1989 Town Car runs but has no power, can't get it out of back yard. HELP!

[DerekTheGreat]

Hey everyone!

Been a minute since we bothered you all with our problems so why not bother you with another one?

Last week I changed the heater core in Ashley's F150 while she went to do the thermostat in her TC. I attempted to help but I couldn't get the driver's side bolt loose so I gave up before something broke. I had the dizzy out to help get at that that stubborn bolt but put it back in the same way it came out, position and all. Started it up and after it stalled a few times it idled perfectly. Went to get it out of the driveway but it couldn't get over the little hill leading to the street without a running start. Parked it in the parking lot across from my house and played around a bit. It doesn't rev up beyond 1500rpm or so and is sluggish to respond to throttle input. Doesn't bog, just delayed response. That was last week. Was about 45 degrees. Lots of white smoke from exhaust and some "chuffing" sounds at idle. Smoke could be related to temperature but this stuff was thick. Oil looks nice and clean, no coolant there. Decided to leave the car there for the week. Fast forward to today.

Ashley doesn't know when she'll have the money to get it looked at so we decided to throw it in the backyard today until she does for fear it would get towed or vandalized. So, went out to the car, started it up, died three seconds later. Restart, went to die, floored it, came back to life and then I dropped it in gear when RPM stabilized. Almost died again. Now, I'm reversing it into the driveway to get into the backyard to park it next to my Fury. I'm flooring it and the thing is idling but because of momentum I got it back there. Backyard isn't level, went to go forward to straighten it out and then go back to reverse to get it into the spot next to the Fury. Well forward down into the dip is where it is now because it doesn't have the power to do anything else. Friends are on their way to help push it now though. What do you guys think is going on here? Ashley said this happened once before where the car had no power. She was just leaving work, went to pull out into traffic and nothing. She pumped the gas a few times and then it was all back to normal, so I don't think the timing is off. However, this car has me questioning my mechanical abilities so I'm not sure what the issue is. Once the thing gets to idling it will idle just fine for a little while then the RPMs drop and it might stall or go back to idling normal again. Hit the gas and well, no response, nothing. If this was a carb'd car and fuel delivery was an issue due to clogged jets or bad accelerator pump the thing would stall if you immediately cracked the throttle open. Her car doesn't do that. It's delayed and limited to about 1500rpm or so. Oh, no check engine light either. What gives?

Thanks fellas, we're grateful for your help!

Derek & Ashley

[gadget73]

check the fuel pressure. Possible the pump is taking a crap. Or maybe the pump relay is taking a crap. Either will make for this symptom.

See if its got good strong spark too. It should jump a 1" gap with bright blue-white fire. If its sickly and yellow, there is a problem with the ignition system.

Almost nothing sets the check engine light. You may as well ignore it as a troubleshooting tool.

One other thing, try unhooking the MAP sensor vacuum. It sounds counter-intuitive but sometimes when they die, they work mostly normal with no vacuum on them. If it suddenly runs much better, replace the MAP or maybe even temporarily stick it on the other car to see if it moves the problem.

[DerekTheGreat]

Thanks for the response gadget. To check fuel pressure can I use my tire pressure gauge or do I have to use a special gauge? Looks like there's a test cap right on the passenger side fuel rail. My gauge is one that has a dial, not the metal type with the plastic slider job. I think I've seen in other posts that it should be about 38psi right? Also, where is the relay for the pump and is there a way to test it? If its cheap enough we'll just replace it. Not sure if it matters but I hear the pump prime every time I flip the key to the run position.

What's a good way to test the quality of spark? Can I just disconnect one of the wires at the dizzy and crank the car over while holding it close to the dizzy or should I just use the wire straight off of the coil?

Yeah, I'm learning that! To think I made a big deal out of it with my '88...

Aye aye, that's a great idea and I'll try it. We're having unusually warm weather right now so I'll try and test these things as soon as possible.

Thanks again for your help!

Derek

[79lincolnlover]

Good luck!!

[DerekTheGreat]

Thanks!
Ash, her Lincoln and I need it! Might just get it going again and then buy piranha's 1990....

