Got my engine/transmission back in the car.. have a couple of issues.

[Slykin]

Ok guys, so here's the deal. I pulled my engine and transmission to change the oil pan gasket, rear main(with crank sleeve) etc. This means that the engine ended up upside down on the engine stand for the oil pan gasket. This dumped some leftover oil down into the heads to the point it dripped out of the headers a bit. I also changed out the harmonic balancer during all of this too. All of this leads me to my problem. My car randomly started idling at around 1500-1700 rpms after about the first 10min. of driving the car once the engine was put back in. It will drop to 800ish when the A/C is on, but you can tell that it's still not right. Do you guys have any idea as to why it would do this? I'm thinking it may be possible that the oil the burnt up after running the car(belched smoke everywhere for a while) might have gummed up the O2 sensors... Any other ideas would be great. Thanks.

Problem #2: I replaced the harmonic balancer, engine mounts, transmission mount, throw out bearing retainer shaft, throw out bearing and re-sealed the transmission. I now have a vibration from 1500 to 3000 rpms. I am not sure if it was there before but masked by the crappy engine mounts, or if it's new. Ideas would be appreciated on this too. It can be felt in the steering wheel. Harmonic balancer does not appear to be wobbly or anything of that nature. Torqued it on to 110 ft/lbs.

Problem #3: My brakes pedal is stiff as a board. Before sitting for over a month, there wasn't a problem with the brakes. Now the pedal is really stiff and the car barely brakes. I'm thinking that the caliper slide pins may have partially seized up.. agree?(cobra 2 piston calipers)

[Str8racn]

Have you check the brake fluid level? I have seen them overfilled causing this type of issue.

[Slykin]

I have, but it's more on the low side as it's leaking at my RR caliper.

[revhead347]

You probably aren't getting vacuum to your brake booster. Check the vacuum lines from the intake to the tree to the booster.

For the high idle, it sounds like the computer is putting the engine into rolling idle for some reason even when the car is stopped.

Kurt

[Slykin]

You probably aren't getting vacuum to your brake booster. Check the vacuum lines from the intake to the tree to the booster.

For the high idle, it sounds like the computer is putting the engine into rolling idle for some reason even when the car is stopped.

Kurt

I'll check the vacuum lines tomorrow then, sounds reasonable enough.

Any idea as to why it would do that? It's really annoying lol.

[95opal]

You probably aren't getting vacuum to your brake booster. Check the vacuum lines from the intake to the tree to the booster.

For the high idle, it sounds like the computer is putting the engine into rolling idle for some reason even when the car is stopped.

Kurt

Im with kurt, seems like a vac leak messin with ya. Find it and your problems should be solved

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You probably aren't getting vacuum to your brake booster. Check the vacuum lines from the intake to the tree to the booster.

For the high idle, it sounds like the computer is putting the engine into rolling idle for some reason even when the car is stopped.

Kurt

Im with kurt, seems like a vac leak messin with ya. Find it and your problems should be solved

[revhead347]

The vacuum leak could very well be causing both problems. Start looking for a vacuum leak, and see if that fixes the idle problem as well. If not, then work that problem seperately.

Kurt

[Str8racn]

that was the next step I was going to suggest lol

[Steve-Oh]

Did you replace rubber mounts for poly? If so that could be the reason for added vibration.

[Slykin]

Im with kurt, seems like a vac leak messin with ya. Find it and your problems should be solved

When i'm done with class today i'll take a good look at everything. There's a good chance that one of the vacuum hoses on the firewall got crushed when the engine was put back in.

One other thing that should help knowing is that the engine vibrates with the clutch in and out.. so I think the clutch/transmission is ruled out. I'm hoping it has nothing to do with the harmonic balancer because it's a new Ford replacement... Another thing to note is that this morning it wasn't idling high, or at least not when I started out.. granted I don't remember if it was by the time I got to school.

Steve-Oh, I expected a bit more vibration, but this doesn't seem normal to me. I do think I may be getting a lot more of the drive shaft vibration in the cabin now though.

[GearGambler]

The guys are on track. you absolutely have a vac leak / broken vac line. most likely the one from the intake to the booster.

That is causing the booster to be stiff and the car to idle high. It will also be running lean and its going to mess up the computer as it tries to 'learn around' the issue. Once you fix the leak, remember to reset the computer as well!

[Slykin]

Will do and thanks! I'll update you guys this afternoon or evening sometime.

[Slykin]

Ok guys, so today for some reason the car is idling normally again.. But, my brakes are still crap. I checked the supply line vacuum hose and from what I can tell it's fine.. not sure how to check it other than for obvious cracks. I pulled it off of the intake and obviously the engine about died before I shoved it back on. It does seem like a vacuum leak though, because the more you pump the pedal the stiffer and worse it gets. Just not sure what else to check or how to check. I guess I could just replace the line...

