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XF EDDIE

86 XF Falcon Ute not starting

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Ok I haven't pulled the down pipe off yet but just driving it around its doing some funky shit. Sometimes its just fine but most of the time its fucked but it has degrees of fucked. Sometimes it just has a shaky idle and sometimes it will stall at idle. I sorta resurrected my compression tester and got 120 on cylinder 1. Low but it should still run? I swapped in some plugs from my xh which made no difference. I should have more once I pull the down pipe but im not hopeful that that's the problem as the cat element seemed pretty clear and not loose as well as the exhaust flow seeming pretty good but at this point im just throwing shit at the wall and hoping for some stickage. Any other ideas for me to try on the weekend?

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1 hour ago, XF EDDIE said:

. I sorta resurrected my compression tester and got 120 on cylinder 1. Low but it should still run?

My last crossflow XF had 120psi on all 6 and i drove it 120,000kms before the head gasket blew again(when it blew the first time, i just stuck another gasket on and sent it again, blew Saturday night and i changed it the next day)

if it had 5 cyls of compression and one with zero it would run good enough consistently.

i'm still saying it's got to be spark or fuel, 
could be the EST computer in the kick panel being erratic, 

could be bad connections,  you could try running a wire from the battery (+) to the coil (+) and that would be a good test it's not the rest of the wiring (connections/ignition switch etc) can't turn it off though without removing that wire though, so it's potentially dangerous.. 

 

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Well we have knocking. I was looking at it today and i noticed that a knocking sound was coming from the front of the engine. It didnt sound rod related but it has me wondering about the timing chain. Does it have a tensioner? and could a fucked up timing chain be causing the problems. I checked my timing and it was bouncing wildly from 3 to 8 degrees but i do know that the est controls this. What do you all think? Could the timing chain be the issue or am I barking up the wrong tree?

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23 minutes ago, XF EDDIE said:

Well we have knocking. I was looking at it today and i noticed that a knocking sound was coming from the front of the engine. It didnt sound rod related but it has me wondering about the timing chain. Does it have a tensioner? and could a fucked up timing chain be causing the problems. I checked my timing and it was bouncing wildly from 3 to 8 degrees but i do know that the est controls this. What do you all think? Could the timing chain be the issue or am I barking up the wrong tree?

 

They run ok with timing chain so worn it rubs on the timing case. 

Rule out noisy belts next time it's running by tipping water over the fan belts (these can make a horrible racket surprisingly 

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25 minutes ago, XF EDDIE said:

Well we have knocking. It didnt sound rod related but it has me wondering about the timing chain. Does it have a tensioner? 

No tensioner on them.

 

 

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My phones being a cunt but its making a poping sound and can be best heard through the carby. Its worst when its under load and now it runs like crap all the time at all rpms. Do you think its over for this engine?

 

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1 hour ago, XF EDDIE said:

 

That's a video of the popping

 

 

@Thom reckon this sounds like  cross firing (crap dizzy cap or leads) or a sticky valve.. 

seems to run smooth at some point so it's surely not a pushrod? 

what's a sticky lifter do when they go bad?

definitely odd, my first thought would be to look at the dissy cap for cross firing (you can do this in the dark possibly, as Dad's 351 was like one of those millennium balls at night when it was sprayed with rusty water from the radiator)
 

 

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[mention=43]Thom[/mention] reckon this sounds like  cross firing (crap dizzy cap or leads) or a sticky valve.. 
seems to run smooth at some point so it's surely not a pushrod? 
what's a sticky lifter do when they go bad?

definitely odd, my first thought would be to look at the dissy cap for cross firing (you can do this in the dark possibly, as Dad's 351 was like one of those millennium balls at night when it was sprayed with rusty water from the radiator)
 
 
I think deans on it, only other thing it could be is a valve not seating

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7 hours ago, XF EDDIE said:

 its making a poping sound and can be best heard through the carby. Its worst when its under load and now it runs like crap all the time at all rpms. Do you think its over for this engine?

 

 

The engine sounds healthy, it's just missing on one cylinder.

 

@deankxf, I'd check for spark leakage in the dark, with a spray bottle of water.

 

And also do a cylinder drop test -

with engine running, remove/refit each plug lead in turn at the spark plugs, and listen for engine note change/rpm drop

(advise to pre-loosen all leads before starting engine, then use gloves/pliers to avoid zappage)

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4 hours ago, deankxf said:

it's surely not a pushrod? 

what's a sticky lifter do when they go bad?

