SVO Skipping!?

[Storminnorman]

My "84 SVO was skipping when I bought it.The cap and rotor were pretty crappy.I put in new plugs,wires,cap and rotor and air filter plus an oil change.It still runs on 3 cylinders,WTF?It's a total dog until the turbo kicks in.It has new stock exahaust but it does have a leak at the orig. maifold.I don't know much about turbo's but I believe it will loose some pwer from the leak(how much I don't know???)The car has 116k orig. on the engine and has been sitting a couple of years.Please help!!!

[Eyelawdoc]

Welcome to the wonderful world of SVO's! The symptoms you describe are quite common, especially for cars that have been neglected and sitting for a long period. First you must be sure that there are NO vacuum or boosted air leaks. Make sure all of your hoses and vacuum lines are secure. Check to see that the PCV system is hooked up and functioning properly. A new Motorcraft PCV valve should be installed. These things won't run right on anything but the Motorcraft part.

Then, check your timing. It should be set at 10 degrees BTC with the spout out.

Also check your wiring, especially the wiring to and from the TFI module plug. If you see any missing, broken or cracked insulation, replace the wiring. This is VERY IMPORTANT. Bad wiring is a BIG PROBLEM on 84's!!!

A compression check is in order. There may be a good reason why it only runs on 3 cylinders, instead of 4!

Next replace your fuel filter. You may want to check to make sure you are getting adequate fuel pressure at the Schrader fitting on the firewall near the injector plumbing.

Also, last but not least, run the codes with a scanner. You can pick up one for about $20 at most autoparts stores.

All of these checks can be performed with a minimum of time and expense. What you don't want to do is just start randomly replacing parts, hoping it will solve the problem. That gets expensive as well as frustrating.

A logical, analytical problem solving approach is best.

[NY eric]

leaking manifold

just chiming in.

Is the leak bad enough to fry the wire? The exaust leak will greatly affect turbo spool up. If it is the old E3 it will souit you well to replace with the E6.

Eric

[Storminnorman]

The leak is deff. noticable but not that bad.

[Stinger]

Have verified it's only running on 3 cylinders? Is there spark at all 4 plugs?

Stinger