out of 8. The rest look real good. so heres the question, can this be a plug wire problem or is it worse? I also saw that I have a leak from the carb at the accelerator pump, and the exhuast manifold is leaking. whats the best way to get the exhuast manifold bolts out with out breaking them? als whats your thoughts on the fouled plug?
first thing is to run a compression test on the engine. Second thing is to tell us what kind of engine it is so we can help with the exhaust bolts, there are tricks to some of them. carb probably needs to be rebuilt, get a kit for it at your local parts store most V8 exhaust manifolds are not supposed to be used with gaskets between the manifold and head, although most engine rebuild kits include gaskets and most people put them on for some unknown reason.
I just want to take a stab at this... I could be way off... someone correct me if I am. A fouled plug, especially just one, could be a bad plug wire, bad plug, or something wrong with one valve or ring. For the exhaust manifold bolts: PB Blaster works well for me for loosening crusty stuff. Heating the area around the female threads works for removing bolts from turbos, if it's where you can safely work with a propane or oxygen/acetylene (better) torch. That's probably not in the engine compartment, especially with that leaky carb. I'd try soaking the female threads with PB and see if they'll loosen easily enough. Though sometimes you can't tell whether they're loosening, or shearing. Thanks, Kurt
Yes it could be a bad plug wire. It could be just a bad plug. Like Squirrel says, a compression test will tell you where to look. It could be a simple repair or it could be an expensive internal problem. You could try swapping a near by plug and plug wire to see if the problem moves to the other cylinder. If it moves then you know the problem is not internal but is a simple tune up problem.
Ill do a compresion test today and see how that looks as a start. The Motor is a Ford 390 and yes it does have a gasket bettween the exhuast manifold and the head, so if I do get the bolts off I should be able to just remove the gasket and reinstall? where can I get PB Blaster? as for the carb it will need a rebuild. the plug is my main concern, how can I check the plug wires? continuity wont do it right? so should I just check to make sure im getting spark out of it?
My first thought was I hope it's not a 390. 390s are the ones I hated the most. The factory bolts have an indented head that rusts away over time. Don't even try it with a 12 pt socket. Get a good 6 pt socket. The bolts go into ears on the head. Do yourself a favor and use a torch to heat those ears red before you snap the bolt off. Good luck they can be a bitch and sometimes the head has to be removed to fix the problem correctly if they snap depending on the body style. If you get them off check the gasket surface of the head and the manifold closely. Often the projected cost of the repair on a used car would cause people to live with the ticking noise. Over time the leaking exhaust gasses will actually wear a groove in the cast iron gasket surface. 6 mos. after replacing the gasket it's ticking again. A good machine shop will have a belt sander for surfacing the manifold gasket surface. If they are shaky get them surfaced. It's too much work to do it over again.
so a ran a compresion test and this is what I have found. the cylinder in question is running 115 the one next to it is the same. im seeing about 115 to 120 on the cylinders. im hoping that it is just the wires. still need to know where I can find PB BLASTER. The engine is still in the car (59 Skyliner) so any other ideas on removing the exhuast manifold?
Walmart sells PB blaster and yes it does work very well. When you start to loosen the bolts, if you can get them to loosen just a little, keep spraying the PB and gently work the bolt back and forth. This will work the penetrant into the threads. BE PATIENT! Also, on your fouled plug, is it oil fouled or fuel? It would be strange to just have one plug fuel fouled unless the wire, plug, or cap are defective. The best way I've found to find weak rings is to use a cylinder leak tester. It puts air into the cylinder and pressurizes it, because sometimes a compression test is just not enough. Good Luck, Fordranchman (Long live the FE motors)
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