[95opal]

Ok guys, so today for some reason the car is idling normally again.. But, my brakes are still crap. I checked the supply line vacuum hose and from what I can tell it's fine.. not sure how to check it other than for obvious cracks. I pulled it off of the intake and obviously the engine about died before I shoved it back on. It does seem like a vacuum leak though, because the more you pump the pedal the stiffer and worse it gets. Just not sure what else to check or how to check. I guess I could just replace the line...

A physical inspection with your eyes is a good start but your probably gonna need to use some throttlebody or carb cleaner To narrow it down. Trust me its a vac leak for sure.

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Ok guys, so today for some reason the car is idling normally again.. But, my brakes are still crap. I checked the supply line vacuum hose and from what I can tell it's fine.. not sure how to check it other than for obvious cracks. I pulled it off of the intake and obviously the engine about died before I shoved it back on. It does seem like a vacuum leak though, because the more you pump the pedal the stiffer and worse it gets. Just not sure what else to check or how to check. I guess I could just replace the line...

A physical inspection with your eyes is a good start but your probably gonna need to use some throttlebody or carb cleaner To narrow it down. Trust me its a vac leak for sure.

[Musturd]

Vibration could be from the drive shaft did you clock it the same as when you took it out

[GearGambler]

does the heat blow through the vents, or is everything 'stuck' on blowing the air through the defroster?

[Slykin]

A physical inspection with your eyes is a good start but your probably gonna need to use some throttlebody or carb cleaner To narrow it down. Trust me its a vac leak for sure.

Are you saying to spray throttlebody cleaner or carb cleaner on the lines?

Vibration could be from the drive shaft did you clock it the same as when you took it out

Well, that could be a source of my slight vibration at cruising speeds, but the main vibration i'm talking about happens even when i'm sitting still with the clutch in or out.

does the heat blow through the vents, or is everything 'stuck' on blowing the air through the defroster?

It's blowing through all of the vents normally.

Another update for today, the brakes seem to be curing themselves. They're not 100%, but they're getting better. Something's still not right though.

[Musturd]

Did you get the right weighted balancer ?

[GearGambler]

I still think there is a vacume leak somewhere. you ruled out two of the many lines - the hard line that goes across the firewall (defroster / vents question) and the main line that goes to the intake from teh booster. There are still a bunch more to check!

Good question about the balancer. Is the engine balanced for 50, 28 or 0? the balancer AND flywheel will need to match.

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correction - I see its still the stock engine, and I didnt see anythign about the transmission / clutch / etc.

What is the imbalance of the harmonic balancer you put in?

[Slykin]

The balancer is a stock replacement 50oz. I'm pretty sure it would have destroyed itself by now if it was a 28oz haha.

http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/item/LRS-6316A/82-95-Mustang-50-oz-Harmonic-Balancer

[Slykin]

NEW QUESTION: I think I may have found out where the vacuum leak is... does anyone know what the hose is that is beside the PCV system hose under the intake?

[Det_Riot]

just some other vacuum hose lol idk

[Slykin]

Lol, figures. I think whatever it is, it's what i'm looking for.. It's the only vacuum hose I messed with while the engine was out. I regret to say that I thought the hose(capped with a bolt) was too long because it went all the way to the back of the engine. So, like a dummy I cut it to about 3 inches long, stuck the bolt back in, and put it on under the intake. This would have been all fine and dandy except that now I can't see or reach the thing with the engine in:facepalm:

[Det_Riot]

lol :doh: Idk how oem lines go but that one might go to the brake booster? or to the vacuum tree on the firewall?

[Slykin]

I have no idea, but it was capped off and everything worked fine before.. Not to mention that there isn't another hook up on the vacuum tree left.

[95opal]

pull the upper and see whats up with that hose. If its plugged at the intake thats fine but the problem is you dont know where the other end is or if its capped. If your not going to use that line completely remove it and put a vacum cap on the intake. You will still need to find the other end to verify its capped also. Did your brake pedal come back or still havin problems. remember tbody cleaner is your best friend when chasing a vac leak.

[Slykin]

pull the upper and see whats up with that hose. If its plugged at the intake thats fine but the problem is you dont know where the other end is or if its capped. If your not going to use that line completely remove it and put a vacum cap on the intake. You will still need to find the other end to verify its capped also. Did your brake pedal come back or still havin problems. remember tbody cleaner is your best friend when chasing a vac leak.

I know pulling the upper would be the best route of action.. but I reallly don't want to open up the engine if at all possible. I think i'm going to see if I can't shoot some tbody cleaner up under there and see if that's the problem. I didn't even think about the other end being capped though. I just have no idea what that line goes to. As far as brakes go, i've actually quit driving the car for the last couple days because I found out that the parts store gave me the wrong sized tie rods on my reman rack and I have slop between the bumpsteer kit sleeves and inners. I drove my car for 3 days this way until I felt a clunking in the front end and found the source.