New Mark VIII need help

[jpalm]

I bought a mark for 600 bucks. Runs and drives. has thunderbird wheels on it. kinda bad. Its in need of some TLC. Air ride needs attention although it works. front sits as usual though. interior is a mess body needs some work. Ill post some pics to give you the full effect.
Anyways i know it needs a tune up but can anyone give me an idea what it would sound and feel like if the timing is a bit off? the guy i bought it from said it needs plugs and wires and i've driven cars that needed those and have a miss. to me it feels like the timing might be a tad off but i'm no mechanic, just handy with tools.

 

[brentalan]

First off, before we guess, is there a check engine light on?

If so, get the codes so that we know exactly what's wrong.

If no CEL, perform the tune-up first, then come back. Buying an old car with no idea of the history means that you should just replace all the consumables to have a solid baseline to work from.

 

[danny_holtermann]

what year, and color.. cause it does matter

 

[micahs97m8]

This thread is useless without pics!!

 

[American Air-1]

As far as the air system goes, your welcome to use either our main site help section: http://www.americanairsuspension.com/MARK VIII AREA.htm

-OR- our new mobile phone app(below)

 

[jpalm]

Nope no check engine light. Its a 94 with Green Metallic, original paint. 120,000 miles Oh and it sat for 2 years prior to being moved...

 

[brentalan]

Considering it sat so long, might be a stupid question but have you filled the tank with fresh gas?

That aside, do the tune-up. If the problem is still occuring, let us know.

 

[GMAN]

The best thing is to do a basic tune up, so you can have a base to start. New plugs, wires especially. Remove the air tube, clean the throttle body, clean the MAF. Also may want to seafoam the intake as well.

 

[brentalan]

Toss a fuel and the air filter on there too.

 

[LaserSVT]

Toss a fuel and the air filter on there too.

+1


BTW, timing is not adjustable by the end user so dont worry that the timing "changed" or someone set it wrong. The exception would be if it has a chip but as stated, plugs/wires/filters go a long way for running issues on these cars.

 

[jpalm]

thanks guys... ill get to it this weekend

 

[cobrajoe]

Spark plug gap can actually change your timing. Spark plugs that are gapped too wide (either installed with too wide of a gap or worn out to a wider gap) will delay the spark.

Also, worn plug wires can cause running problems too. If the wires are cross sparking or have too much resistance, they can cause a slight miss at light throttle.

Also, I'd recommend putting some fuel injector cleaner in the tank, gas can turn into a varnish after sitting for a long time.

 

[mespock]

what year, and color.. cause it does matter

Yup color matters a lot ...

 

[LaserSVT]

Spark plug gap can actually change your timing. Spark plugs that are gapped too wide (either installed with too wide of a gap or worn out to a wider gap) will delay the spark.

:shifty:

Also, worn plug wires can cause running problems too. If the wires are cross sparking or have too much resistance, they can cause a slight miss at light throttle.

Makes sense.

Also, I'd recommend putting some fuel injector cleaner in the tank, gas can turn into a varnish after sitting for a long time.

Snake oil.

 

[mark82nv]

did the darker colors have different gap settings for the spark plugs?

 

[AndyT]

did the darker colors have different gap settings for the spark plugs?

:shifty: .......................................yes. Yes, I do believe they did....

 

[cobrajoe]

Snake oil.

It's not a cure-all. But since the car has been sitting for a long time, the fuel could have turned into a varnish or the gas tank could have picked up some water. A good fuel system cleaner is a cheap way to help either problem.

And a wider gap can retard your timing by a little bit. I'm not sure by how much or if it would even be noticeable on a street engine, but due to the weird physics of electromagnetics inside the coil, it causes the spark to occur later when the gap is bigger. If I only understood Physics 213 in college, maybe I could explain it.

EDIT: Maybe it doesn't affect the actual timing, just how the combustion reacts to a larger or smaller spark. Wikipedia says this:

A small kernel will make the engine run as though the ignition timing was retarded, and a large one as though the timing was advanced.

So, maybe I was remembering wrong from when I heard it last...