The DREADED KNOCK part 2...HO block installed

[stinkydogfilms]

Hi Everyone,
Today I just got my car back. The garage put in an 89 HO 302 as the mechanic says and the owner said it was a 92 HO out of a GT.

Got HEADERS! Got new water pump,oil pump, freeze plugs, rear seal. HOWEVER it is an HO with the intake reversed and using the 12 lb injecters from the LOPO.

I have only driven it 6-7 miles. Half of that side streets and the other half freeway. It seemed I did not notice a 2-3 shift and on the freeway it would not down shift.
Trans is a 1991 AOD rebuilt 2 years ago and had no problems.
The trans rebuilder is 15 miles away 2 blocks from my job.
I was planning on taking it there for the fluid and trans service change anyway.

Any ideas?

Think it safe to drive it the 15 miles on either freeway or side streets?

[1990LTD]

If you are using the injectors from the lopo and the computer from the lopo with a HO motor, it will not run properly. The HO firing order is different so the cam/computer/injectors need to play well together - Also some wires on the distributor cap are moved around.


When your mechanic reinstalled the motor what did he do to the TV cable and throttle linkage? The TV cable is detrimental to the operation of the AOD transmission.

The throttle linkage NEEDS to be modified for a HO throttle body to fit these cars and function correctly.

[cld783]

I wouldn't even bother driving it without the HO computer. check the tv cable and fluid level but you're symptoms are likely to the car running like complete shit.

[stinkydogfilms]

We kept the LOPO injectors because they were rebuilt a year ago. Not sure about the HO injectors. It came from a junkyard. It is still the LOPO computer too. Can I buy an HO computer from NAPA or the like corner parts store? Is it a plug out plug in thing to do? The motor seems to drive fine. No misses, Has nice pickup/power.
Once or twice the trans seemed to shift a little late (1-2 )on the side streets. But I could not feel the 2-3 shift and had no kickdown on the freeway.

How do you modify the throttle linkage? Simple enough for the transmission shop?

Are the heads an improvement in either an 89 or 92 HO verses the 91 LOPO? I know they are but what are the improvements?

HO cam specs anyone?


Thank you again,
Mike

PS. I don't have time to do any work myself.

[1990LTD]

You'd need to get the computer from a junkyard.

[mcninetyone]

You need a computer from a Lincoln Mark7, that had an H.O. motor in it, an 89-91 is about right.

And I wouldn't drive it until I made sure the TV cable was adjusted correctly, or you'll be paying for tranny too!!

[Pesty351]

Your mechanic fails at life.

[mercurygm88]

Ok I'm curious as to how its even running let alone driveable. I once accidentally misread my shop manual and had the wires on for the HO firing order on my lopo. I knew what I did as soon as I started the car. What I'm guessing is that 1. Your TV cable needs adjusted and 2. Either that's not really a HO or your mechanic swapped computers and didn't tell you if I'm wrong about that then I guess you have a very odd case of an HO that will run like a lopo. My lopo shook and missed like crazy for the 2 secs. I had it running with the HO firing order

[Grandmashotrod]

lets put it this way, the stock injectors you said were 12 (really? thats nuts) and the h.o injectors are like 24. you sure shifting is your only problem? and i dont see why your shifter cable would have been re adjusted unless he took the tranny out too. Just trying to help, not trying to be an @$$ hole.

[stinkydogfilms]

I appreciate all of the replies. Best way for me to learn. I do not always get a clear answer from the mechanic. The HO intake is in the trunk. Under where the cover plate is.... HO is cast into the intake.The Ho cover is on the LOPO intake apperently. Flipped Someone also wrote in red sharpie mark vII 89 on the side of the HO intake
with a 6 digit number possibly the mileage (014278) the motor had when put into the junkyard. The car motor starts and runs fine from a cold start. When I picked the car up yesterday, there was an idle problem for 2 minutes where the motor surged while in park after idleing for 10 minutes. Mechanic said only 1 O2 sensor was on and the computer was searching, hence the lopeiness idle when sitting in park for a few minutes. As soon as he said this the idle went back up to normal and was fine. Taking it back in an hour to have the mechanic adjust the TV cable, then on to the transmission shop for fluid change and service.

