Minor Problems...

[95kyexp]

i need some tech help PLEASE.... this is killing me. Anyone help...

Problem #1 - Check Engine.... I will be going down the road driving normally and my check engine light will come on... The vehicle acts no different period, except for a minor miss when i accelerate hard... ive pulled the MAF and cleaned it using the MAF cleaner from advanced auto, it cured it for a little bit, but i got a APC filter on it and now the light comes on and stays on till i turn the vehicle off... I believe its the crappy filter oil that came with the filter... But still, the check engine light came on when i was under hard acceleration, and it would go off shortly after i went back to normal.... Why? Can someone explain it?

Problem #2 - Odometer/mileage counter. It just quit on me a little while ago, im not exactly sure why... i guess maybe the cable was old and it broke, i hit 110 mph today downhill, that may be what done it. neither the trip counter or the odometer works... but everything else does. How can this be fixed cheaply?

Problem #3 - Water Temp Gauge - Sometimes it works good, and sometimes its a little screwy. i was idling today and the temp gauge was rather low.... so i rev the engine for some reason and it jumps..... and so does my speedo, it jumps to 10 mph and back down.. and sometimes the speedo is a little jerky around 70 mph. What would make my water gauge jump like that? and why would my speedo jump? its only done that once... and i dont understand it.


Please help me lol... im a perfectionist and this is killing my soul!!!

 

[Joe Dirt]

#1- I'd try a stock filter after cleaning your MAF. If it is an oil based filter like a K&N, did you set it on a piece of newspaper to wick some of the oil out of it before installing? If not, it may have fouled your MAF.

#2- Your 1995 does not have a speedo cable. It runs by wire, you may have a bad speedo head. If you want a replacement, I have one from my '95 that I took out to replace with green gauges.

#3- A temp gauge that spikes when you goose the throttle can be an indicator of a blown head gasket, but since the speedo does it too, sounds like that may not be accurate. My speedo also jumps a little when warming up for a minute or so, had a tip to check for frayed wires inside the steering wheel cowl, specifically where the wheel tilts as it was an issue in previous Fords, causing a short.

And I understand your pursuit of perfection- I'm in the same boat. I'm like "Monk" with Snowball...

Also, I won't get into the discussion of running a 13 year old truck not designed to run 110MPH with some 13 year old suspension components keeping yourself and others safe...

 

[95kyexp]

lol, i sprayed the filter with oil and throwed it into the airbox, ill fix the MAF though. I dont have a blown intake gasket... or head gasket. i did have a blown lower intake and we got it fixed. the only water leak that i have is on the radiator, on one of the tubes in the radiator... tranny cooler i think.

the coolant gauge dont jump that bad. i think its a bad sending unit.

its not the speedo thats screwed up, its the odometer/trip meter. i was toold by ford that there is a little cable that goes into the tranny and it goes onto a gear, and its usual for the gears to tear up.


BTW..... how has everyone fixed their intakes? isnt there a good way of getting rid of the air silencer? Would anyone care to tell me how?

 

[Joe Dirt]

There is no cable going to the back of the cluster. My understanding is that if your sending unit was junk in the tranny, the speedo would not work either, its' signal is sent electronically to the cluster, and the speedo runs the odometer. If the speedo jumps, the sending unit or speedo gear could be bad, but it will cause everything- speedo, odo, and trip meter to not work.

This is your VSS (Vehicle speed sensor) it's electronic, only the harness plugs into the back.

This is the back of your speedo

This is the back of the cluster

 

[95kyexp]

Well, everything works except the trip/odometer. Any explanation?

 

[Joe Dirt]

It's weird- unless something is just broken in the speedo head itself. BTW- the speedo gear goes on the blue end of the VSS. Does anyone else know if there is a signal going directly to the odometer from the VSS or something? If that's the case, it could be a wire issue.

 

[96eb96]

Well, everything works except the trip/odometer. Any explanation?

There is a tiny worm gear in there that screws up. You have to take it apart to see:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Odom...-Vehicles_W0QQitemZ150141306608QQcmdZViewItem

http://www.3.8mustang.com/wiki/How_to_Repair_your_broken_Odometer_&_Tripometer

 

[Joe Dirt]

If it is a worm gear, I have 3 speedo/odo clusters in the garage- don't blow $40 for one on eBay... Thanks for the wikipost!

 

[96eb96]

If it is a worm gear, I have 3 speedo/odo clusters in the garage- don't blow $40 for one on eBay... Thanks for the wikipost!

There is a link for $25 on the wiki. You can probably get an entire cluster for that price, but the part will eventually fail.

 

[ThePhoenix]

My 96 sport had same problem...i pushed the trip and it never moved again. The gear on the back popped out is what I was told..

I didnt fix it...helped me when I totalled it because it showed lower mileage