Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications 3.0L Duratec Serious 3l problems, HELP PLEASE

Well I think i've hit the point of complete frustration right now. The first time i tried starting the car it turned over but didn't start. Searched and found that was the "pulser wheel" or whatever it is called. Found out my mechanic put it on the 3.0 mark and not the 2.5 so fixed that while it was in the car. Then the car fired right up, after a few minutes it began leaking oil from the valve covers and coolant. Found out that the water exchange thing between the heads was cracked because he put too big of an o ring in it but used some epoxy stuff and got that problem fixed. He took off my air plenum(spelling?) and valve covers. Originally he used a gasket material on the re-usable rubber valve cover gaskets, and it liquified and went into my oil. He cleaned off the gaskets and used a silicone sealant on the re-usable gaskets and put everything back together. Then it fired right up but now the coolant light is on and i think the system just needs to burp itself or something. After a few minutes though the car fell on its face and died. Tried to start it again and it wouldn't start. Let it sit for a minute and used a battery charger because my battery is on it's last legs and tried to fire it up again. Had to play with the throttle body to get it to start and now it's a pain in the ass to get going. Also it will only run above about 2 thousand rpm. After a few minutes the car falls on it's face again and we have to go through this process again. The mechanic i am having do it has no idea what is wrong and i am really in the dark. Does anyone have any idea what this could be and would anyone be willing to maybe talk to my mechanic, i really need my car back and i don't know what else to do. I live about 30 minutes outside of seattle so anyone in the area or if anyone would be kind enough to let me get a number so my mechanic could call them or something. Either way i don't know what to do so any help is appreciated, thanks.

i sort of had troubles keeping it going at first too. i had to stay in the car and play with the throttle to keep it going. what injectors are u running? mb let it run for a while and let the computer learn, might help, i think thats all i did. dont really remember tho sorry

Mike

Right now i am running the 19lb injectors and i have been trying to let it run it's but it dies within a minute so i don't know it is a learning thing or not.

any CELS?

This probably has nothing to do with it, but those valve cover gaskets are not very reusable. There are a couple points on the gaskets where a small dot of sealant is used for where they cross over other gaskets but that's about it. I'd be a little worried about the material floating around in your oil right now and if it had water or coolant in the oil definitely change it out.

As far as the car running a little bit and shutting off it sounds like a fuel problem to me. Make sure all of your MAF and TPS sensors are hooked up so the computer is giving you the right amount of fuel. Also, bleed the fuel line using the schrader valve a couple times to get some excess air out of the lines that occurs when you unhook them. Start with the obvious, if the car starts and then dies, usually it's out of fuel or getting flooded. Pull a couple plugs and look them over. Might also check the wiring harness for the injectors as it's possible to kink and cut those wires when installing the UIM if you're not careful. Make sure all the plugs are hooked to the injectors securely too.

Last but not least, beware of your mechanic he doesn't sound too professional (and this is coming from a non-professional).

Rick

All new gaskets for everything should have been used. Tell the mechanic to quit cutting corners.

Well i am probably going to have another mechanic fnish up my car and double check everything because i definitely should have had someone else do it for me. Right now to start the car we have to open up the throttle body, does that mean it's getting too much fuel? Also it is a 2000 svt so my injectors should be ok, and my ecu should be ok. I have a pro flo 75mm maf, could that be causing problems? I also had the heads port matched and polished including air plenum. Now the guy messed with my throttle body and polished it out and maybe port matched it with the air plenum. I found that out just the other day and maybe that could be causing a problem. Yesterday when we started the car it sounded like it was running pretty rough, if it was running lean would the engine be louder than normal? Also he could have got silicone gasket material in my oil, now it turned into a fluid and blended in with the oil. Is that a possible problem and could it clog my oil filter and possible cause the motor to have problems flowing the oil which could be why the car was so loud. It almost sounded like i could hear the valves opening and closing as the cames rolled. Right now the car will not idle either, it winds down and dies, is that more of a flooding of the engine or lack or fuel?? He said he checked all the injectors and cleaned the off and everything, which used the schrader valve and bled the system a couple of times. He plans on using a (vanagon)?? or some diagnostic computer to check my computer codes but i don't know if that will figure out the problem. I just need to get my car running well enough to take it somewhere else, i am very mechanicall inclined, i do understand the basics of a motor and everything but i have never worked on one if anyone can maybe give me some things to check for dumbies because i think i am going to have to do it and i that's pretty scary. Also if anyone happens to know anywhere close to seattle where maybe i could take it that has done a 3l conversion or anything, i have the money to fix it but i can't get anyone to figure it out and it's stuck at my mechanics shop until i can at least make it drivable. Thanks for the help so far.

put your stock MAF back in.
Your MAF and injectors need to be calibrated to eachother. i.e. - you need a chip.
also take off your oil cap when running and make sure there's oil getting to the top of the engine.
Otherwise sounds like a vacume leak.