First, several of you that I met at the Gathering in Round Rock could write the car's past. Some of you have watched the black '85.5 go from owner to lot to lot, seemingly for several years. The only history that we have is a copy of the title dated 11/30/95. Henry Braswell of Austin had sold the car to Harold McGee of Austin, apparently as of 9/1/95. On 5/3/96, McMorris Downtown Ford acquired it from Harold McGee. The title was transferred to First Street Auto Sales on 5/14/96.
Then on 6/26/96, Alan Armitage of Alan's Motors in Cedar Park purchased the car with the intent for it to be his driver. Alan had been a new car salesman for Ford and had driven an SVO but never owned one. While having the blown head gasket repaired, Alan also had the valves ground and the turbo rebuilt. Still, the car wouldn't run. Jim Whelan happened to see the car, stopped to talk with Alan, and happened to notice a ground wire that was not connected. Bingo! Like magic, the car ran (possibly for the first time in years). Not well, mind you, but it was driveable.
Alas, Alan's college son required a tonsillectomy and Alan decided to sell the SVO to pay for it. Troy Storm fell in love with it at first sight. After the test drive and a day or two of negotiations, Troy brought it home. Ironically, Jim Whelan brought a buyer from Minnesota out to Alan's the next morning only to find the car was already sold. They found out where Linda (Troy's mom) was working and stopped by to say hi. That was when we learned that SVOs are rare and that the '85.5 is the most rare of the breed.
Now is when the fun (?) begins. The car ran a little rough (127,000 miles on the clock) and occasionally the idle would jump to over 2000. We started our tune-up/rebuilding journey by replacing the oxygen sensor. The old one appeared to be the original and was way past due to be replaced. Fuel mileage jumped from 90 to 120 miles per tank. Great! Oh-oh, what's that noise? Ok, the rear brakes are down to metal, so new rotors and pads are installed. Yep, sure enough, the front needs rotors, pads, and bearings too. Well, at least that's over with for a while.
On the first really cold morning of the winter, a puddle appears under the engine. Oops, forgot to check the antifreeze. Fortunately, the only damage was to a heater hose. A little work and now we know that the hoses are new and the antifreeze is right. "Dodged another bullet."
Gee, I wish the fog lamps worked. Ah, this one's disconnected. There's one. Need a bulb for the other one. You want how much for a bulb? Yeah, thank you too, but at least now they both work. Good thing Christmas is here. The windshield wiper blades are beyond worn out. Thanks, sis, for the wiper blades, spark plugs and wires. Maybe this will take care of that miss and rough idle. Thanks too for that new sensor tester; the Throttle Position Sensor checks out fine. That's one out of the way. Well, it runs a little better, anyway.
Those battery wires look awfully close to the fender. Oh, that's not the right battery huh? Good, that looks much better, but where is the battery hold-down? At my Ford dealer? Thanks. Better get an alignment and balance now. Say neighbor, I didn't know you worked here. Great, thanks for the special treatment. See ya soon with the other car.
What do you mean "the car won't idle?" It does what to the tires "idling" at 3000? I'll bet the guys behind you were happy, having to wait another change of the light for the smoke to clear. These vacuum hoses appear to be original. Better put some new ones in (all 47 or so of them, just to be sure). Shucks, I can't get this fuel line fitting to seat so I guess I need a new fuel line too. Jim, what do you think the problem is? Yes, I read your article in the last SVO newsletter. I'll start right in cleaning the throttle body and upper manifold. I will also flush the intercooler while it's off.
The injectors are all different? A matching (correct) set will probably make a difference. The cam and rockers show natural wear but nothing really bad. Gushing oil, what a mess! Better put the valve cover back on before continuing the compression check.
That replacement Ford rubber valve cover gasket is so much nicer than that old cork one. Gotta put some tape on these various bare spots of wire and solder that twist-together while I can get to them. Still won't idle but looks a lot better.
Thanks for the exhaust manifold bolt. Now I can support the turbo oil line. By the way, do you have an upper, front intake manifold bolt? Some Teflon pipe sealer should help reduce the vacuum leak around the turbo inlet fitting. Oh, these turbo vacuum hoses are length critical? I'll make up another pair, this time exactly 15" long.
Jim, what do I try next? The car has been down for four weeks now, and the Gathering is next weekend. Idle air bypass? You can loan me a complete throttle body for the day? I'll be right over. Uh, Jim, she still won't idle. I'll see you in Round Rock tomorrow anyway. Better put my throttle body back together and back on. There went the idle air bypass bolt hole. Thank goodness there is room to enlarge and re-tap it. This idle air bypass is gonna be the death of me yet!
Let's see what your scanner can get out of this stupid computer. The Engine Coolant Temperature (ECT) and the MAP sensors are bad. That new EGR valve still doesn't work even with a new vacuum line and T fitting. Ok, let's try a new EGR control solenoid. Where did all that gas come from? The fuel pressure gauge seal let go at 80 psi? Isn't that a little high? Add a pressure regulator to the shopping list. You want how much for a socket that will work over the ECT? Is it gold-plated? Oh well, I've gotta have it. The fixes cured all the computer codes and the EGR works now, but still no idle.
I didn't know you could check that many things under the hood with a voltmeter. Ah, the oxygen sensor is reading outside of specs telling the computer to add more fuel. Well maybe the high fuel pressure and the weird combination of injectors damaged that new one. Catch the parts store before they close. Let's see what this new one does. Darn! Same thing. Why? Vacuum leak maybe? Let's try a different sealer on the turbo inlet vacuum fitting. Inspect the vane air hose for leaks. Tighten the fit on the valve cover cap. Try that other throttle body again. Maybe the idle air bypass will show as the problem now that the other stuff is done. No change, and the O2 sensor still shows lean? What is it supposed to read? Rapid cycle between .4 and .8 volts. Thanks. No, Jim, I am not ready to let you haul it off and add it to your collection (yet).
Hi-de-ho neighbor. Hey, I've got this problem. No, I mean with the car. A bad ground? (Ford's bright idea light bulb glows.) That's it! The exhaust pipe threads were really rusty. Now with a battery booster cable from the battery ground to the base of the O2 sensor, let's try it again. Hot dog! Party time! 1100 rpm all by itself! And has never sounded this good since we have owned it. Pull that sensor back out (don't forget your gloves). Gimme that battery cable terminal brush. Ok, put the sensor back into those nice, clean threads and try it again. Boogie on, man!
Well, 5 weeks and $x,xxx.xx later, on the road again. Cylinder #1 is down on compression but it's in the valves not the rings. It still idles a little rough and occasionally jumps to over 2000 rpm on its own. Maybe I will try that new idle bypass after all.