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Winter Auto Repair


webestang

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Have not posted much lately....fixing a not so bright idea from Ford/Mazda.......in the 80's they used the dizzy for a heat sink for the ignition module (TFI).... :rolleyes:

So....my TFI module failed for the 2nd time in my 85 Mustang DD, got a relocate kit and a new one coming.

Meantime I pulled the dizzy......cold work but at least the sun was out...... :blink:

dizzyout_zpsa8c61133.jpg
Someday I hope to have a garage.
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At least you're working on it from the top, working under a car this time of year, even with a garage and a lift, is a royal pain.

I'll second that. I've been in the car-repair biz for 30 yrs. Having ice-cold slush running down the back of your neck while under a lift first thing in the morning is special ..... :angry:

Good luck on the relocation upgrade!

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At least you're working on it from the top, working under a car this time of year, even with a garage and a lift, is a royal pain.

A friend if mine is tearing into a '91 5.0 GT project car in his garage and even with plastic blocking the doors and at least one torpedo heater cranked, his garage is coooold.

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exhaust is screwed up (actually melted the bumper cover!), ect.

I took my Geo Tracker to a shop for exhaust many years ago. It was a few days before I realized that they were sloppy in putting the exhaust pipe through the bumper and it melted it a bit. I took it back to them to fix, and when I went to pick it up they tried to present me with a bill for the adjustment. Yea right! They were lucky I didn't want a new back bumper from them!

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  • 3 weeks later...

I just remembered something! When Dad was still with C&NW back in the 80's, they had a bunch of F-Series highrails they were leasing that were refusing to start when on or near the tracks on hot summer days. It was driving them nuts because it put the track and train crews in danger in those situations and the Ford shops (as well as the company) kept insisting there wasn't anything wrong with the trucks showing these symptoms. Turns out the ignition modules for those trucks were mounted to the left front inner fenderwell right by the exhaust manifold for the engines left bank. At one point a couple track workers radioed in that their truck wouldn't start and a train was coming along on the same track they were currently sitting on. Dad happened to be there to hear it and asked if they had any water available, and they had one of those big Igloo dispensers in the bed. Dad told them to dump that on the ignition module and see if that would work. They thought he was crazy, but since there were no other options, did it anyway and he truck fired up and they were able to get it to either the next siding or road crossing and get it off the that track. That's when they officially figured out those modules were getting heat soaked and refusing to work and told Ford what they found as well as a suggestion to fix it. Ford told them they didn't know what they were talking about and that if they went through with the fix they had planned, which was to extend the harness and move the module up by the left front headlight where it would see cooler temps, the warranties would be voided on all such modified trucks. The road went for employee safety instead and made the changes anyway, then when it came time to lease new track vehicles, made the switch to GMC from then on until the UP gobbled them up.

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I just remembered something! When Dad was still with C&NW back in the 80's, they had a bunch of F-Series highrails they were leasing that were refusing to start when on or near the tracks on hot summer days. It was driving them nuts because it put the track and train crews in danger in those situations and the Ford shops (as well as the company) kept insisting there wasn't anything wrong with the trucks showing these symptoms. Turns out the ignition modules for those trucks were mounted to the left front inner fenderwell right by the exhaust manifold for the engines left bank. At one point a couple track workers radioed in that their truck wouldn't start and a train was coming along on the same track they were currently sitting on. Dad happened to be there to hear it and asked if they had any water available, and they had one of those big Igloo dispensers in the bed. Dad told them to dump that on the ignition module and see if that would work. They thought he was crazy, but since there were no other options, did it anyway and he truck fired up and they were able to get it to either the next siding or road crossing and get it off the that track. That's when they officially figured out those modules were getting heat soaked and refusing to work and told Ford what they found as well as a suggestion to fix it. Ford told them they didn't know what they were talking about and that if they went through with the fix they had planned, which was to extend the harness and move the module up by the left front headlight where it would see cooler temps, the warranties would be voided on all such modified trucks. The road went for employee safety instead and made the changes anyway, then when it came time to lease new track vehicles, made the switch to GMC from then on until the UP gobbled them up.

Glad to hear they and the truck made it through that......!

Ford got handed a class action suit against them for these TFI's in the around 1990. Starting with the 94 models all TFI's were fender mounted. I remember my Pop's 84 T-Bird used to not start. Same problem. He sold it before he found out about the TFI. If I were to clean and re-grease the back of the TFI every month I guess it would still work.....LOL

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Hey Scotty,

I had to replace the module on an '86 Escort that I onced owned, so often, that I'd buy them 2 at a time. It got so I felt like "the old man" from the movie Christmas Story, "I could change 'em faster than a jack rabbit on a date"!

Edited by madhorseman
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The first brand new car I bought was this 1986 Mustang with a 2.3 4-speed.

img033_zpse75e12ea.jpg

(that's my ex-wife standing next to it-never looking better :lol:)

When it was 2 years old it burned up one of those modules too. A friend of mine was into those 2.3 engines and he knew right away what the problem was-same as mentioned above, I started carrying an extra in the glove box, like how I used to keep an extra ballast resister in the glove box when I drove a few mid '70s Chrysler products :D

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The first brand new car I bought was this 1986 Mustang with a 2.3 4-speed.

img033_zpse75e12ea.jpg

(that's my ex-wife standing next to it-never looking better :lol:)

When it was 2 years old it burned up one of those modules too. A friend of mine was into those 2.3 engines and he knew right away what the problem was-same as mentioned above, I started carrying an extra in the glove box, like how I used to keep an extra ballast resister in the glove box when I drove a few mid '70s Chrysler products :D

I know what You mean, I owned a couple of Mo Pars back then too!!!

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Guess I'll be joinin' you fellas workin' out in the cold shortly. Moving from a house with a big 2-car garage and a nice, toasty-warm drive-in basement into a little place with an open carport and a small unheated shop about big enough for a Lotus 7.

Soon as I'm settled I've gotta do a head-gasket on a friend's PT Cruiser, pull the engine out of the 911 to fix a pulled head stud, finish the engine rebuild on the Spyder, and do timing-belt, water pump and seals on an old MR-2 (plus troubleshoot the electrics to see why she won't start after sitting for 3 years).

Brrrrr. And wet if the recent weather is anything to go by.

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