91 Lincoln runs rough

There seems to be some very knowledgeable folks here so I'm hoping that
someone may be able to provide me with some insight- the majority of my
automotive engine experience relates to normally aspirated motors and is
probably 20 years out of date. I'm really not up to speed on computer
controled, FI engines and I have not yet been able to locate a service
manual for this thing.

Here's the background:

I bought a '91 Lincoln Continental which had been sitting since last August
(my brother didn't want to take it for inspection because the rear valve
cover gasket was leaking oil onto the exhaust manifold- but this isn't my
worry).

I noticed a slight hesitation in the motor while driving so I popped the
hood to take a look- there were acorns (whole, and bits and pieces) strewn
all over the engine compartment and the intake manifold was covered in
squirrel turds. Uh-oh. I took off the cover to the air intake box and pulled
out the air filter- the box was 2/3-3/4 full of acorns and bits and pieces
thereof, and the filter was thick with acorn dust and pieces. No problem,
easy replacement and a shop vac got all the acorns out of the box.

While I was at it I took a closer look at everything else...not too bad,
only one slightly gnawed plug wire. So I sez to myself "Don't do it
half-assed, if you're going to replace the wires you might as well do the
cap, rotor and plugs at the same time."

No problemo, I goes and gets Borg-Warner cap, rotor and SuperMAG wires, and
Bosch Platinum +4 sparkplugs. (What nimrod designed this thing so tight?
Can't get to the plugs on the rear side of the transverse mounted motor
without removing the entire air intake assembly, and even then it's a bitch-
and I've got some pretty damned skinny hands and arms.)

Changed out the first plug and ran the new wire, wanted to do them one at a
time so I wouldn't accidently get them on in the wrong order. OK, might as
well put the new cap and rotor on now...get a philips head screwdriver-
oops, cap screw won't budge, head strips out. That's OK, they'll take a
socket too. SNAP, SNAP...both broke off in the distributor housing. Wasted a
lot of time and effort trying to drill steel screws out of aluminum, the
ears broke off when I tried to re-thread them.

Crap, go get another distributor. Make reference marks on the motor,
distributors and rotor mounts. Unbolt the alternator and swing it out of the
way, remove NFG distributor. Lube up new one, insert oil-pump shaft, account
for the twist on the gear and position the rotor mount and stick it in.
Tight fit, gently tap with rubber hammer so as not to break *this*
one...voila, everything lines up perfectly. Bolt it in, put alternator back,
put new plugs, wires, cap and rotor on, and re-assemble air intake. Go
inside and wash blood and grease off hands, put band-aids on.

Go back out and turn the key. Crank, crank, crank, crank...finally starts.
Runs real rough, for about 30 seconds, then dies. Repeat, then won't start
again. Check all wires, look for loose vacuum lines, all looks good. WTF?
Try it again- No Go. Disconnect battery to try to clear computer, go have a
smoke and a cup of coffee, think about having something stronger than
coffee.

10 minutes, maybe 20, re-connect battery and try it again. Finally starts,
runs a little longer but now charging system warning light is on. Manage to
loosen distributor mounting bolt and get inch-and-a-quarter wrench on hex at
top of distributor shaft without removing alternator this time. Get it
started again and rotate dist a little bit each way to see if that will
smooth it out- no change. Charging system warning still on. Dies, won't
start again.

Unbolt alternator to get a closer look at base of distributor, looks OK,
line up reference marks and tighten mounting bolt. Discovered bottom bolt of
alternator bracket had not been tight when I took it out the 2nd time,
corrected that and bolted everything back together, adjusting the alternator
position slightly. Still won't start. Disconnected battery and gave up for
the night.

Re-connect battery this AM and try again. Starts hard, but it starts and
stays running but very rough. Good news is charging system warning light
doesn't come on now.

How the hell do I get this motor to smooth out and run right? Is there a
timing adjustment somewhere (aside from the computer)? It used to be (many
years ago) that I could do it perfectly just by ear...I guess those days are
gone?

Lacking the service manual (and maybe some specialized tools and
electronics?), is there anything I can do besides limping it down to a
mechanic who knows more about these motors than I do?

Thanks in advance for any assistance someone may be able to give...

your sure the gear on the dist is in the right place?

does it have any codes?

Thanks for responding...

"Erik Litchy" > wrote in message
news:jgb1c.102511$Xp.438673@attbi_s54...
> your sure the gear on the dist is in the right place?

Yes. I made reference marks on the old unit, on the base of the stem and the
engine block to be sure the unit itself was mounted correctly; and I made
reference marks inside the housing to be sure that the rotor would be in the
same position, then I duplicated the markings *exactly* on the new unit,
both inside and out so that I could be sure everything was synched
correctly.

I accounted for the twist of the gear when installing the new unit, and all
of the marks were correctly aligned when it was in, exactly as intended.
That's what has me bugged- I was extremely careful to ensure that the new
unit was installed exactly the same as the old one, in theory it *should* be
OK.

>
> does it have any codes?

