My '85 MGM, "Maisa"

[Arquemann]

Hmmm... Pt. 2

I cannot replicate the pulsing brakes with the E-brake, what I felt initially and a couple other times was probably just unevenness on the road and something else. I know this car tends to buck on decel / engine brake, why. I don't know.

Haven't seen new engine oil drips on the driveway, only power steering fluid so far. I'm doubtful, but the engine oil leaks could've just been a combination of the rear drain plug and level sensor. I've got new valve cover gaskets waiting to be installed, but I've had a set of chrome stock valve covers, but I can't find them anywhere. Dunno if I'll paint the old ones to spruce up the engine bay or just leave 'em be.

I'll most likely order new power steering lines at some point, those are easy. I've watched a couple videos on rebuilding the Ford PS pumps and I'm not sure if I'm comfortable taking apart something that fiddly quite yet. I'd also require quite a bit of disassembly of the car and thus having it immobile for some time.


And finally:

I get to represent!

[Tiggie]

Clean up the PS pump and see where it's leaking. The reservoir and pressure hose o rings are easy to put in. The shaft seal isn't too bad either but you have to pull the pulley with a tool. All included with the ~$8 seal kit. Best money I've spent on both my boxes.

[gadget73]

the body, regulator, and shaft seal aren't any big deal but I'd vote for leaving the actual inner bits alone if its working otherwise. Its two O rings and a seal, no big deal at all. The seal kit may come with a new O ring for the cap / dipstick, also simple to change.

I attempted a full rebuild on one once, taking the insides apart, it never worked again. Doesn't leak, perfectly silent, absolutely zero pressure.

[Arquemann]

Let's jump from a thing to another! Idle settings and throttle kicker.

Since getting the engine running somewhat good last spring, the hot idle has been quite high, it's high and sounds bit off in park/neutral. And in gear it seems fine but a bit high. The engine also vibrates a lot more in park when it idles high. In gear it's almost as smooth as I'd expect a shitty old 302 to be.

I remember someone here saying the throttle kicker response is adjustable, that might get the P/N idle lower, and generally I'd like to have it run a bit lower RPM. The high idle mechanism/choke is broken and inop, so no issues there.

This is how the car sounds at hot idle in gear, at the tailpipe. I'd like it to sound about like this when in park, not in gear...
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eVM...ew?usp=sharing

And this is how it's when in park or neutral. Idles high and does a plop plop plop.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EUEc99B4T5ppFChb4tUbv8qHVXc6MsRf/view?usp=sharing

Hopefully the links work.

EDIT: I'm gonna check the RPM with a gauge at some point too.

[VicCrownVic]

Sounds to me like you are right about the idle being high.
Unfortunately I don't have any suggestions, but at least you have a vote of your assessment seems correct on the idle being high.
Once you have your gauge hooked up, I expect it will confirm your assessment.

[87GrandMarq]

Do not mess with the throttle kicker/dashpot. Verify high idle and warm idle are correct with a tach then do a base idle reset.

My 85 vic would race sometimes because the throttle would get stuck on the high idle cam, I think the choke cap was broken and the previous owner messed with the high idle cam screw.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Arquemann]

Do not mess with the throttle kicker/dashpot. Verify high idle and warm idle are correct with a tach then do a base idle reset.

How does one go about doing a base idle reset and what's the curb idle RPM supposed to be?

The choke/high idle mechanism is broken on mine as I mentioned, so it won't come into play at all. My car is a summer car anyways, it manages the coldest starts it does.
The throttle kicker does work on mine, atleast the it seems to respond to the AC kicking on.

[gadget73]

Is the high idle thing wired so the cam isn't engaged? If not you're probably sitting on the high idle cam and the normal idle adjustment isn't going to work. Make sure the cam is pulled up before messing with anything.

The low idle adjust is the screw at the bottom of the throttle kicker that moves the "sled" in and out. The plunger is the idle stop, and when the AC is turned on you get vacuum on the kicker to push it out a bit further. Might be worth unhooking the vac line to make sure the solenoid isn't engaged or leaking otherwise it won't set correctly either.

idle spec is probably on the emissions label under the hood, but if not somewhere in the 700 rpm range is likely not far off.

so far as I know there is no "base idle reset" procedure on the CFI cars. Thats a SEFI thing with an idle speed controller. CFI is closer to dealing with a carb than it is to dealing with fuel injection.

https://workshop-manuals.com/ford/mustang/v8-302_5.0l_cfi_ho/maintenance/tune-up_and_engine_performance_checks/idle_speed/system_information/adjustments/curb_idle/

[Arquemann]

Well, I got the idle to a pretty reasonable rpm. I didn't find the rpm gauge to verify, but it's pretty good now. I might raise it a bit since in gear it's so low it's a bit shaky, but it doesn't bog too much when put into gear.
Only thing now is that since the high idle system is borked, it needs a bit of right foot encouragement after cold starts to stay running.
I also made sure the high idle cam stays out of the way at all times.
Emissions sticker says idle in gear should be 550 rpm.

The throttle kicker does get some vacuum at idle with the engine hot and AC/heater off, but seems to react correctly to the ac kicking on.

I took a pic with my friends Fiesta. '84 Ferd vs '85 Merc.

Back bumpers are even, the Fiesta's firewall is just in front of the MGM's rear door

[bnw]

You two should definitely exchange plates!

[Arquemann]

I finally gathered up the courage to just go to town bending the window frame on the front passenger door.
Now the window goes up nicely and most importantly it doesn't screw up the new window channel seal. The top of the window frame still isn't exactly in line with roof, but better now.

As the corner is pushed in as much anymore, I ought to put in the new body-to-door seals. It seems like I have to unscrew quite a bit of the interior trim to change the door seals.
Very happy that I got this done, I've avoided this for so long, it was really nerve-racking since I reaaaally didn't want to break the door.

Next up: door seals, valve cover gaskets, alignment and a possible inspection aftermath.

[87gtVIC]

I was worried the first time seeing that done but it turned out fine. Nothing broke and it fixed an issue so it stays in the mental book of things to use in the future.

[gadget73]

sometimes brute force is how you adjust things. I had to get someone to back into my car with a van in order to make the door and fender line up correctly again.

[Arquemann]

How does the interior plastic piece above the doors come off? There's no visible screws on it, is it just tucked in under the B-pillar trim and clipped in somehow?
all the other piece around the door seem to have screws holding them in. Any other pointers for changing the door seals?

[sly]

If you're talking about the bits around the headliner, there are metal clips holding it into the body. You should use a trim pry tool to find the clips and then pry them out directly. This will help prevent bending the trim. They were also metal in the 88 I had (aluminum IIRC).