New to the Site/ Help

[89StangGuy]

Hey everyone, Im new to the site and i own a 89 Ford Mustang 5.0 I recently installed a fresh 306 cid motor that i bought off a guy that had a manual tranny, and was running nitrous. Hence the camshaft he chose was huge! I have an automatic car and it has having problems with shutting off because the cam and lope is too heavy for my car. I dont have very much money, but i have an camshaft i wanna change it out with. I noticed motorgen is a tight knit community of forum followers and plenty people have been helped out on this site by members. I am reaching out to anyone who can help me change a camshaft over two days. Its my daily driver so would have to be done on a friday and saturday. Anyone who is on SoCal hit me up PLEASE! It wont go unrewarded. If someone has a 5.0 mustang, i will give some eibach proline lowering springs, and some cash. If you dont want those, i have a front mount intercooler along with some other things and cash. Like i said anyone who has experience and is in socal i would really appreciate help as ive never changed one. Thanks in advanced everyone. I will post pictures of my car asap! Also dont know where to post this so please move if i posted in wrong place.

[Vettezuki]

Welcome aboard. :thumbs_up: I'm sure a 5.0 or otherwise mechanically competent user will chime in shortly.

[89StangGuy]

Cool thanks alot man. I usually wouldnt go looking for help. But i have never changed a cam shaft, and the car is really hard to drive on the street because of the idle problems due to the cam shaft. Im gonna post some pics up in 5 mins.

[Vettezuki]

Cool thanks alot man. I usually wouldnt go looking for help. But i have never changed a cam shaft, and the car is really hard to drive on the street because of the idle problems due to the cam shaft. Im gonna post some pics up in 5 mins.

It's not the kind of thing you want to do by yourself for the first time. (I wouldn't.) It doesn't seem like rocket science but there are definitely some important details you don't want to get wrong. My question would be is if you can change the CS in a 5.0 in the car or if the motor has to come out, or perhaps the radiator. But I just don't know.

[89StangGuy]

Yea, well i know all the steps to do it. But the only catch is it has to get done by working on it from friday to sunday. So i need someone who is experienced with that sort of thing and zeroing out timing and the cs.

[Leedom]

Nice loking car, welcome to the board. I am pretty sure just pulling the radiator is all that will need to be done, but then again I am no expert. I am sure Ron (94cobra69ss396) would know though and how knows he might even take that CS off your hands for his nephew's stang!

[89StangGuy]

Thanks alot man. The other side of the car doesnt look so hot though, no body damage but theres some clearcoat damage on the other side so i took a picture of the good side ha. I know how to take it out, just never have and dont wanna mess anything up. Upper and lower intake, all the accessories come off, timing cover comes off, timing chain, take of valve covers, loosen rockers, pull up the distributor a little bit and it should slide out. But i dont know how to set all the timing, and make sure everything is set at 0. That's why i need help. If he would really want it, i would give him the camshaft and lowering springs if he helps me take it apart and put it back together in 2 days.

[94cobra69ss396]

Where are you located? Do you have power tools and an air compressor? Have you already picked up new gaskets? Do you already have another cam to install? If so, what cam or what are the specs on it? What size stall converter do you have? How about the rear gear ratio?

Another stupid question but do you know what cam is in the car now? What happens that makes you think that it's the cam causing the issue? You said the engine is fresh but that the guy had been running on nitrous. Did he just do a rebuild on it when you bought it?

[89StangGuy]

Where are you located? Do you have power tools and an air compressor? Have you already picked up new gaskets? Do you already have another cam to install? If so, what cam or what are the specs on it? What size stall converter do you have? How about the rear gear ratio?

Another stupid question but do you know what cam is in the car now? What happens that makes you think that it's the cam causing the issue? You said the engine is fresh but that the guy had been running on nitrous. Did he just do a rebuild on it when you bought it?

Im located in Bellflower right next to lakewood hospital. I have new gaskets, i have a brand new e303 cam i want to install its completely streetable, dont remember the lift ratio but its the biggest street cam i could find with being able to drive it normally, stall converter is stock, and gears are stock. The cam thats in the car now, not sure the lift ratio, but the lope is humungous, and the power band doesnt start til 3000 every cam i did research on should make power earlier except those meant for nitrous or blowers, plus he told me it was a huge cam. And yes the car only has like 2000 miles on it. Im thinking its that because i have an aod tranny, and i know that it uses a tv cable but when you shift i know it uses up vacuum, and I talked to a couple mechanics, two of my uncles being them and they told me i need to change out the camshaft and it will run great. And as for power tools and air compressor i dont have. Ive only been working on cars for about 3 years and havent come around to getting a serious set of tools yet.

