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hi guys, i'm new to this, so bear with me. i have an 87 f150 with a 302. i just changed the plugs, wires, cap and rotor. the engine was running decently up until i changed these things. once i changed them, there was a very noticeable loss of power and it even started backfiring. i probably just crossed some wires to the cap (at least i hope). my question is, how do i know which cylinder is which (#'s 1 through 8) for the proper firing order? I tried several different ways. one way would not allow me to start the motor. another way fired the motor right up. i had much more power, but then it quickly went away, and started putting around again. please tell me, which cylinder is number 1, 2, etc. also, why else might i be losing this much power? thanks in advance....
The cyl.'s on the passenger side are numbered 1 thru 4,while the drivers side is numbered 5 thru 8. the rotor turns in a CCW direction. It's to hard to explain where the #1 terminal is on the cap if yours is not marked. The fire order for the 5.0L 302 non HO is:1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8. As far as power goes,change your fuel filter,scrub the bores of the throttle body with a barrel brush and carb cleaner,remove the idle air solenoid {2 small phillips screws}and clean the valve by depressing it and clean with carb cleaner. This ought to get you there!
Phillip
thanks. i already have the proper firing order, the #1 terminal on the cap, and the fact that it is CCW. right now, i already have the plugs wired as you have stated (passenger side = 1-4, driver's side = 5-8), assuming that the #1 cylinder is closest to the front of the truck, not the back. I am also assuming that the # 5 cylinder is also closest to the front of the truck (see my poor example below). am i correct in assuming that the numbers 1 and 5 cylinders are towards the front of the truck? also, my sudden loss of power happened right after i attempted to change my plugs, wires, cap, and rotor. is my power loss likely to be from an improper installation? it seems too coincedental to me to lose that much power right after a plug/wire change. any other suggestions? again, thanks in advance. your input is greatly appreciated.
I,m wondering if there is one or more plugs that may have cracked insulators,either right out the box are during installation.I have also seen plug wires that were not finished correctly at the factory. By that I mean the terminal was crimped on to the wire,but the wire was never stripped back and folded over,under the terminal causing the spark to have to jump to the plug or cap.I have also seen a distributor cap come with no carbon brush for the rotor arm to rub on ! Always expect the worst to happen!
Phillip
Also, make sure you have a lot of separation between the plug wires so that they do not cross fire. This could cause the misfires and lack of power. Are your plugs gapped correctly? Do you have a vacuum advance and is it hooked up? Does your coil have enough juice??? Is your cap tight?? Did you replace your coil wire? Some dielectric goop in the plug boots may help to insure a better connection also.
the plugs were supposedly gapped correctly, i will verify after work. don't know the first thing about a vacuum advance. if it's easy to explain, feel free. otherwise, just tell me to look it up. how much is a new coil? it didn't look too pretty, but it didn't look all that bad either.
slik, you asked if my cap was tight. it does kind of wobble a little. it is definitely clipped in properly, though. could that be it? perhaps i got a factory defect.
oh yeah, i also used some of that goop.
phillip, thanks for the advice. i will try what you recommend later this week.
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