 

They clatter like nobody's business.

Could be a sticky intake valve, but I'd expect to hear valve-train ticking?

 

A vacuum gauge, would show a sticking intake valve as momentary positive pressure.

(needle would flicker to low vacuum)

 

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4 hours ago, SPArKy_Dave said:

 

They clatter like nobody's business.

Could be a sticky intake valve, but I'd expect to hear valve-train ticking?

 

A vacuum gauge, would show a sticking intake valve as momentary positive pressure.

(needle would flicker to low vacuum)

 

Yeah I'll get a vid of the vaccum gauge but it does seem to be jumping at idle and cylinder 1 seems to do nothing. It is making a rattle at the front of the engine aswell. For the crossfire test do I just spray water at the dizzy?

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10 hours ago, SPArKy_Dave said:

 

They clatter like nobody's business.

Could be a sticky intake valve, but I'd expect to hear valve-train ticking?

 

A vacuum gauge, would show a sticking intake valve as momentary positive pressure.

(needle would flicker to low vacuum)

 

The dipping in vacuum is in sync with the popping so I think a sticky valve is possible 

 

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I just checked for crossfire but didn't see any however I noticed that the engine revs go up significantly when I pull a vacuum line. Could a fucked up carby cause any of this?

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7 hours ago, XF EDDIE said:

The dipping in vacuum is in sync with the popping so I think a sticky valve is possible 

 

 

That's 100% a stuck intake valve/valve not sealing.

Just need to confirm which cylinder.

 

Have u pulled the rocker cover yet?

 

After sitting for yrs, my XF wagon had x3 stuck intake valves.

With alot of patience, I attempted to free them using penetrene down the valve stem, and a nylon hammer.

That partially worked.

 

In the end, I removed the spark plug/s, and using a drinking straw as a feed/guide,

fed a whole heap of thin nylon rope (from bunnings) into each problem cylinder, leaving the rope end sticking out the spark plug hole.

Next I rotated the engine, so the piston sandwiched the rope against the underside of the valves.

 

With that done, I removed the valve spring, wrapped the valve stem in some tape as protection,

then fitted a cordless drill to the exposed valve stem and ran the drill back and forth with more penetrene down the valve stem/guide.

 

Doing the above, eventually got them loose.

 

 

4 hours ago, XF EDDIE said:

I just checked for crossfire but didn't see any however I noticed that the engine revs go up significantly when I pull a vacuum line.

 

Ur carburettor is ok.

RPM's will always increase with a vacuum leak - ur introducing extra air into the engine, same as opening the throttle.

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1 hour ago, SPArKy_Dave said:

 

That's 100% a stuck intake valve/valve not sealing.

Just need to confirm which cylinder.

 

Have u pulled the rocker cover yet?

 

After sitting for yrs, my XF wagon had x3 stuck intake valves.

With alot of patience, I attempted to free them using penetrene down the valve stem, and a nylon hammer.

That partially worked.

 

In the end, I removed the spark plug/s, and using a drinking straw as a feed/guide,

fed a whole heap of thin nylon rope (from bunnings) into each problem cylinder, leaving the rope end sticking out the spark plug hole.

Next I rotated the engine, so the piston sandwiched the rope against the underside of the valves.

 

With that done, I removed the valve spring, wrapped the valve stem in some tape as protection,

then fitted a cordless drill to the exposed valve stem and ran the drill back and forth with more penetrene down the valve stem/guide.

 

Doing the above, eventually got them loose.

 

 

 

Ur carburettor is ok.

RPM's will always increase with a vacuum leak - ur introducing extra air into the engine, same as opening the throttle.

I'll pull the cover tomorrow. What specifically should I look for?

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Look for loose rockers

 

If ur keen to go further,

unbolt/remove the intake rockers, then (firmly) tap each valve stem with a nylon/soft blow hammer.

(using a normal steel hammer will damage/mushroom the valve stem tip)

 

Tap hard enough, to slightly compress the spring/bounce the valve off it's seat and back.

Listen to the note.

 

You'll hear any stuck valves.

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Still runs like crap but the knocking is gone. Still popping tho so I'll check the valves. I took this video of it for your viewing pleasure. Let me know if you see something off

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