[sly]

stock injectors are 14#... HO are 19#. If you're running the original 14# injectors... it will run lean and may tend towards pinging and detonation when accelerating.

if the spark wires were re-routed for the proper firing order... it may drive ok, but not really well. 4 of the injectors will be firing at the wrong time. HO motor needs HO firing order, computer, and injectors to run right. The trans is probably having issues because the tv cable isn't adjusted right (as mentioned).

if it's running the lopo computer AND the firing order is swapped to the HO order AND the injectors are re-pinned to fire the HO order as well... then it should run ok with both O2 sensors hooked up.

[stinkydogfilms]

Thanks Slymer,
I was wrong,it is the the stock injectors at 14 lbs. You and the others were right.

The TV cable was not adjusted correctly. I just spoke with the owner of the garage and said the car was ready, they adjusted the TV cable, shifting fine. I will pick up the car in the morning. I will check if the plug wires were re-routed. Seemed to run fine so I think the wires were routed for the HO. I will ask
if the injectors were re-pinned. Does re-pinned mean re-routed?

Should I try to get the HO computer with the car running LOPO injectors? Where is the computer located?Under the seat? or under the hood?

Thank you all for the education.
Mike

[gadget73]

Wires are probably HO, but the injector firing order won't be correct, nor will they be the right size. You really need the HO ECM and the 19# injectors for it to run correctly. Do not re-pin the injector harness. Ever. If they dicked with the wiring harness, make them un-dick it. Do not run an HO ECM with anything other than the 19# injectors either, it just won't work.

ECM is under the dash above the brake pedal, but the plug is in the engine compartment. Look next to the brake booster, between the booster and the fender and you'll see the plug. Remove the 10mm bolt in the middle, ECM unplugs, then you pull it out from under the dash. it sort of clips in there, so it can be a PITA to get free.

[Crownvicman289]

On my car, I'm running an HO EEC, 19# injectors from a 4.6L (better spray pattern, plus they're pocked sized), and a non-HO cam'd 289. The car is not MAF either and runs suprisingly smooth. There is a small hesitation, sometimes, down around 1500RPM or so when cracking the throttle, which I attribute more to the larger throttle body and higher than stock airflow than the injector firing order. Problem with the injector firing order is if one side of your engine runs leaner than the other, it trims what it thinks are the 4 injectors associated with that bank. When you flip them around, now the corrections that closed loop is applying are incorrect. That said, the car ran smooth enough to not piss me off and I was getting around 18mpg mixed. In 6 short weeks when I return home, I'll finally be able to swap in my Exploder engine with HO cam in and have the correct firing order so I'll be able to see if that does anything tangible or not.

[stinkydogfilms]

The garage say they adjusted the TV cable. The transmission shop could not get to it. Drove it home last night. Already put about 30-40 miles on it since getting back yesterday morning. The motor seems to pull very strong with the LOPO injectors and LOPO intake. I can only imagine how it would be down shifting. I guess the power difference is from the HO cam and HO heads.

Only problem is the shift points. It will shift 1-2 at 30-35 MPH cold.Warmed up 1-2 is at 25-35; 2-3 shift at 45-55 MPH. My speedometer is OFF at least 10 MPH too. The 1-2 shift feels awesome with a nice kick in the seat of the pants. There is no 3-4 shift, no overdrive and no kickdown. Should be no problem driving freeway speed in 3rd gear right?

The motor came with headers.
Was headers a factory option on the Mustang GT or Lincoln Mark 7? With the above mentioned set up any estimate on the current HP/torque?
It seems to a lot more than the original LOPO setup alone.

Even though the trans was fine( 2 1/2 years and maybe 20,000 miles ago) right before the engine swap, I wanted to do a trans rebuild in the Spring next year with the wide ratio gear set and higher stall torque converter after having the 3.55L rear put in January. I will have to drive just a few miles this weekend and when I go back to work on Tuesday leave it with the transmission shop next to my job. Should I try to get an HO AOD and have the WR gears added? What differences are in the HO-AOD and the LOPO AOD?

Do you think the shift problem is the ECM unit being the LOPO?
Where can I get an HO ECM? Would either a HO Mustang or Mark 7 ECM work the same?

Also need to drop off at the muffler shop. Have a leak where the headers meetup with the Y pipe on one side.
Will dual exhaust will lower the low end torque? Currently have single exhaust going into 1 glasspack muffler dumping down under the rear axle.

The engine runs great, no misses, no sputtering, no backfire. Only problem are the shifting issues.
Sorry for lots of questions. I know you guys will have the right answers.
Thanks everyone,
Mike