alright im a young kid who loves cars (only american muscle) and ive asked questions about stuff on here before and you guys have been awesome with helping me out, but still my problems are not solved. please take time to read this and help me. pictures are the BEST

My car is an 87 formula swapped 350 and t5. Problems: codes 36--told it was MAF burnoff and code 42 -- electronic spark timing. on top of this when i first start it up and start driving it bucks so hard it gives me headaches, and while its bucking the SES light flashes a lot but not rhythmically, and even when the SES light seems to go off for a minute of so you can still see a light glow behind the SES. on top of this when its bucking its runs so bad i think a pedal bike could beat me. but after about 10-15 minutes the SES light stays on and the bucking stops and she drives pretty close to great. the other part to this problem is while its doing all this when i pull up to a light or something and put in the clutch it either sputters a little or just dies.

Next problem: after we pulled it out of the shop there seems to be a little bit of a jump in the tach, it like skips around especially in the 2k range especially skipping up but i dont hear any fluctuation in the engine barely, but when i do the engine actually bogs down a little while the tach is skipping up.

Next problem: the car likes to idle at about 1.5-2k (sticky return) but when it finally does idle down it dies.

Next problem: probably easy but i dont know where it is and ive heard this can cause the bucking... my temp sensor doesnt work now...where is the CTS? im hoping this will fix some of it.

What ive done to the car: tune up HP cap rotor wires, AC plugs, removed smog, shorty headers to Y-pipe, took apart cleaned and replaced gaskets (just top end), and thats about it. it had the bucking problem before i did then cleaning etc., and new O2 sensor.

I know i will think of more stuff it does to help aid in the diagnostic process, but this is all i can think of right now. my biggest question right now is where is thie CTS, i really want to try that. thank you guys so much, this is by far the best website ive ever been to. (also im not a tech of even close to a mechanic or anything so the more detailed and picture filled this is the better....

John

 

Your first problem is that the ESTC modules are different between 305 and 350 cars. I never changed mine and the car runs fine, but you will need to switch to the correct 350 knock sensor or it will throw the module into a panic because it will say it is detonating when it is not and vice versa. Change this sensor first and see if your problems go away.

The tach reads off the coil, so the jumping could be related to what is most surely a timing issue as noted above. Like I said, change the knock sensor and see if this goes away. If not post back and I'll help you troubleshoot it.

You can adjust the idle speed wtih the set screw on the throttle stop, but if your timing is screwy it will affect your idle speed too (the ECM is trying to keep the car running, which could explain the high idle). Also, unrealted to timing, but have you checked and adjusted your TPS?

Which CTS is bad? These cars have two or three depending on the year. There's a sender for the gauge in the left cylinder head. There's a switch for the fan relay in he front of the intake on the right side. There may also be second sender in that location if you have a cold start injector in your system.