I used the felpro gaskets, and completed the installation sucessfully. The engine is no longer leaking oil from the valve covers!

The bad news: I did not adjust the valves when I had the covers off because I thought it was running alright. Well now I have a nice misfire, and the engine is not running even close to how it was before. Also, it appeared to be overheating. I double checked everything using the manual, and I can't see where I went wrong. I am not a mechanic, so I am hoping you might have some questions possibly for me that might point me in some directions?!

The engine had been running poorly when I got it, but I cleaned up the carb and its air supply and it seemed to be running a million times better.

If I have to take the covers back off, I am confident I could now do it much, much quicker than it took me before.

How hard is it to adjust the valves so I can at least eleminate that as an issue? What tools do I need?

 

You probably got your plug wires on wrong.

The firing order is 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2

Most likely culprits are the 5-7 plug wires.

jms

 

i agree with jms start at #1 wire and go clockwise. its easy to get them crossed up. later jimmy

 

I would hope it would be that simple, but I will have to double check that. I could have sworn I got the plug wires back on the correct plugs. It does seem like its not firing on all 8 though.

 

Also check to see that you don't have a wire that is burnt and or grounding out, that one gets alot of people too. If they are ok and in the correct places, did you put any die-electric grease on the boots when you plugged them back onto the plugs?

 

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I didn't get a chance to dig into it anymore tonight, but I will again tomorrow. The engine bay is relativley clean, and I didn't see anything obvious. I will check the plug wires first.

Also, what size socket are the plugs so I can pull and inspect.

I did not use any die elctric grease.

 

plugs should be 5/8 socket and wrench. youll probably have to get at part of them from the bottom of the car.kinda tight fit unless you have small hands. be patient, later jimmy

 

Guys, you were 100% correct. I had time to go back in and check it this morning. The car is now running 100 times better. I feel like such a boob! I had the wires on the distributor slightly out of order.

Now only a few other little things to clear up and this thing will be good to go!

THANKS

 

Trust me when I say this you are not the first that happen to. I made that very same mistake and had to double back too. At least is was not something that cost money to fix.

 

I'm also guessing you got 5 and 7 backwards. That's the most common ones that get mixed up.

As for your first post about adjusting the valves, your stock engine will have hydraulic lifters. If they needed adjustment, something is worn out.

 

I messed up, and this will sound crazy, cylinder 2 and 4 were the problem. I just swaped the plug wires into the wrong place. This firing order patten had to have been designed by a mad scientist. I had to draw myself a diagram to understand what was actually happening, but in principle, I STILL DONT UNDERSTAND.

 

If somebody designed a motor with a crank and cam to fire 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 the whole engine would vibrate horribly i bet.

 

All engines have the most forward cylinder labeled as #1. On most engines that's the left front cylinder. Many engines label the cylinders 1, 3, 5, 7 on the left bank and 2, 4, 6, 8 on the right bank and use the 18436572 firing order. Because 2 cylinders from opposite banks are on the same crank journal, 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, 7/8, a specific firing order is required when each piston reaches TDC on the compression stroke. The camshaft controls what valves are opened or closed during the crankshafts rotation. By using a 4/7 swap cam, you can change the valve opening timing and change the firing order to 18735642 which theoretically improves fuel distribution problems at cylinders 5 and 7 but really just moves the problem to cylinder 2 and 4.

Ford has the #1 cylinder on the right front and labels their cylinders 1, 2, 3, 4 on the right bank and 5, 6, 7, 8 on the left bank. They use a different firing order but also have cylinders labeled differently.

International diesel engines (Ford Powerstroke) also have the right front as #1 but label the cylinders 1, 3, 5, 7 on the right and 2, 4, 6, 8 an the left.

Knowing cylinder location and firing order for different engines can be difficult at times.

 

my friends 300zx fires 1-2-3-4-5-6 and it doesn't vibrate horribly.

left bank 1-3-5 right bank 2-4-6