so they can calibrate the meter for you. You can't do it.

Here is what I would do if this were my truck. I would put this engine back to stock. Get the factory recommended plugs and injectors and MAF meter. Make sure you are using a factory airbox, or at least an aftermarket cold air system that is proven to not cause problems. Changes in the air flow around the MAF can and will cause problems. For now, let's eliminate that possibility. Make sure you are using an ECM for the year and model engine you have. Don't guess...know for sure. I see nothing in your description that makes me think a set of stock injectors won't work just fine. If you want to bump up later for performance mods, you can. But let's get this thing back to stock and running right so you know where you are. Right now, you are totally lost and we have no idea what has been done. When I say stock, really get it back to stock.

You should be able to sell your 150 lb injectors and recoup your costs. I just can't see you needing those ever. Not if you are going to drive this on the street. I have a set of 42 lb injectors supporting just over 500 hp to the rear wheels on a 4.6.

thanks im going to do that, plus ill figure out alot when i pull the engine apart.

also update, the engine still did the usuall run good for a minutes then run on 4 cylinders for 5 minutes and then run good again