If there *are* any error codes, I don't know how to get them and I have not
yet been able to obtain a service manual.

I used to know how to access them on my Ram truck using a particular
ignition key sequence, but I've forgotten it. I doubt that it would be the
same sequence on a Ford product anyway.

My '88 Cougar has what appears to be pretty much the same 3.8L FI motor as
my '91 Lincoln. Timing instructions say to disconnect the "in-line spout
connector" (electrical...to computer?), start pre-warmed engine and set
timing to 10 degrees BTDC, then reconnect the electrical connector.

Anybody have any idea *which* connector they mean?


"Arthur Dent" > wrote in message
...
> There seems to be some very knowledgeable folks here so I'm hoping that
> someone may be able to provide me with some insight- the majority of my
> automotive engine experience relates to normally aspirated motors and is
> probably 20 years out of date. I'm really not up to speed on computer
> controled, FI engines and I have not yet been able to locate a service
> manual for this thing.
>
> Here's the background:
>
> I bought a '91 Lincoln Continental which had been sitting since last
August
> (my brother didn't want to take it for inspection because the rear valve
> cover gasket was leaking oil onto the exhaust manifold- but this isn't my
> worry).
>
> I noticed a slight hesitation in the motor while driving so I popped the
> hood to take a look- there were acorns (whole, and bits and pieces) strewn
> all over the engine compartment and the intake manifold was covered in
> squirrel turds. Uh-oh. I took off the cover to the air intake box and
pulled
> out the air filter- the box was 2/3-3/4 full of acorns and bits and pieces
> thereof, and the filter was thick with acorn dust and pieces. No problem,
> easy replacement and a shop vac got all the acorns out of the box.
>
> While I was at it I took a closer look at everything else...not too bad,
> only one slightly gnawed plug wire. So I sez to myself "Don't do it
> half-assed, if you're going to replace the wires you might as well do the
> cap, rotor and plugs at the same time."
>
> No problemo, I goes and gets Borg-Warner cap, rotor and SuperMAG wires,
and
> Bosch Platinum +4 sparkplugs. (What nimrod designed this thing so tight?
> Can't get to the plugs on the rear side of the transverse mounted motor
> without removing the entire air intake assembly, and even then it's a
bitch-
> and I've got some pretty damned skinny hands and arms.)
>
> Changed out the first plug and ran the new wire, wanted to do them one at
a
> time so I wouldn't accidently get them on in the wrong order. OK, might as
> well put the new cap and rotor on now...get a philips head screwdriver-
> oops, cap screw won't budge, head strips out. That's OK, they'll take a
> socket too. SNAP, SNAP...both broke off in the distributor housing. Wasted
a
> lot of time and effort trying to drill steel screws out of aluminum, the
> ears broke off when I tried to re-thread them.
>
> Crap, go get another distributor. Make reference marks on the motor,
> distributors and rotor mounts. Unbolt the alternator and swing it out of
the
> way, remove NFG distributor. Lube up new one, insert oil-pump shaft,
account
> for the twist on the gear and position the rotor mount and stick it in.
> Tight fit, gently tap with rubber hammer so as not to break *this*
> one...voila, everything lines up perfectly. Bolt it in, put alternator
back,
> put new plugs, wires, cap and rotor on, and re-assemble air intake. Go
> inside and wash blood and grease off hands, put band-aids on.
>
> Go back out and turn the key. Crank, crank, crank, crank...finally starts.
> Runs real rough, for about 30 seconds, then dies. Repeat, then won't start
> again. Check all wires, look for loose vacuum lines, all looks good. WTF?
> Try it again- No Go. Disconnect battery to try to clear computer, go have
a
> smoke and a cup of coffee, think about having something stronger than
> coffee.
>
> 10 minutes, maybe 20, re-connect battery and try it again. Finally starts,
> runs a little longer but now charging system warning light is on. Manage
to
> loosen distributor mounting bolt and get inch-and-a-quarter wrench on hex
at
> top of distributor shaft without removing alternator this time. Get it
> started again and rotate dist a little bit each way to see if that will
> smooth it out- no change. Charging system warning still on. Dies, won't
> start again.
>
> Unbolt alternator to get a closer look at base of distributor, looks OK,
> line up reference marks and tighten mounting bolt. Discovered bottom bolt
of
> alternator bracket had not been tight when I took it out the 2nd time,
> corrected that and bolted everything back together, adjusting the
alternator
> position slightly. Still won't start. Disconnected battery and gave up for
> the night.
>
> Re-connect battery this AM and try again. Starts hard, but it starts and
> stays running but very rough. Good news is charging system warning light
> doesn't come on now.
>
> How the hell do I get this motor to smooth out and run right? Is there a
> timing adjustment somewhere (aside from the computer)? It used to be (many
> years ago) that I could do it perfectly just by ear...I guess those days
are
> gone?
>
> Lacking the service manual (and maybe some specialized tools and
> electronics?), is there anything I can do besides limping it down to a
> mechanic who knows more about these motors than I do?
>
> Thanks in advance for any assistance someone may be able to give...
>
>