Firing Order Has Me Fired Up.....

[Tiggie]

Really? That’s good to hear. Maybe one day while I’m cruising around I’ll see it again. It’s nice to see people taking care of these old cars.

Yes. There is an app called Orto that gives really good VIN history info for free. That's what told me about yours.

I stalked my old 82 and it's a cold trail after the new owner transferred the title in 2007.

[gadget73]

that app is pretty cool. Found my Conti was at 65k in 1989 when it was inspected in North Carolina, renewed in 2000 in NC, inspected at 127k in New York in 2006, and when I registered it in 2017 its at 182k. Its at 199k now. I honestly never believed it really had 200k on it, but maybe it does. When I got it the odometer said "error" and when I fixed it the number it showed was 182k so thats what I put on the title when I filed it.

[ootdega]

Ironic that the first forum post I see is exactly the problem I'm having with my 89 5.0 PI Vic.

It started normally the first time, and has refused to start again. I have quadruple checked the wires, all the plugs are torqued to spec, and the parts are high quality. By all accounts, I have done everything right regarding the ignition.

I broke a vacuum line somewhere in the process, and there's already a vacuum leak under the dash that is very audible when it's in park. The automatic parking brake release doesn't work, as you can probably guess. I have no idea what to do about the leak under the dash, but it sounds expensive, and I am poor. I know from experience that replacing the heater core was an 800 dollar job, and that was ten years ago. I don't even know where to start looking for the vacuum line, and I can't find it by sound if I can't get the engine started.

It backfires heavily as it tries to start and smells like catless exhaust afterward. I have tried both firing orders, I've put the old cap back on, I've put the airbox back on, nothing.

The old cap has markings on it in Sharpie. It has 1, 2, 3, and 4 marked on 8, 5, 4, and 6 respectively. No clue why.

This was supposed to be a one day job, and I have now been without a car for four days.

[FordMan77]

The vac leak sound under the dash is likely the auto park brake release unit. Just pull the line off of it and stick a golf tee in it and see if your hiss goes away. If so, then 1 vac leak down.

[Arquemann]

Yes. There is an app called Orto that gives really good VIN history info for free. That's what told me about yours.

Anyone want to check my MGM on that app and PM me the results? I can't use that app in Finland. My car's vin is on the 1st post of the RR thread.

[Lutrova]

Anyone want to check my MGM on that app and PM me the results? I can't use that app in Finland. My car's vin is on the 1st post of the RR thread.

There isn't much in the history report. Manufactured Nov 28, 1984, followed by a bunch of emissions tests through the '90s, all in West Palm Beach, FL. Some sort of title change Feb 7, 2001, and then a new owner reported Mar 13, 2002, which must've been the people who took it to Finland.

[Arquemann]

There isn't much in the history report. Manufactured Nov 28, 1984, followed by a bunch of emissions tests through the '90s, all in West Palm Beach, FL. Some sort of title change Feb 7, 2001, and then a new owner reported Mar 13, 2002, which must've been the people who took it to Finland.

Thanks, cool to know where in FL it's been.
Interesting that it says new owner for 2002. I'd presume it has just something to do with exporting and re-registration. There's some nonsense regarding ownership and tax free importing.
Bummer that there's not more. Supposedly it had the 1st owner from new to '90 and then to the 2nd owner who I bought it from in Finland.

Enough OT maybe. Continue in RR if feels like it.

[ootdega]

The vac leak sound under the dash is likely the auto park brake release unit. Just pull the line off of it and stick a golf tee in it and see if your hiss goes away. If so, then 1 vac leak down.

Alright, that's what I figured it was. Here's hoping I don't have to disassemble anything significant to find it.

[sly]

Actuator is up in the corner where the driver side dash meets the kick panel. The vacuum switch is near the firewall on the shift shaft next to the steering shaft. Usually pull the black line and plug it. The white line goes to the actuator. Could also just be loose. I've had that happen before too. Press back on the valve and see.

[ootdega]

I figured it out. The flex joint was giving me false positives on the torque wrench, so several plugs were loose. One was backfiring past the plug. I also counted the cylinders wrong because I am a very smart and intelligent galaxy brain juggernaut of thinking good.

I fixed the vacuum line under the hood with heat shrink wrap and zip ties from my PC repair gear. Seems solid. The other one can wait a bit, but I'm keeping a screencap for future reference.

[gadget73]

people use torque wrenches on spark plugs in iron heads? What?

[sly]

Iron heads... tight. Good enough.
+1 I never care about iron heads. Just use a standard 3/8 ratchet and give it one grunt after snug.

Aluminum heads... Torque wrench every time. And make it click 2-3 times at least.

[DerekTheGreat]

^^^Yep, that's my torque spec with iron heads too.

[ootdega]

That's what the book said so that's what I did. I'm too poor to be experienced with this, or to take chances. The last thing I need is for a spark plug to round off and be impossible to remove. With how things go in my life, that is...absolutely a possibility.

I have been told multiple times by multiple people that I am the unluckiest person they have ever met. My perfectionism is a survival skill.

[DerekTheGreat]

With ally-ooh-min-um heads, you'd strip the threads before you'd round the plug off. Removing the plugs at that point would be really easy.