Should I buy my parts at Autozone *(1/3rd of the price of dealers parts) example TFI and dealer $122.00, Autozone $32.99 hey! whats the deal.

Here's my problem: *(no this is not a repost its modified form last 24hrs changes.)


1990 Bronco Full Size Eddie Bauer 4x4 351w 150k. Car dying at stop lights.

This morning it was doing it right off the bat, usually it runs to work great then the rest of the day I have problems when stopping and Idle runs high when this is happening.

No engine warning lite however, I have been told that the engine has blow by and is worn out, I can physically see smoke *(when oil cap off after hot a little fog) however not really eating oil and it run 75mph great this engine has blow by but it has plenty of compression no powerloss ever, except when I stop.

It appears to me that maybe the fuel pump is giving out. It acts like its having trouble getting gas at Idle speed and dies however, when I get the engine speed up it run like a champ as long as I dont stop.

I've had timing set, rotor, cap plugs and pwires, timing , oil changed religiously with high mileage oil, fuel filter all changed. Also, been regularly running injector cleaner in gas.

I am leaning towards TFI *(can this be replace without removing the distributor?)

Can someone tell me where the fuel regulartor is located Im gonna replace that as well. I also plan on replacing the coil which wasnt replace at time of dist cap and wires. Any suggestions

[U]

 

Pardon my ignorance, but could you tell me what a TFI is?

I've got a similar problem, started getting harder to start without stalling, then just wouldn't start. Sat for Five days then started without a problem twice. Next day wouldn't start for a few times, then started once, and second time died and wouldn't start anymore. Didn't hear electric pumps working, so I replaced fuel pump relay, but no change. So far that's where I'm at and it's a 1990 efi also.

 

You probably have a vaccume hose that is cracked or not on. Recently they found that the TFI was fine.

Here is a link to Thick Film Integrated (TFI-IV) ignition system

http://www.cybrrpartspro.com/cgi-win...kupResults*****

You might look at the all vacume hoses, tfi and IAC, the fuel regulartor could also be it.

best advice i have is get to a autozone and get it code tested for free. Firestone has an 80$ code test and diag.

 

I hate autozone, cause most of the people don't ever or will never touch an engine. If its not on there comp screen, then it doesent exist.
I olmost got in a fight with some kid there about 10 months ago, I was looking for parts for my 66 corvair buggy (66 corvair engine)
The kid kept incisting that I ment corvette.
He kept doing thise untill I was about to pull him over the counter and drag his snot nosed **** out side to my corvair powered street rail buggy, and shove his face into the engine and ask him if that looked like a front mounted corvette engine, pancake 6 cyl. engine. Any way a maneger came along and he had some expirience with cars. He helped me out.

Sorry, I just felt like ranting about past issues, it still bugs me.

 

If you want cheap prices and a place that is open at night and on weekends you just have to put up with it. They only pay minimum wage so what do you expect? NAPA or the dealer are better at knowlege, but you pay a lot more and they tend to keep short hours.

Jim

 

I consider myself very fortunate to have one of the largest Ford truck dealers in the country right here and their parts/service dept. is 24 hours. Granted, they deal in heavy trucks and now Sterling trucks but they keep a very healthy supply of Ford light truck parts in stock as well. (the warehouse is half a city block) I broke a front shock mount at 10:30 one night. Sent the wife to go get one from them. They gave her the part with an employee discount of about 25% and told her to tell me to send her for the parts any time. I always find it intriguing that she can seem to bat her eyes and still have the parts guys take her seriously. Guess when she asks for the part by its correct name and often the part number as well, they assume she knows something.

 

Stay away from Autozone.

I recomend Advance auto, Checker, Parts America. Its all the same thing I think. A few years ago autozone opened a store in my town, 2 years later advance auto opened right across the street. Good timing cause now all the parts I got at autozone are already going bad so I' replacing with stuff from Advance.

 

As said above, you can't beat their hours and prices.

 

I used to be the assistant store manager at an Advance Autoparts in atlanta.

What I am about to tell you goes for all parts stores except NAPA and the dealer

1. Do not by any non name brand parts from them, because they are junk. Yes the dealer is more but the parts are way better.
If you want to get dealer parts cheaper then make a friend.
How you ask, easy. Always deal with the same person, Learn his name and introduce youself to him so he knows yours. Be polite and respectful if you do this he will remember you. Thats what I did at the local Ford parts department, after 2 or 3 times he started giving me discounts. Now we hang out at car shows and the races. He now gives me the employee discount.
Cheap Ford parts and I made a Friend too.