[gadget73]

it may ruin a tire pressure gauge. There is a proper tester for it, or you can use one of the cheap extendo-stick kind and just throw it out afterward. Just beware any leaked fuel and such. Should be 30-35 psi at idle with vacuum on the regulator and 40-45 with no vacuum on the regulator. If its significantly not that, its a problem. It doesn't have to be a very precise value, but more than 30 psi is generally OK.


Relay is one of the 4 over next to the washer bottle. There is one down bottom, one under a plastic cover by itself, and 2 under another cover. Its one of the 2 under the cover, but I can never remember if its the green or the brown one. Someone will remind me and I'll forget again next time this comes up.


Plug wire is fine. I stick a screwdriver in the end of the wire and position it so that there is about an inch gap between the screwdriver and something metal. I dislike the idea of having the fuck shocked out of me, so I don't hold the wire or the screwdriver.

[DerekTheGreat]

Ok, so that port on the passenger side fuel rail is indeed where I check the pressure? I'll be sure to use one of those cheapo slide testers, can I use it a few times or is it only good for one shot?

Cool, hopefully someone will chime in with the correct color, I doubt an aftermarket will match.

I had that happen once with an 8 plug Ranger, woke me up for sure. It is not pleasant lol. I was going to do a similar mock-up to avoid that experience again.

[miamibob]

Isn't it green and black?? At least the OEM, anyway. The aftermarkets are usually solid black or grey.

[sly]

OE would be the green one.

[gadget73]

The stick tire tester will probably work a few times, but at some point I'd expect it to start leaking fuel. Its probably more about time vs uses. The fuel will likely not do the rubber parts inside of the tester any favors, so it might work a dozen times in a row but next month it may not do anything.

[DerekTheGreat]

Thanks sly!

Ah, thanks Mr. gadget. You see I was thinking it was a one shot & ruined deal but this means I can slip up a couple times before I get it right and not worry about the gauge being bad. It will find it's way into a trash can right after I test the system.

[sly]

the ONLY reason I know that is cause I JUST rewired my 88 with an aero relay holder and replaced all that noise.

[DerekTheGreat]

I hope it's something easy like the relay, would make Ashley happy thats for sure. Poor gal has spent lots of money on that car over the past 9 months. I'll be checking into it this Saturday.

[nfldfordltd]

I know you said you were careful to put the distributor back in exactly as it came out, but it wouldn't hurt to double-check your work on that end.
From what I've read here, it could be possible that the distributor housing is correctly placed in the hole, but the shaft could have turned when it was out juuuust enough to have been put back in so that it's off a tooth where the gear meshes with the camshaft. From the symptoms you're describing, my guess would be retarded a tooth, meaning it will still start and run, but really badly with zero power.
If it were me, I'd bring the No. 1 cylinder to TDC and remove/replace the distributor in the correct position using a service manual, and while I was at it I would double-check the plugs wires.
I used to mix that stuff up a lot one time until I learned the tricks for getting it all right the first time. I still get nervous when a distributor comes out lol....
That being said, the fuel pressure test isn't a bad idea either. Could be a coincidence that started acting up when you were at the other stuff there.

[DerekTheGreat]

Update:
Checked fuel pressure at idle: 33 psi.
-So because of that number I didn't bother swapping the relay. Wasn't sure which to swap anyway since both of the ones closest to the coolant overflow bottle were green..

Initially the car started and returned to idle just fine. Was a bit sluggish to respond to throttle input but I got it to rev much higher than before. Engine was smooth and sounded good and so I held that RPM for awhile before my swap-o-rama experiments started.

Swapped Map sensor from my car, no difference.
Swapped throttle position sensor, seemed to make things worse, but it acts different each time you start it.
Swapped ECM, no difference, ECM was deemed good before which is why I held on to it. Now by this time the car was back to being a big POS. Floored it was barely maintaining 1100 rpm or so and was surging a bit, like "vmm vmm vmm..." Each space is when it would drop rpm a tad.

I put it back together and quit. White towel is flying.