O yea i also found the lift ratio for the e303 cam. With stock rockers, its at a .498 but i think that that i have 1.7 rockers in there right now so maybe .535?

[Vettezuki]

Im located in Bellflower right next to lakewood hospital. I have new gaskets, i have a brand new e303 cam i want to install its completely streetable, dont remember the lift ratio but its the biggest street cam i could find with being able to drive it normally, stall converter is stock, and gears are stock. The cam thats in the car now, not sure the lift ratio, but the lope is humungous, and the power band doesnt start til 3000 every cam i did research on should make power earlier except those meant for nitrous or blowers, plus he told me it was a huge cam. And yes the car only has like 2000 miles on it. Im thinking its that because i have an aod tranny, and i know that it uses a tv cable but when you shift i know it uses up vacuum, and I talked to a couple mechanics, two of my uncles being them and they told me i need to change out the camshaft and it will run great. And as for power tools and air compressor i dont have. Ive only been working on cars for about 3 years and havent come around to getting a serious set of tools yet.

O yea i also found the lift ratio for the e303 cam. With stock rockers, its at a .498 but i think that that i have 1.7 rockers in there right now so maybe .535?

Do you have AAA with the long tow option?

[89StangGuy]

No i don't have that, but that would probably be a good investment. Im hoping that when i take it apart on a friday, help or no help, i can get it running by saturday and tuned by sunday. Ill probably get the AAA card though. I gotta find out how much it costs though :(

[Vettezuki]

No i don't have that, but that would probably be a good investment. Im hoping that when i take it apart on a friday, help or no help, i can get it running by saturday and tuned by sunday. Ill probably get the AAA card though. I gotta find out how much it costs though :(

I think it's like $80-100 per year. Very well worth it. Lot's of substantial discounts, and they can do almost anything the DMV can do, except about 10x faster. But I forgot your car is running. I'm busy through the next two weekends, and live relatively close to you. I could provide a place (my place with all the necessary tools) for Ron to help you if by then nothing else works out.

[89StangGuy]

Yea it runs, and will make it wherever i wanna go, but it wont get there without bucking all over the place and not being to find an idle ha. And no way? Man that would be really awesome and i would definitely have to hook you up with something for letting me use your place if i cant find another way to handle this problem. I dont mind waiting a couple weeks either but ill pm you if anything. I gotta say though this forum is pretty dope. I dont mean to forum knock but on some mustang forums i dont even get so much as a reply for when i have a problem, and on this site, i got someone whos willing to help me out at the drop of a hat. Thanks alot man. Ill keep in touch, im just gonna wait for Ron? to drop me a line. Thanks again in advanced guys. THe names Mike by the way.

[Leedom]

Mike,

I have the AAA plus membership (http://www.aaa-calif.com/members/membership.aspx) (100 mile tow) and it is about $100 per year and well worth it. I reccomend it to everyone even if you have insurance with someoen else. I towed my buddy 96 miles to get his Buick engine worked on at no cost to me, no questions asked!

[94cobra69ss396]

Yea it runs, and will make it wherever i wanna go, but it wont get there without bucking all over the place and not being to find an idle ha. And no way? Man that would be really awesome and i would definitely have to hook you up with something for letting me use your place if i cant find another way to handle this problem. I dont mind waiting a couple weeks either but ill pm you if anything. I gotta say though this forum is pretty dope. I dont mean to forum knock but on some mustang forums i dont even get so much as a reply for when i have a problem, and on this site, i got someone whos willing to help me out at the drop of a hat. Thanks alot man. Ill keep in touch, im just gonna wait for Ron? to drop me a line. Thanks again in advanced guys. THe names Mike by the way.

I can't help this weekend because I have plans on Saturday but if you're willing to drive out to Fontana where I live we could knock out the cam change on Saturday the following weekend.

Does the engine only have issues at idle? How does it car run at higher engine speeds? Sorry for all the questions but I just want to make sure that the issue is the cam and not engine damage.

[89StangGuy]

I can't help this weekend because I have plans on Saturday but if you're willing to drive out to Fontana where I live we could knock out the cam change on Saturday the following weekend.

Does the engine only have issues at idle? How does it car run at higher engine speeds? Sorry for all the questions but I just want to make sure that the issue is the cam and not engine damage.

This weekend is no good for me either im moving to a new house. And yea it only has issues at idle. Higher speeds is cool, It does buck though and search for an idle a little bit because my calibration tube in the maf is for the wrong size injectors. But that isnt the problem though. I had everything matched on it last week and its the same problem. I know for sure its the camshaft though. And i know how it is with questions, you can never ask enough when trying to trouble shoot cause it could be a million different things. Everything is torqued down, all the vacuum lines are good, seals are good. Went over and over to see if it was anything else thats how we narrowed it down to the camshaft being the problem. Just pm me when you have a chance so we can arrange something. And yea i can drive out there its no problem.

