88tc Power Lost

[amosmoses]

MY CAR IS A 88TC WITH AT ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO ON THE WAY HOME FROM WORK, ABOUT TEN MILES AWAY,THE CAR STARTED PINGING/MISSING. BARELY MADE IT HOME. ALL GAUGES APPEAR NORMAL. LEFT CAR ALONE FOR ONE WEEK. LAST WEEK I STARTED TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS. PRIOR TO PROBLEM, I HAD REPLACED THE FOLLOWING: DISTRIBUTOR, PLUG WIRES, PLUGS, OXYGEN SENSOR, AND TPS.(ALL FORD PARTS); ALSO CLEANED ICM AND EGR. CAR WILL START BUT EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. IDLES VERY LOW AND MISSING. PAST HALF THROTTLE CAR REVS FINE, BUT WHEN PUT INTO GEAR CAR HARDLY PULLS ITSELF AROUND. MAYBE BLEW HEADGASKET? THERE IS NO WATER IN THE OIL OR BUBBLES IN THE RADIATOR. ANY HELP WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. AMOS

[I Love To Fix Cars]

Check timing belt. Roll engine over to TDC (mark on the crank pulley) then remove the plug on the belt cover to check for cam pulley alignment. Check for air leaks between the vane air flow sensor and the O2 sensor, my 84 ran poorly with the oil cap off. Make sure the vane air flow sensor moves freely and that it returns to it's idle stop. Hope that is some help.

[amosmoses]

ran compression test today #1 140 #2 141 #3 89 #4 90 i noticed water/gas mixture blowing up through spark plug holes on #3and #4 what is best head gasket to use on stock motor , can i reuse old head bolt or buy new ones. motor is high miles should i rebuilt the head when it's apart or just clean surfaces and put it back together. what about ranger cam swap is it better than turbo cam or just less drag because of it being roller my car is used is everyday driver so i'd like a little more low end power .

[I Love To Fix Cars]

You will need to take it apart to see what else is wrong (other than the head gasket). A Fel-Pro head gasket set should be OK but DO NOT use a gasket between the head and exaust manifold. Head bolts can be reused if they pass inspection. Do not know about the Ranger cam but if you go to a roller cam the cam followers will need to be replaced. Lack of low end power comes from being turbocharged. The commpression ratio on that engine is only 8.0:1 (non turbo is 9.5:1). Power is made with your foot in it at 3000rpm. Hope this helps.

[g_lower]

Originally Posted by I Love To Fix Cars

You will need to take it apart to see what else is wrong (other than the head gasket). A Fel-Pro head gasket set should be OK but DO NOT use a gasket between the head and exaust manifold. Head bolts can be reused if they pass inspection. Do not know about the Ranger cam but if you go to a roller cam the cam followers will need to be replaced. Lack of low end power comes from being turbocharged. The commpression ratio on that engine is only 8.0:1 (non turbo is 9.5:1). Power is made with your foot in it at 3000rpm. Hope this helps.

why not? I have used one for years with no problems. also turbo compression ratio is 7.5:1. as far as the ranger roller it is a good upgrade vs the stock turbo cam and there are upgrades for the ranger cam.