Monday morning I'm taking the Sport down to my buddie's house and we are FINALLY going to swap in the 8.8 (goodbuy 7.5 with 2.73's,helloooooo 3.55's !!!),E303 cam,timing gears,replacement lower GT40 intake (mine has a stripped thread at the back for the upper intake.Just as easy to swap since it'll be off anyway.)and heads.Hopefully all will work out great and then we'll see if there's a noticeable improvement.......which there SHOULD be.Say a little prayer to the car gods for us,and I'll report tomorrow when I get home.
well, good luck Vinnie. More than I can say here....dang rain.
Have fun :D
Here are the current results.....Cam installed,new timing cover,new water pump,roller rockers,and 8.8.The car is running fair,but stalls when I put it in gear,and "rattles" on acceleration.Like it's got super low octane fuel or something.I probably need to add some super unleaded to the tank.I also need to get the timing right.it does start right up,though,no leaks or other problems.The power isn't there,though,and,I feel it may be a timing issue.I'll mess with it after work.
Keep chipping away at it Vinnie!
Thanks Mike.I think a lot of it iss the timing.I'll get after it in a little while.I'm freakin' tired after work.I think I'll swap the timing chain as well.I was going to install timing gears,but,for some reason,they wouldn't fit right.So,I didn't have a new chain to replace it with.One more step to take care of.Oh well,it's not as hard as changing the cam and heads and differential.There's always a good side I suppose.
So you made the E work,Good job bubba!!
Well,it's working,but not running well.It's really rough,stalls when I stop or put it in gear.The engine is "rattling" a lot as well.Probably due to timing,and possibly the low octane fuel in the tank.Any ideas Kitz?
Is each header tube hot?
I haven't checked.Why wouldn't they be?
Misfire or wrong firing order (for the cold tubes).
You guys know a lot more about the 5.0 then me though! :hick:
All my wires are where they should be.No problems there.Friday morning I'll be installing a new double roller chain and we'l see how the timing goes.I have a feeling the chain is just too worn out to get good timing with the old girl.
have you replaced a timing chain before? did you line the dots up on the gears correctly? what is you timing set at now? are you sure you didnt install a chevy cam backwards? :D
Would that even fit? :hick:
I'd check to make sure the timing makes are lined up as well. Sounds like you have a timing issue. Dumb question but you didn't use the gears for the gear drive with the timing chain did you? That might be a problem.....
With no valve reliefs how close are the valves comming to the pistons with the E cam?
I didn't use any of the gear drive.It all went back into the lastic box it came in.The timing marks were lines up,but when you turn the crank by hand,there was enough play in the chain that the rotor in the distributor didn't move until the crank moved probably half an inch.I'm buying new gears and chain today after work.Chevy cam?The only use for a Chevy cam I have is to hold a door open.....if that.LOL.I'll ask my friend what the PTV clearance was again.I don't remember.It clears fine,and I've had no problems.The roller rockers even fit nicely under the factory aluminum valve covers.Friday I'll be installing the intake spacer,new valve covers,65mm throttlebody,and,of course,the timing chain.No big deal installing those parts.I figure an hour and a half or so.Since everything was replaced,bolts included,disassembly should be a breeze.
What Mike said.You told me your ideling at 1000 is that on purpose if not it could mean a vac leak,witch could exsplain all your symptoms.
Another thing you might be payin me back since you made it work.Now I'm thinking of pullin my E and putting it in my old block.
I'm going to go get my new timing chain in a few minutes.If the vaccuum lines are all good (they are all only a month or so old),and the wires are good,and the timing chain doesn't help,the E cam is going away and I'll re-install my stock H.O cam.It's idling at a1000 in Park,and wants to die in gear.Not cool.I'll be back again in a little bit with a little more news......hopefully.
Vinnie, the E cam requires a higher stall torque converter with an AOD. If you try to run the stock converter with it, the car will not idle correctly at all, and may even stall out when you come to a full stop. I tried running a stock converter with the E cam when I first put the engine in the convertible in 1999; had to put it in Neutral and rev the engine at every light to keep from stalling out. It was horrible. Eventually I killed that converter and trans, and put in a higher stall speed converter (2500-2800) with the new AOD and that helped things a LOT. There are still idling issues, which may be vacuum or MAF sensor related, but at least it's like a "normal" car now.
Vinnie, I hope you figure it out soon. Good luck. I'm not that familiar with EFI and how cams effect it. If was carburated, that would be something else. But that's neither here nor there. Good luck anyway.
John
I think on Friday,since I'm swapping the timing chain anyway,I'll re-install the H.O cam until I get a new converter.All of the symptoms you mention are happening to my Bird,Eric.Thanks.
http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?t=15979
:D
im sure he's just gonna sell the e cam, and stick with the stock cam. ;)
What do you mean by that?
Oh,about the converter,I'd like to have it,but wouldn't be able to get it until the end of the month.My car funds have been depleted until then.
just that you change your mind a lot, is all.
if you had a 5 speed car, you wouldn't have these sorts of problems.:D
do what eric said... it needs a higher stall.
When it came to this cam,a LOT of mind changing was going on.You're right about that.Now,my cam is changing Friday.I just need my car to be functional.The cam thing is really the only thing I did have a hard tiime deciding on until a fellow member put some "peer pressure" on me (glad he did or I'd spen a lot of time wondering if it would work).LOL.Now,I will say that if the car runs exceptional after the re-cam swap,and if someone wants to give me some green for the cam,I may just sell it and go from there..I still want to put a 5.8 in the Bird next year sometime.Right now,I need the car to get me from here to there without causing me so much frustration.It'll only take a couple of hours to swap everything Friday......weather permitting.Valve covers,intake spacer,65mm t-body,cam,timing chain.easy stuff.After I get the Sport running great again,it's all about the bodywork and paint......and installing my new CD player.I NEEEEEED my tunes.
I have thought about a 5 speed swap,and wouldn't mind doing it if I ever find a Mustang parts car to pull everything from at once,which,may happen eventually.Right now,I'm sticking with the AOD and we'll see what happens from there.
i learned a long time ago to not modify your daily driver. find you a daily beater, so you dont have to worry so much and rush things.
I was JUST talking to my wife about that.I know I'm not supposed to do that,but,I was compelled.
Gee, what a helpful comment...
that's what makes us human, but learn from those mistakes.
BTW, you did say you got the 8.8 in, right? did you keep the drum brakes?
Vinnie,I didn't know that about the torque converter,I replaced mine to a higher stall when I put the moter in.
No big deal.I'll swap everything out tomorrow and see how she runs.No worries.I'm not bothered by it at all.Learning experience.I do everything myself except the welding on the exhaust,and the painting.All else is on me,and it's just one of those things.I didn't even think about the torque converter when I did the work.I've thought about it,and I may hold the E303 and install it in the 5.8 next year,or,I may sell it and buy another B cam for the 5.8 and get the right torque converter at that time since I'll be building from scratch with that drivetrain and will be using 30 over pistons with valve reliefs (no more flat tops),and a few other minor performance parts (windage tray,etc.).I'll save my upper intake and valve covers from this engine,but everything else from the engine to the tranny will be replacement parts.
Yes,I did install the 8.8 as well,and I did keep drum brakes.It had the drum brakes when I bought it,and I've never had any trouble stopping the car.I did have to swap the axles and such so I could keep the T-Birds track the way it was.No big deal after I got the parts figured out.It looks really cool under there with the "Rock Crusher" diff.cover.Although you can't see it until you crawl under the car.LOL.