What have you done to your wagon lately? (Let's keep the thread going!)

Thanks for that. I've only been using what's labeled as 87 but was wondering if the quality of the fuel I bought isn't up to par since it has ethanol in it. I bought the car from the original owner in Pennsylvania but I don't know if he moved from another area.

Looking on Google, here's a page for the EEC IV:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_EEC#EEC-IV

I like this quote from the page I linked:

"Later models have the TFI module mounted on a heatsink in the engine compartment. It is prone to damage from heat. Replacement TFI modules are sold with a small packet of heat transfer compound which should be applied to the back of the module."

Considering the old antifreeze looked brown as mud before I flushed it and the low washer fluid sensor is likely broken maybe I shouldn't be surprised if this is the issue. The car's in overall nice cosmetic shape for its age but I still haven't driven it for 3,000 miles since purchase in August 2014.

As for the combustion chambers possibly being dirty, I already put a can of Seafoam through the fuel system either last year or the year before. I'm not sure that would have worked to fix the issue though, as I saw on a weed eater if you take Seafoam and let it soak in a dirty combustion chamber it loosens gunk and then after flushing it out and turning the engine on it'll smoke like you have a broken piston ring before it stops and comes out with cleaner emissions and my point here is I don't know if the mixture (one ounce per gallon) was potent enough to clean the chambers. If they're severe enough I don't think it is.

 

My padawan mechanic has an '87 Grand Marq, which hasn't been driven for many years before he bought it. The cooling system also was totally rusted; we flushed it three times and replaced the radiator before it would run cool enough for normal driving.

 

I also replaced the radiator at the time although that wasn't my original intent. Maybe after a ride I'll check the coolant temperature in the overflow tank.

 

Seafoam at one ounce per gallon of gas isn't going to do much, that's like spitting in the ocean and expecting the sea levels to rise.

 

When you check operating temp, you check behind the thermostat. That tells you the temp that's coming out of the engine. Then you check the lower rad hose at the radiator. If it's still hot, you're not shedding enough heat. It should be warm, and the fan clutch should be engaged and pulling heat out of the radiator through the shroud.

 

Ha ha. Is there a vacuum line I can use instead? I'm considering injecting it through a vacuum line slowly. This is the recommended procedure; it may make the car idle rough but that will clear up.

Thanks. I do have a coolant additive which lowers engine coolant temperature though I haven't used it before.

 

Actually, the additive doesn't lower your coolant temp; it makes the coolant carry more caloric heat and transfer it through the tube walls, so it seems like the coolant is cooler. It should be at the same temperatures marks, such as t-stat opening temp and operating temp while driving down the highway.

As for the Seafoam, you have a couple vacuum ports behind the upper plenum; find the one with the rubber hose (not the one with the red nylon line), pull the hose off, push on a fair length of rubber hose (say, 2-3') and plug it with a bolt or a golf tee, then start the engine. Once it's up to temp, hold the throttle open just enough to run around 1500-1800 RPM, then open the can, stick the rubber hose in, and it'll start sucking the Seafoam up. Keep your eye on the level in the can, because when it gets down to 1/4 can, drop the engine back to idle and suck the rest of the Seafoam up. Shut off the engine and let it sit 15-20 minutes. Remove the rubber hose, and replace the original on the nipple. Restart the engine, and when the oil pressure's stable (10-20 seconds), rev the engine hard, two or three times. This'll blow the carbon out and you should have a good, clean engine.

 

Thanks again. As it turns out though, this "pinging" is the fan hitting the top of the fan shroud which is cracked all the way through near the top. Yep, it's not always evident because the motor moves when I put more of a load on it and it's most evident when I'm going uphill in D.

 

Bad engine mount. And check the shroud and what it mounts on; sometimes, when putting it back together, if you don't get it into the bottom brackets correctly, it'll sag. Conversely, also check the radiator mountings, because a crushed/missing rubber mount will cause the whole schmeer to sag and allow the fan to hit.

 

Great, now I know what to look for. Thanks again.

 

That's what you get for doing all those smoky brake-torque burnouts 101Volts.
Just cut the ends of the fan blades off.
I'm kidding BTW.

 

If you're doing smoky burnouts, you should have an electric fan.

 

?

 

I haven't been doing burnouts really (never tried either) but have been thinking of getting an electric fan for the small MPG and engine longevity benefit; it'll allow the engine to get to operating temperature faster by not cooling until necessary.

 

Got Ol' Beastie running again, with the help of a brand-new starter and a few too many bucks out of pocket for installation... But all in all, definitely worth it! Once she was running, I gave her a power wash and scrubbed the vinyl seats, which had developed quite the mold problem. I still haven't hooked up my 8-track player, but I did a mock-up installation for the sake of looks. Took her to the Rodz on Third car show here in M'ville and had a blast. Lots of thumbs up and compliments, mostly from folks whose folks had one back in the day. She smells better, looks better, and even runs better. Also, I got a "new" steering wheel, an old G-body (El Camino, Malibu and the like) model with much more of a viewing angle than the stock Impala one. Best of all, it only cost me $10! I think I have a build thread somewhere, I'll post pics there if I do.