2. Part store employees are often kids or people who are working a second job. No one ever trains these people how to look up parts, they learn on the job and most don't know how to look stuff up in the books because they weren't trained. They are not mechanics and some of them have never worked on a car.

3. Retail parts is a horrible job, unlike normal retail the customers in a parts store are a lot of times extremely hostile when they first walk in the door. The reason for this hostility is simple, somthing on there car broke and now they have to come to the parts store to spend their hard earned money on somthing they never wanted to buy in the first place. So remember that poor employee has probably already had someone yell at them that day already. So cut them some slack.

(thats why I have a nice cushy office job now)

4. If you send your wife, son, doughter or friend to the parts store for you, expect to get the wrong part. I have been cussed out for selling someone's wife the wrong part so many times its pathetic, and after me and the husband start looking up the vehicle we usually find that the wife told me somthing wrong. Now the husband is mad at me, the car, the part and his wife.
Only send someone to the parts store for you if they know the vehicle and what you are trying to do or you give them the part number.

(yes greystreak I send my wife too but she is not the norm)

5. If they ask you for a lot of information when you are trying to return something don't get grumpy at the employee. He/she is only following the company guidelines. If they are caught not doing this during a return they can be fired. So they are just trying to keep their job.

6. If you call and get put on hold don't get mad. You are probably being put on hold because there are several people standing in line waiting to be served. When later you have someone else pick up the phone it is because after a short time being on hold the phone system starts ringing back so someone answers it and that person also has people standing in front of them waiting.

7. If you are in the store and the phone rings and the employee that is helping you or who you are waiting to be helped by answers it don't get mad. Just think about if you were that person and you have been on hold for a while.

8. your 1998 Z71 does not have a carberator. After this customer yelled at me, the manager actualy had to take this guy outside and show him the injectors before he would believe it and he still did not apologize for yelling at me.

9. If the employee trying to help you is not knowledgeable about your specific vehicle politly ask to see the manager, They have been doing this a lot longer than the 18yo you are talking to, and are more likely to be able to help.

10. If the employee says they don't sell a part for your vehicle and has not looked in the great big rack of parts catalogs then he is wrong. Last week me and a budie of mine where at the local Advance Autoparts looking for a throttle body gasket for a Mustang. The employee could not find it in the computer, so I walked around the counter (they know me there) and looked it up in the Felpro book. I found it and we punched the part number in. Guess what, it was in the computer and they had one after all.
The problem was it was listed as a carb mounting gasket! (wtf) The computer was programmed wrong.

There you go a couple of easy guidelines to retail parts stores

Wow that was a long post sorry about the rant

 

NAPA is overrated and sells crap parts too.

 

Some times yes, you have to take napa parts on a case by case basis. The one in my town hase an actual machine shop in it and i use thear bearing press and brake lathe alot. Thats wy I listed them. But true a lot of there parts are junk to. Thats wy I only buy parts from the dealer. I only buy stuff like bolts nuts washers and hose clamps from retail stores.

 

I am on Bronco #5 first was a 75 302 sq box. every time I bought a non Ford dealer part I regretted it. This goes back to my first Ford truck a 1929 Model B pickup with rag top. Before the 29 died of rust it had been converted to Hyd breaks, 1948 Merc flat head, bored out .1000, headers & 4bbl carb + lowered. It was fix or repair dailey, but I loved it. Almost all Chevys still had sixes, blew their doors off.

 

2. Part store employees are often kids or people who are working a second job. No one ever trains these people how to look up parts, they learn on the job and most don't know how to look stuff up in the books because they weren't trained. They are not mechanics and some of them have never worked on a car.

3. Retail parts is a horrible job, unlike normal retail the customers in a parts store are a lot of times extremely hostile when they first walk in the door. The reason for this hostility is simple, somthing on there car broke and now they have to come to the parts store to spend their hard earned money on somthing they never wanted to buy in the first place. So remember that poor employee has probably already had someone yell at them that day already. So cut them some slack.

_gacknar


I usually do cut them slack, but this kid was really pushing me. It is usually very dificult to **** me off. but I don't like being told that I am mistaken about a car that I own.
Plus, when the manager came to help me, he found corvair at the bottom of the list.

 

ditto

 

pleas see number 9