went driving yesterday and was out on the interstate and heard a loud ...POP... and then the engine started to like flutter and the rpms dropped ( i left off the throttle and coasted down the interstate checking the oil pressure and my water temp and they were fine so got back on the throttle and seemed fine went like 4 miles and then the engine started fluttering again and rpms dropped i tried to stay in the throttle but just sounded really off let lucky there was a red light so stopped and idled ok rpms were good except the tick i can hear i still had about 3 miles till the place were i was meeting the rest of my folks for dinner and got there ( 2 more times where the engine fluttered and lost alot of power) its not like a fuel problem ive had that before but the power just isnt there at just randomly. when i got there and stopped i left her running and popped the hood and my air filter was off the carb and the post that holds it down was separated ( i have a 4in air filter so i have two post connected in the middle but idk if just got loosened of it broke or what.... but it was off and the engine was idling ok minus the tick that i can here. so i shut her off and got her put on a flat bed for the ride home. this morning i pulled the valve covers and turned the engine over by hand and seems to be fine on the top valve spring/rockers/push rods nothing was binding so i guess i need to go get a compression tester and try that now. what should i be looking for compression wise? also does smoke on start up and burns about a quart every 600 or so miles now... and i know thats not great but does have 69000 miles on the motor and its never been rebuilt thanks in advance guys
Sounds like you have a sticking intake valve (Pop blew the air filter off) Check all pushrods to see if any are bent. Smoke on start up indicates that you have bad valve seals/guides Definitely do a compression test it will give you a good idea if you have worn rings/valves. 100psi is a good average and all cyl readings need to be within 20% of each other to have an engine that will operate properly. Your oil consupmtion issue tells me you have a tired engine or it is sucking oil into the combustion chamber through the pcv valve. Good luck!!!
Here are my compression numbers that i just did 1- 103 2- 105 3- 99 4- 113 5- 110 6- 103 7- 93 8- 115 what ya'll think of these for a stock orginal engine Ive searched and seen some numbers saying a low of 120 for a good sealing top end
could be your ignition timing jumping around a bit but i would think that it would stay messed up.culd also be fuel pressure gettin wierd.
i dont think its the timing ( double roller chain that only 4000 miles old) and all wires are new and tight fuel pressure is good at 8 psi
Ticking valve train noise you stated in the first post... Bent pushrods/sticking/burnt valves...Those #s are typical of an old engine...#2 and #7 are where I would start my investigation...
69,000 on an engine is not old or worn out by any means. Should go a lot more miles. You compression looks pretty good to me. I was worried when you said the breather came off. I was afraid it sucked part of the hold down, like a nut into the carb and busted a piston. Is the top end stock? No roller rockers or stuff like that? I would do like suggested, loosen the rocker arms and pull the push rods. Keep them separated so they go back in the same spot. Roll each one on a flat table and make sure they are all straight. Also make sure you can see through them. clint Just to be sure make sure all the parts that hold your breather down are accounted for.
I agree Clint... A well maintained engine should go a lot of miles. Lets remember that in the 60's and 70's most cars were used out by the time they had 80K on em and the engines were tired. Metallurgy has come a along way since then, but durability was an issue on these old engines. A valve job at 50/60K was a common thing. Good catch on the ingesting something when the air cleaner came loose...I totally missed that.
yes its a completely stock 302 ( except a 4 barrel on top) and from what i remember and checked over all the parts are there for the air cleaner so i dont think anything got sucked down, but do you think its possible for something getting sucked down while i was going down the interstate? i know it would be slim chance i mean my air cleaner was still on top of the carb just slid back about a inch so i should start by pulling the top end? and seeing if anything is bent and all the pistons are fine?
No dont tear into it yet...Pull the rocker covers and look at the valve train components for broken valve springs,worn/loose rockers or bent push rods. If you cant do it or dont have the proper tools...Have a leak down test done on the engine...This will give you a definitive answer as to weather you need a valve job or not and go from there. Do a visual inspection first before you do anything else.
i did a visual check of all the rockers and the springs and of the push rods (from what i can see with out taking the intake off) and seems to be all fine ill take them back off tomorrow when i get time between classes and double check them all. idk if this will have the affect on my engine to the point where the engine was acting the way it is but all the spark plugs have a white color to them and from the guide in the mustang manual i have says that it means its running hot or to lean. hasnt been running over 180F and has been running on the same fuel mixture all summer and hasnt had a problem
Just a thought,you might want to check your fuel filter. The way you described the engine running sounds like fuel starvation. The lean condition would explain both the pop and the white spark plugs. I had mine do it also. It would run fine for awhile then the engine would lose power,start shaking, and if you kept your foot on the gas it would backfire through the carb. The fuel pressure will show ok because the guage is usually ahead of the filter.
Compression is fair considering, except for the 2 low readings on 2 and 7. A hot plug will be glazed and shiny looking...White ash deposits are usually from the additives in the fuel. Did you buy gas at a place other than where you normally do?? It could be fuel related but you described hearing a ticking noise when this occurred. That leads me to think you have a valve/valve train problem and your compression readings on cyl 2 and 7 are leading me in that direction. Unless the ticking sound you were hearing is actually pinging (spark knock) then I would consider fuel mixture/delivery or ingintion timeing or poor fuel quality.
hi just some input i had a buick regal winter driver and the choke sometimes didn't work on first start up so i took aircleaner off got it running and while it was running i dropped the 7/16 nut in the carb and it got sucked in the motor and sounded just like you explained i drove it home sounded terrible also felt like it had no power but did drive knew i was in troulble so i sold it for a couple hundred and bailed hope you can solve your problem and keep her alive GOOD LUCK!!!
