engine trouble.

[desertbronc]

my bronco acts up after it warms up, when u are driving it just loses power and the engine tone changes i can floor it and it will kick down a gear but the engine just goes brrrrrrrrrr and has virtually no power, i will pull over and i can rev it but it sounds the same and eventually it will die. and i can start it and the same problem, but if i let it sit there for a while it will be fine turn on and drive fine, but when u are driving it will start doing it again. i just have no idea what the **** it could be. i dont know if it could be electrical or fuel, maybe spark, because when it does that it smells like burning lighter fluid on a grill, no smoke just smell, not regular exhaust smell.

 

[BroncoJoe19]

I'm guessing that you have an early duraspark ignition.

Seabronc has mentioned more than once.

Does it act as though someone reached over your shoulder and turned the key off? If so, on older Duraspark electronic ignitions that was a classic symptom of a bad pick up coil in the distributor especially if it is followed by the symptom of it starts right up after having set for a while.

Next time she stalls on you, and then won't start, check to see if you have spark.

Also, snif at the ignition module to see if that is hot and is giving you that smell you spoke of.

 

[muddinlate86]

yeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssss you are dead on the same thing happend to me i rplaced the whole dis.though with a new ign.module thats deff your problem!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[desertbronc]

broncojoe, well ilive in az so its 100 degrees outside, so the whole engine bay is friking hot after 5 min of on time lol

muddinlate, so how do i swap for a ignition module, how do i know if i have a duraspark would a new cap and rotor work, if i replaced the ignition coil with a performance one like an Accel or MSD, and how hard is it to replace the pick up coil. cuz thats what i feel like the problem is, like i just lost half of my cylinders

 

[crazyhorse85]

IF YOUR 351W IS LIKE MINE THE MODULE SITS ON THE FENDER SKIRT...DRIVERS SIDE...AS FAR AS CHANGING THE COIL THERE'S NOT MUCH TO CHANGE...I ADDED A ACCEL SUPER COIL WITH LITTLE OR NO MODS...WORKS A LOT BETTER....BY THE WAY YOU DIDN'T SAY BUT ARE YOU STILL RUNNING CONVERTERS ON YOUR EXHUAST...IF SO HAVE YOU CHANGED THEM OR ARE THEY ORGINAL EQUIPMENT....JUST A THOUGHT....

 

[desertbronc]

oh ok the module looks pretty new, ive only had this since february. yeah the cat is on, or there i a cat better said.

 

[crazyhorse85]

On those modules it's hard to tell if there bad by looking at them....could be shorting out inside once it gets hot....I'm still leaning towards a plugged cat...and there's only one way to check them...is to drop the exhuast pipe and shine a light into...if it's plugged you'll be able to tell right off the bat...it'll be all nice and crusty black and you won't be able to see light through it like when there new....hope this helps..... B)

 

[BroncoJoe19]

Here is info on the duraspark distributor

http://home.earthlink.net/~rcfaulconer/duraspark/eec.htm

The pick up coil is depicted as a stator assembly in the pic.

 

[desertbronc]

ok thanks for that info. well when i went out to lunch and was coming backit started doing it again. like wonce i reach 35 mph it just looses the will to keep going,if i slow down it picks up fine thenat 30 - 35 it does it again. then when i went to turn it of i shut the key and it was shutting down then it started shaking and rattled then made a weird crshhhhhhhhhh and shut off. i turned it back on and it started fine, then i shut it off and it did it again. let it sit for like 1 min and no more. its totally fine. friking bronco from ****

 

[BroncoJoe19]

ok thanks for that info. well when i went out to lunch and was coming backit started doing it again. like wonce i reach 35 mph it just looses the will to keep going,if i slow down it picks up fine thenat 30 - 35 it does it again. then when i went to turn it of i shut the key and it was shutting down then it started shaking and rattled then made a weird crshhhhhhhhhh and shut off. i turned it back on and it started fine, then i shut it off and it did it again. let it sit for like 1 min and no more. its totally fine. friking bronco from ****

Yeah,

the intermittent problems really stink.

Perhaps you can call around and find out if it is possible to check the ignition module, if so, I would pull it and get it checked.

Also so that we have more to work with, see if it does it not so much at a particular speed, but perhaps at a particular RPM. See what RPM it acts up at, and then put it in second gear, and see if it is at a slower speed, but the same RPM. IF so, that would narrow it down a bit, and also point to the pickup coil in the dizzy, or the ignition module.

 

[desertbronc]

ok so im still having this issue. i replaced pick up coil, ignition coil, wires, spark plugs. and nothing still. it does it at any rpm as long as the engine is hot. i can hold the brake and give it gas and it will do it will start but at above 1.5K- 2k rpm it will do it and the rpms can drop a little or stay at 2k but with no power. i can give it more gas and the rpms go up a little, not much, but no power i wish i could record the sound it makes.

 

[BroncoJoe19]

Try changing your fuel filters. Also check your fuel line for leaks.

I suspect that you have two filters, one on the rail, and one just as the fuel line enters the carb.

Do you have a mechanical fuel pump, or do you have a one or two pump electrical pumping system?

Perhaps it has nothing with getting hot, but perhaps it is starving for fuel. WHen the engine is cold, it is choked.

I once had a cracked rubber hose from my fuel tank to my metal fuel line. My car ran fine, but hessitated at 50 MPH or so (in my old carbed car).

 

[desertbronc]

ok i will try that, its got a electical pump and a mechanical.

 

[BroncoJoe19]

ok i will try that, its got a electical pump and a mechanical.

Ah... this whole concept of two fuel pumps is strange to me, but when one has two pumps, there is also a fuel pressure regulator thrown into the mix, and a return fuel line to the tank. If I recall properly, my Haynes manual has pages of info on how to troubleshoot the system. One does need a fuel pressure guage to do so.

 

[desertbronc]

well after work i went for a test drive session to take a closer look at those symptoms. well it had rained the night before so i found some nice mud holes and everyting was fine the truck was not acting up it was running smooth and strong. now this place usually has nothing fancy just some small pools so i was going through most of them with no problem. i found one though that i could not take and got stuck. luckly there was a guy there with a 70's F250 with the works that pulled me out no problem. and not once did the bronco mis behave, what the ****.

 

[desertbronc]

well i did the test again and if it started acting up i would go through a deep puddle and the engine would cool off and it would be fine, so im leaning towards a overheating issue, what do u guys think.