[94cobra69ss396]

This weekend is no good for me either im moving to a new house. And yea it only has issues at idle. Higher speeds is cool, It does buck though and search for an idle a little bit because my calibration tube in the maf is for the wrong size injectors. But that isnt the problem though. I had everything matched on it last week and its the same problem. I know for sure its the camshaft though. And i know how it is with questions, you can never ask enough when trying to trouble shoot cause it could be a million different things. Everything is torqued down, all the vacuum lines are good, seals are good. Went over and over to see if it was anything else thats how we narrowed it down to the camshaft being the problem. Just pm me when you have a chance so we can arrange something. And yea i can drive out there its no problem.

I'll talk to my wife tonight and make sure she doesn't have any plans for Saturday 8/22 and get back to you.

[89StangGuy]

I'll talk to my wife tonight and make sure she doesn't have any plans for Saturday 8/22 and get back to you.

Thank you so much for all your help man. I dont know if you read above im willing to give my lowering eibach lowering springs, and the nitrous cam if you want/need it. Along with some cash. But you let me know what is a good payment for you. Thanks again.

[94cobra69ss396]

I'm good for Saturday the 22nd. PM me and we can talk about it some more. By the way as you already know I'm Ron but I didn't get your name.

[89StangGuy]

I'm good for Saturday the 22nd. PM me and we can talk about it some more. By the way as you already know I'm Ron but I didn't get your name.

The names Mike! I PM'd you a few minutes ago. Hope to hear from you soon. Thanks again everyone who's helping me out! Youll be sure to see me at a couple meets, as i live close to alot of the places. Fudruckers being right down the street from me.

[94cobra69ss396]

What size fuel injectors do you have now and what size are the new ones? Same goes for the MAF. Also, what is done to the engine besides a huge cam? What compression, heads, intake, etc.?

The E303 is a great cam. That's what I have in my Cobra.

[89StangGuy]

What size fuel injectors do you have now and what size are the new ones? Same goes for the MAF. Also, what is done to the engine besides a huge cam? What compression, heads, intake, etc.?

The E303 is a great cam. That's what I have in my Cobra.

I changed them out today and i have 19lb injectors, and the stock maf, but the sensor is matched for the injectors also. Stock compression, some cast iron heads that are ported to the same specs as AFR 185's, cobra upper and lower intake, bbk cold air intake, shorty equal length headers, bassani h pipe, flowmaster 40's, double roller timing chain, the block is not stock, its an aluminum sportsman block i think and i know all the internals are forged. Its a stout motor. The idle problem is a little better now that i installed matching smaller injectors and maf, but power band doesnt hit til 3k and it still likes to shut off on me when i put it in drive and reverse and whatnot. I checked all the grounds and vacuum lines and everything is good, no leaks whatsoever.

[Vettezuki]

I changed them out today and i have 19lb injectors, and the stock maf, but the sensor is matched for the injectors also. Stock compression, some cast iron heads that are ported to the same specs as AFR 185's, cobra upper and lower intake, bbk cold air intake, shorty equal length headers, bassani h pipe, flowmaster 40's, double roller timing chain, the block is not stock, its an aluminum sportsman block i think and i know all the internals are forged. Its a stout motor. The idle problem is a little better now that i installed matching smaller injectors and maf, but power band doesnt hit til 3k and it still likes to shut off on me when i put it in drive and reverse and whatnot. I checked all the grounds and vacuum lines and everything is good, no leaks whatsoever.

Aluminum block/iron heads. You don't hear that everyday.

[89StangGuy]

Aluminum block/iron heads. You don't hear that everyday.

I know right ha. Couldn't afford any aluminum heads, the reciept he had for the motor equaled around 6 grand. I told him i only had 800 bucks. He said take it. I came to his house expecting to get a cobra upper and lower that were ported and some injectors. I ended up coming home with a new motor ha. I'm planning on changing them later down the road, but til then they flow just fine, just a little too heavy for my taste.

[Vettezuki]

I know right ha. Couldn't afford any aluminum heads, the reciept he had for the motor equaled around 6 grand. I told him i only had 800 bucks. He said take it. I came to his house expecting to get a cobra upper and lower that were ported and some injectors. I ended up coming home with a new motor ha. I'm planning on changing them later down the road, but til then they flow just fine, just a little too heavy for my taste.

After market will be lighter, but one of the other big deals is heat. Aluminum dissipates heat radically better than iron.

But wow, if you walked away with all that for $800, you did good.

