ok, got her all tuned up this afternoon with all the replaceable stuff......

fuel filter,plugs,wires,cap,rotor,coil, cleaned the throttle body......

couple of questions i have are- idle is now around 900-1000 most of the time, is this the comp resetting, will it settle back down ?

trans seems to be working extremely better...better shifting,shift points,over drive is playing very nicely now/no more "slamming" shifts, she is kicking down out of OD alot better then before...all this from a tune-up ??????

would swapping out the O sensor do any good, or is that simply a work/dont work part ??

the smallest gap i had was .65 on the old plugs....they ranged from .65 to .68 on the gaps.....the center electrodes were just little nubs for the most part.... definitely time for new ones

the old cap and rotor were black with carbon and pitted very badly.....17 years takes its toll...

she isnt 100% untouched original anymore....but damn she is running like a new truck now !


one last question- when i got her home i noticed a slight "ozone" smell coming from under the hood (sort of like new high power stereo equipment).....this sound normal for all the MSD stuff "curing" or do i need to look for something?

 

i did not however relocate the PCV valve.....i let my shop buddies talk me out of it, they said it would be too much constant vacuum and would suck the engine dry of oil on a bad day.....is there a real benefit to relocating it to the vacuum tree? are they just paranoid ?

 

Leave the PCV where it is, make sure you have no Vac leaks, including the PCV mount grommet, & no Vac hoses knocked off or leaking. What's base timing set at? Sometimes disconnecting the battery for 5 min. will help, but it depends what the cause actually is. It won't hurt to try it. Clean the IAC then check function also. Ford Fuel Injection Idle Air Bypass (IAB)

 

The higher idle should not be caused by doing a tune up. Cleaning the TB could have affected it though.

If the O2 sensor is original or old, replacing it may help. It is a maintanance part.

I can't say about the odd smell. That may be just what you think it is with all the new parts.

 

yea, the idle isnt going down and i have about 80 miles since tune up......in fact, it has increased slightly....i think i might have cracked an old vacuum line maybe.....that would cause the idle to increase right ? i will check the pcv grommet in the morning and start tracing out vacuum lines....

everything was factory original until the tune up, so i will replace the O sensor next week, along with cat and muffler.......maybe no muffler, i haven't decided yet

i'm still grinning from ear to ear every time i take off....slow down.....go in or out of over drive....i cant believe a tune up would affect trans performance like that

 

It could, but usually a vacuum leak causes the idle to surge up and down. I'd check for broken vacuum lines anyway.

 

well.....heres exactly what its doing.....

when i come to a stop.....and let it sit for a second, then put it in park, the idle goes to about 1100 or so.....and then slowly creeps back down to around 900 or so....it doesn't surge when in gear or sitting in park idling......when im in gear, it idles at about 850-900 now....sometimes a little more....sometimes a little less

its almost like it wont come out of high dle when cold.....but it does......everything seems to be working correctly, just the rpms have all been increased by about 150-200

 

i need to pull the plugs and re-gap them....i gapped at .48, and just read where if im going to maximize performance and efficiency i need to stretch the spark out to .55 and bump the timing to around 13-13.5.......

timing light is broken, so i haven't been able to set the timing yet.......the small gap(.48) and the hot ignition with factory timing(possibly "loose" timing, 17 y/o chain with 138,000 miles) wouldnt be screwing with the computer would it ?

 

Thats weird. Did you mess with anything else when you did the tune up?

I'm thinking vacuum leak is the most likely culprit. Check the 2 lines going to the coffee can on the passenger side. They are prone to getting bumped when changing spark plugs. If one of them is broken, you can use a small piece of vaccum hose and cut the line and splice it in.

 

its funny you mention those.......i remember them being in the way and getting pushed around so to say when i was removing the old plugs...that was going to be first thing checked

and yes, ive already done that type of fix to my max air vacuum line, it was almost like powder in a couple spots......1/8th inch fuel line is what i used i believe......

 

the idle thing should be a vaccum leak. my trucks doing the same thing and i have a trani line not hooked up right i think.
as for the trani performance didnt you clean the maf? or do you have one? that would affect how it shifts and such because of how the engine is firing and accelerating, same with the plugs wires etc. makes sense to me anyways.lol

 

yea, im SD......cleaned a ton of crud out of the throttle body

 

SD? ya that crap gets nasty when people dont keep it clean, def effects performance.

 

He means speed density.

I think the sticker under the hood on my truck says the plug gap is .052-.056.

 

The engine temp will also mod your idle. Weather accurate or not, the temp report of the ECT & ACT is critical. A report below 170F or above 225 of either, will add up to 200 rpm to your normal idle. Also, if you knocked the connectors off or disconnected one, The ECU will lock out that sensor input & substitute a generic setting that will error on the side of engine safety, which would be to add up to 200 rpm (which is it's response to either higher or lower than normal op. temps).

Error code scans at normal operating temp should tell on them! Once the errant or disconnected sensor is replaced or reconnected, the battery should be disconnected to clear the KAM (Kept adaptive memory), allowing it to rebuild w/ all sensor input again.

Your gap should be based on the gap range posted on the sticker under the hood, relative to the health of your ignition system. Average= mid range/ weak= low in range/ strong= high in range. Exception is when Ignition system has been upgraded. I run a 60K volt low .45 Ohm. coil w/ brass cap & rotor, MSD 8.5 Superconductor/ low resistance wires/ Motorcraft stock Nic plated Copper cores. Side gap Modified. Stock gap is .042-.046. I gap at .056. Also, Base time is set at 16 BTDC w/ 87 octane. I get 23 mph @ 65mpg. 87' 302 A/T. Works well for me. FullSizeBronco.com - 78 - 96 Ford Bronco offroad club, forums, tech, installs
Last Smog test, Hydrocarbon normal output .14 ppm/ my results were .01ppm.