'85 Merkur XR4Ti Rally Car

MrChaos said:

302 or zetec time

You know what, for the sake of argument, how would you do a 302 quickly and for maximum reliability?  Carbed, dressed crate engine with warranty?  It's already got a T5 and a driveshaft and diff that could handle it.  Something like this?

You would need a SN95/ MN12 style front accessories or a late model Explorer would work also.

Your T5 probably wouldn't work or you would need to change the input shaft at the very least.

Would a carb work well on a rally stage?

I'd get a early 2000's  302 Explorer engine from a junk yard, when it pops, toss in another one. They are cheap.

Contact James Deberry for the install kit. I can send you his contact info if you want.

In reply to GPz11 :

Not sure about the carb honestly.  Plenty of people seem to get by with sidedrafts but I don't know about your typical circle track or street/strip type thing.  The thing I like about it (in theory anyway) is less stuff to go wrong.

Oh for sure, I get it. Another thing might be something like an EFI Tech set up which is a self contained unit that would bolt to a four barrel intake.

Fun fact: Merkurs at Carlisle and Oregon Trail Rally are both this weekend.  The Merkur show has way more "help, broken on the side of the road, parts needed" posts than the rally by a landslide.  

I'm laid up with an injury and infection, so have only been able to do small stuff.  I have checked every wire I reasonably can, along with ignition components.  And I pulled the valve cover and ran it a bit to see if everything under there moves like it should (it does):  

These wonky looking spring seats aren't a problem, right?  Valves move smoothly:  

Next step is to clean up all the oil and reseal/reinstll the valve cover, then move on to serious injector and fuel rail diagnosis.  Not feeling up to it at the moment.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

Fun fact: Merkurs at Carlisle and Oregon Trail Rally are both this weekend. 

Fun Fact #2: There was a Merkur at Oregon Trail Rally. Spectating, not racing. As far as I know, it was not broken. 

Then again, I never saw it move.

Put the valve cover back on:  

Swapped fancy bronze gear to one of my good spare distributors:  

Swapped distributors again on the basis that the only remaining ignition component I hadn't replaced was the pickup in the distributor itself:  

Nope.  Still runs like dogE36 M3.  At this point, all of the following have been swapped/confirmed good:

-Entire ignition system
-Entire fuel system
-Every checkable set parameter (fuel pressure, ignition timing, cam timing, etc.)
-Every sensor
-ECU

I have ordered the (hopefully) right fitting to get a good compression test.  It basically has to be compression or wiring at this point, and I can't immediately find anything in the wiring that is wrong (sat there all afternoon with a meter and a wiring diagram) but the PO definitely didn't do a great job splicing things together so I'm still suspicious of it.  I have the stock harness from the parts car, which would require modification to fit but will probably be the next step if the compression test is good.

Thinking back on my ownership of this thing just blows my mind- even just this year.  It ran fine for all of WMWR, let me think I had it all ironed out, then stabbed me in the back with whatever this current issue is.  I have never had a car so actively resist living.

How old is the fuel (I hesitate to call it gasoline) in your tank? I have had fuel failure in as little as 3 weeks with open vent systems in humid conditions. The ethanol separates from the petrochemicals and becomes non combustible at the A/F ratios set for good fuel. New fuel does not mix with old fuel if this happens thanks to ethanol, you need to drain thoroughly and re-fill. Symptoms in a fuel injected car feel like ignition miss or even complete shut down.

In reply to TurnerX19 :

Interesting theory- car was last filled about 5-6 weeks ago I think.  When the problem was still intermittent.  Sunoco 93 as (almost) always.

Get this fixed, and plan to meet us at ESPR (now an ARA super-regional)  in October, and send this thing off in style ;)

I second the "try a new tank of fuel." 

What about throttle position sensor?

In reply to irish44j :

Compression test first, but fuel is on the list.  I'm still hanging onto a little bit of hope that we can make NEFR, but I'm not about to sign up without knowing what's going on with the engine.  ESPR doesn't look like a super fun event, but maybe- it is even closer to home than STPR for us.

In reply to wvumtnbkr :

The TPS is good, although there's always a possibility that the wiring to it isn't.  Car runs worse with it unplugged though, which suggests things are working as they should on that front.

On another note, there are two different Foxbodies for sale semi-locally with 351w swaps in them- tempted to buy one and move everything over, even though I know damn well that a big V8 on gravel is a kind of messy thing to drive.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

On another note, there are two different Foxbodies for sale semi-locally with 351w swaps in them- tempted to buy one and move everything over, even though I know damn well that a big V8 on gravel is completely berkeleying awesome!!!

i mean a 351w car would likely run better than the 2.3t set up right now.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

In reply to irish44j :

Compression test first, but fuel is on the list.  I'm still hanging onto a little bit of hope that we can make NEFR, but I'm not about to sign up without knowing what's going on with the engine.  ESPR doesn't look like a super fun event, but maybe- it is even closer to home than STPR for us.

In reply to wvumtnbkr :

The TPS is good, although there's always a possibility that the wiring to it isn't.  Car runs worse with it unplugged though, which suggests things are working as they should on that front.

On another note, there are two different Foxbodies for sale semi-locally with 351w swaps in them- tempted to buy one and move everything over, even though I know damn well that a big V8 on gravel is a kind of messy thing to drive.

Big v8 on gravel is just fine once you replace the rear tires with paddlewheels.

Compression test indicates things seem to be ok:

Plugs:

Next step is figuring out where I can dispose of the current tank of fuel.

Bonfire.

In reply to wvumtnbkr :

We know plenty of people with burn piles, just need to ask first.  If I make my own bonfire this car is going to be in the middle of it...

In reply to everyone who keeps saying v8 :

You guys do remember that I have already conducted this experiment once, right?

...that's not to say the data was conclusive enough to rule it out completely 

How old are those plugs?

The two seem to have a decent color, but with the other two being than clean, would that indicate two cylinders aren't hitting and just being washed by fuel? Or is your EGR stuck wide open and only breathing into two cylinders?

In reply to olso3904 :

Probably about 30min of run time, mostly idling.  The car has no EGR.  I have no idea why the center cylinders plugs are so clean, but unplugging those injectors or spark plug leads has a pretty drastic effect so I do think they're firing.

My vote is V8. Even a 302 wouldn't be a bad choice.

Is there a dramatic difference in how the spark looks from the clean cylinders to the dirty ones?

For how different those plugs look and knowing the compression is good, is must be down to Spark/Fuel or a really bad intake leak on the center cylinders.

Also, I vote keep the 2.3T, unless you run a carb or a new standalone system to run the 5.0, you still need to deal with 80's ford electronics with alot more weight. I am also slightly biased....

olso3904 said:

Is there a dramatic difference in how the spark looks from the clean cylinders to the dirty ones?

For how different those plugs look and knowing the compression is good, is must be down to Spark/Fuel or a really bad intake leak on the center cylinders

Olsl3904, I agree with your assessment.  Plugs don't lie and there is a clear indication something is amiss here.  With all the distributor issues and changes is it possible some plug wires were swapped?  Fuel injectors firing at the wrong time order?  I know I have swapped more than my share of cables in the past.  I know you said it made a big difference when the plugs or injector were disabled but it sure looks like nothing was happening in the middle 2 cylinders.