[89StangGuy]

Forgot to add why i put the crappy heads, When i bought the motor off the guy he has some AFR 185's, but he said he wanted to keep them. So i went to my uncles house, got his heads machined and he let me have them. Pretty much got a bunch of hand me down parts.

[89StangGuy]

After market will be lighter, but one of the other big deals is heat. Aluminum dissipates heat radically better than iron.

But wow, if you walked away with all that for $800, you did good.

Ya that's why i was kind of bummed, always gotta be turning my electric fan on ha. But yea it was no joke, guy who lived out in Palmdale, had a lot of money, and spare motors, he said if he didn't sell it all it would be doing is taking up space. So i think i made out pretty good with that deal.

[94cobra69ss396]

So we started the cam swap yesterday morning at around 9:30am. By 11:30am we had the cam out and discovered that he already had an E303.:censored: So we broke for lunch and ran to Autozone to pick up a new seal for the timing cover. By 1:30pm we started working on it again and we fixed a bunch of other issues while we were at it. We didn't finish until around 12:30am but Mike's Mustang is running better now. He still needs to fix some exhaust leaks and a hole in his gas tank that we temperarily fixed last night.

[Leedom]

Ron you are the man!

[89StangGuy]

Yea, the car runs great now. The only thing is i actually have to end up getting a new gas tank this week. That epoxy stuff worked on the little pin hole on the bottom of the tank. But the bigger one on the other hand. I put a huge piece on it, let it sit for 5 hours this morning. As soon as i started pouring what little gas i had left in it, it started leaking. So I'm gonna try another temporary fix til i get get to a junkyard and pull one off. Thanks a lot again Ron. Your Cobra is sick btw ha. Laters

[94cobra69ss396]

You're welcome. I'm glad it's running better. I think all you need to do to fix the exhaust leaks is to loosen all the connections first and then retighten them starting at the header flange and work you way to the back.

[Vettezuki]

Yea, the car runs great now. The only thing is i actually have to end up getting a new gas tank this week. That epoxy stuff worked on the little pin hole on the bottom of the tank. But the bigger one on the other hand. I put a huge piece on it, let it sit for 5 hours this morning. As soon as i started pouring what little gas i had left in it, it started leaking. So I'm gonna try another temporary fix til i get get to a junkyard and pull one off. Thanks a lot again Ron. Your Cobra is sick btw ha. Laters

What's the 411 on the "lope". :huh: That cam is not so big.

[89StangGuy]

What's the 411 on the "lope". :huh: That cam is not so big.

I guess all the exhaust leaks, and vacuum leaks, and just leaks in general were causing it to sound like it had a huge cam. Once everything was tightened up it sounded a lot more like an E-Cam. Updated on the gas tank. I fixed another hole last night, went out at 5am this morning to check it out. Find out there's another hole in the bottom of the tank. So that's why I'm home instead of at work, going to pick a part in a few hours and finding a good clean tank. If i can't find a stang what car can i pull the tank out of???

[94cobra69ss396]

I guess all the exhaust leaks, and vacuum leaks, and just leaks in general were causing it to sound like it had a huge cam. Once everything was tightened up it sounded a lot more like an E-Cam. Updated on the gas tank. I fixed another hole last night, went out at 5am this morning to check it out. Find out there's another hole in the bottom of the tank. So that's why I'm home instead of at work, going to pick a part in a few hours and finding a good clean tank. If i can't find a stang what car can i pull the tank out of???

You have to get a tank from another Mustang. If you can't find one at a yard local to you today there's one out here called Mustangs Unlimited that is a Mustang only wrecking yard. You can also take your tank to a shop that can fix it for you. They'll clean it and weld up any holes.

[Leedom]

There is also a all Ford junk yard in Placentia/Anaheim, not too far off the 91 freeway

[89StangGuy]

There is also a all Ford junk yard in Placentia/Anaheim, not too far off the 91 freeway

Sweet, Well this one is a bit closer to me than Fontana is. So im gonna try the all Ford junk yard and I'm hoping i can come up with a good gas tank there. I'll keep you guys updated. One way or the other it has to be moved out onto the street today otherwise I'm going to get another ticket from the city for parking in the alley. One more thing though, how much would the junk yard charge me for a gas tank?

[89StangGuy]

Went to the All Ford Yard, and they had a bunch of stuff there for a decent price. I picked up a tank there out of an 88 GT, and the inside looked clean enough to eat off of. Also +1 i got a walbro fuel pump inside :D and it works :drink: so i think i made out alright. Car doesn't leak anymore, found its idle, powerband is in the right place. vacuum leaks gone. Big ups to Ron! I'll keep you guys updated on my car. Many more things to come!