kishy's 1985 Country Squire

[gadget73]

I have two distributors in the trunk.

of the Continental. Because thats clearly where they are most needed.

[DerekTheGreat]

+1 for the reason to keep a spare dizzy in these things at all times.

[gadget73]

It definitely works but it just seems like they were using both the round one and the triangle one at the same time, and I don't understand why.

[kishy]

I put the car on ramps today and:

1. Zip tied the fuel pump connector above the tank on the frame. I remain suspicious that this connector is a problem waiting to happen but at least the number of ways it can mess up my day are reduced with the zip tie present.

2. Removed the sending unit, inspected it for evidence of fuel leaking through it, found none, did identify a failure of the gasket (appeared to roll over), and then reinstalled the sending unit with a new gasket.









I did test-fit one of the Mopar gaskets (this car did not have one in it, so it's probably in the 83 MGM) but I found one of the Ford-design ones was thicker and seemed to provide more resistance for the lock ring, so I went that direction with it. I also noticed that my plastic fuel float (an Omix-ADA part marketed for assorted older Jeeps but this size of float is nearly universal) has taken on some fuel so will eventually probably sink, but it's fine for now.

Filled the tank and verified no leaks. Problem solved.

On the distributor bushing and oil groove:
It occurs to me that the bushing running dry probably gets hot. It might be worthwhile for anyone who has experienced repeat TFI module failure to pull the shaft and check out the bushing - or buy a cheap reman.

The round rotor seems to be a 1984-1985 thing, so yes CFI, but it seems to be completely equal in function to the pointy style rotor seen on the SEFI cars. I am certain that, if the correct gear is on the end of the shaft, either style distributor can swap in place of each other.

[gadget73]

The grooves are almost always packed solid with crap. A proper refresh on one of the distributors would involve cleaning up inside the body and cleaning the crap out of that groove.

I don't know what the deal is with that goofy rotor but I've seen it a few times on CFI cars. Not sure if it was something they superseded or what.

[kishy]

Yeah, so, in the wake of this I kinda went a little nuts on RockAuto. Ordered a reman distributor (has PIP but not TFI, and no cap adapter/rotor/cap) of both the 86+ variant and the 85- variant, since RA had closeouts (probably CarQuest) for 60ish Canadian bucks each. These can be my road trip spares. Also replenished my shelf spare PIP which is the part I've now installed in this car. Annoyingly, the reman older distributor takes the absolutely bonkers rotor design that my Town Car uses but that the wagon does not. Round plastic rotor that screws on. Maybe for fleet standardization I should swap one car or the other so they both share the same design. I do have shelf spares of both types of rotor.

The shaft actually has a groove machined in it, presumably to allow a small amount of oil to find its way up through the bushing. Mine was totally caked with crunchy oil/carbon stuff, which I cleaned out with a pick. Reassembled with just WD40 to make it go in a little easier and found it spins nicely. But I'm sure they cook those bushings when the oil groove is packed for long enough. I also bet it doesn't take long like that to start wearing enough for the reluctor wheel to eat the PIP, but I believe mine was just a freak failure of the adhesive that is presumably on the backside of the magnet.

Not only did Grand1 buy some of those gaskets but he also sent two of them to me. One is installed in...something. I don't recall what. Maybe it's this vehicle. The other is somewhere, probably in my tote of fuel system parts. I am concerned that my leak might not be the gasket but may be through the sending unit itself, as I may have damaged/disturbed it when the tank was laid down upon it. A moment of carelessness I could have avoided easily, but didn't.

[VicCrownVic]

At the suggestion of Wagonman in Grand1's '79 MGM thread: "Use a MOPAR gasket part# 03404451." We did end up going with that gasket when we replaced the junk float on Grand1's sending unit a few months ago. Wagonman had suggested that gasket 4 years ago when Grand1 first mentioned the sending unit not working. Grand1 bought a few of those gaskets 4 years ago when the suggestion was made, but we finally used one on the car that sparked the suggestion.

That gasket is wider and maybe thicker than the Ford one, and we had no issues installing it, and as far as I know no leaks reported from Grand1.

[gadget73]

everything runs off the PIP signal so if that was funky it will make everything run funky.

The distributor from the black Mark VII gave John trouble when that engine went in his 85. Ran fine in the Mark VII but he ended up fixing it with OEM parts. The aftermarket stuff was apparently being bitchy. I think some tunes or ECMs may be more sensitive to it than others but no idea why.

[sly]

Highly possible. I had a pip get a little loose and grind itself away on the reluctor wheel. Car ran fine for a long time for the most part but did eventually die after the sensor was ground down through the package to the internals. Ran better with the new dizzy. The bearings (or is it bushings?) in the dizzy were shot as well. When I pulled it out it would not spin smoothly at all. It was rather crusty. I think this was on the Lincoln I sold to Nick. Might have been the 93 F150 I sold to a day laborer. Both had dizzy troubles while I had them. One was TFI, the other was PIP and both were crusty as when I pulled them IIRC.

[kishy]

Got a ride back across the border (if anyone missed this detail, the car was broken down in the US while I live in Canada) and picked up the car tonight. Put a couple gallons of gas in it to get it home, but not enough to leak from the sending unit, which I will need to study closer before trusting again.

A couple thoughts:
I am almost positive this car starts quicker (in fewer revolutions) now than it did before.
I'm also almost positive that it's quicker, and that the weird throttle dead spot I discussed 40 or 60 pages ago is gone.

It might just be because I messed with the timing in the course of doing this (and it has been set to 10 or maybe 11 BTDC with a timing light), but I wonder if the PIP was marginal for a while.

[gadget73]

Basically the same fail mode I had with the black Mark VII, except the magnet left the holder entirely.

[kishy]

Solved! Nice find…..7-1-25 unless this is all a month in the past.

...oof

I know it's the first, but the first of what month? No clue, apparently.

[sly]

Dizzy bits borked. At least that one is generally "easy" to fix.

[87gtVIC]

Solved! Nice find…..7-1-25 unless this is all a month in the past.

[kishy]

PIP is broken.
Magnet detached and cocked itself sideways, which is why it was still providing a signal, just too erratic to run the engine.

Replaced, car runs again. Good stuff. Will retrieve the car when I have another Canadian friend available to come over with me.