Ryan M

I want to replace the LA series engine and 3 speed transmission in my 1983 Dodge van with a Magnum V8 and 4 speed from a 90's era truck or van. I think I want an A618 or 46RH or 47RH transmission, however I think I could get a 46RE or 47RE transmission and an electronic transmission controller. How do I identify a transmission? Does it have the alpha numeric designation somewhere on the case?

How can I get a diagram/ schematic for the radio? This is an AM/FM/cassette from a 1984 van that I want to install in a 1983 van. I have a Chilton's manual but that doesn't I.D. the wires. I've looked on-line and only found adapters. I guess I could buy one, if I really need to. I'm stumped because there are two plugs on the back of the radio, and the one that looks like it's for the speakers only has six wires. Is one of the speakers connected to the other plug? Do two of the channels share the same ground? What color is for what speaker?

I have a 1983 Dodge Ram Van and I would like to replace the LA V8/ 3 speed trans with a Magnum V8/ 4 speed trans from a truck or van. I would like to keep the original Carter Thermoquad carburetor and intake manifold, but you can't easily adjust the A/F ratio on that carb, and I don't know if or how that could limit any performance upgrades. I'd like the engine to make between 250 and 300 hp. It needs to be an engine that is smooth and streetable, and not something for racing. I was thinking of keeping the stock magnum camshaft, and doing a mild porting job on the heads. I think a big gain in power can be made from a custom exhaust system of tri-Y style tube headers, and that could be expensive, but I also think that it's probably worth the investment, since I plan on keeping this van as long as I can. Would anyone recommend a specific type of camshaft? Or any other advice?

Can 3 valve cylinder heads be used to replace 2 valve heads on a 2001 Mustang GT?

I have heard of a 2002 for sale and I plan on looking at it Wednesday evening. They guy said he started but did not complete a 5-speed swap. Was there a newer transmission from the 80's that was commonly bolted into those engines? Are certain parts of the body prone to corrosion?

When the car was brand new?

1998 Ford Ranger with 2.5L SOHC engine; 215k miles. MIL is ON. Code P0301: Misfire detected on cylinder 1. The spark plugs and plug wires are not very old - the plugs are bright and shiny, and the plug wires have a light coat of dust on them, but look very good, so I don't think that's the problem. I held an extension between my ear the the fuel injectors and they didn't sound different or abnormal, so then I installed a timing light, and it seemed that the timing light would skip a flash every 10 ignition cycles or so, but only at idle. Does it seem logical that the ignition coils are the problem? Does each module fire four plugs individually, or is this a waste spark ignition system? Is there any other way to diagnose the coils or the misfire condition?

1989 Ford Taurus LX wagon with 3.8. My car has recently destroyed two brand new EGR valve position sensors from two different suppliers (BWD? and Echlin) by melting the bottom of the case. Prior to that, it had destroyed two original parts as well. Right now I have a rubber tube in place of the sensor, with a bolt to plug up the hole, so the engine runs, but it does not have a signal from the EGR position sensor which is causing the MIL on. I have tested the EGR valve with a hand held vacuum pump used for bleeding brakes, and the valve with open with as little as 5 in Hg. When the engine was warm and running, I could feel vacuum to the EGR valve, so as it is, my ECU is not getting a signal from the position sensor, and is reacting by opening the EGR at operating temperature. The OE rubber tube to the sensor has been scorched during the melt-downs, but right now, my temporary vacuum line with a bolt in it has been staying flexible. I had been driving around for a while with this set-up before purchasing a new sensor, because I wanted to see if my temporary tube would get scorched as well - it didn't, so I bought a new sensor, and the problem came back, even after clearing memory codes. I had also tried installing an original sensor sourced from a junkyard, and with that in place, the engine ran so poorly that I immediately went back to my temporary plug set up. I would think that hot exhaust gases are melting the plastic case, but what could cause that? A lean A/F ratio? Not enough EGR flow to cause high combustion temperatures? Fuel economy is fairly normal, although a little low. It seems like the engine runs OK with the EGR sensor port plugged up, and that the problem lies solely in the sensor, but replacing it hasn't seemed to fix the problem.

Is anyone familiar with a good solution for these codes? I have a 1989 Ford Taurus LX with the 3.8, and found these memory codes while doing a KOEO scan. I performed this scan because my check engine light has flashed on several times recently while driving, but hasn't stayed on. Code 39 was for "trans slipping" - would a trans additive help? Codes 41 and 91 are for no oxygen switching indicating a lean condition. I've had this before, and it seems like this car goes through a set of oxygen sensor every 2 years. I had been using Bosch, then switched to NGK, but I guess that didn't solve the problem. My engine had been running rich because of a bad temp sensor, which I have replaced. The ECU thought the engine was cold, and was never turning on the fan, and also running rich, so I wonder if that ruined the sensors. I know from owning this car that I'll have these trouble codes saying the engine is running lean when in fact it is running rich. Is this just normal, or have the sensors been ruined? Fuel economy seems to be a few mpg lower than normal. Should I assume the sensors are OK if the MIL isn't on constantly?

This question is about the "BRAKES" light above the large gauge on the right, not the taillights. How / when is this supposed to turn on? Our '67 Mustang doesn't have a switch on the parking brake - are we missing that? Right now it illuminates when the engine is being started. I think there is a short circuit, but I'm really interested to know how or what causes this light to illuminate. Any help?

What's the proper way to wire up the electric choke on a Holley 4150 carburetor? I discovered one of the power wires for a modern radio had 30 ohms of resistance to grounding out, but measured 12 volts at the same power wire when the key was turned on. I have wondered if this is causing some of the problems the car has. The stereo is a Sony tape deck, which we installed brand new, but it's never sounded very good, even through good speakers. The power wire was yellow / black and connected to a plug that also had an blue wire attached to it, which was connected to another plug that had a power wire for the reverse light switch on the transmission. That same reverse light power wire had been tapped as the source for the electric choke on the carburetor, which grounds out through a resistor, which is not original, and I think it was causing problems with current flow to the radio. I could install a diode on either or both of the radio's power wires. I don't think that putting a diode on the power wire for the electric choke would make a difference. Does anyone have any experience with this or know something I'm not aware of?

I have a 1967 Mustang with a short circuit, and that's let me to discover a wire that I can't figure out: it's a red connector that powers the light in PRND floor shifter. The red plug in the harness under the dash has two wires connected to the same terminal: a blue/red and yellow/black. I don't see the yellow/black wire in any schematic in the Chilton's manual or the Mustang restoration handbook. It appears that this wire goes to a two-terminal plug behind the ashtray, possibly to the radio? The original radio was gone when we got the car 15 years ago. I don't know why it would have a different color when it's connected to the same OEM terminal as the blue/red wire. What was the function of this wire? At some point, the harness was cut into behind the gauges, and I have not yet removed the electrical tape to see what's under there, but I suspect that is where the short is occurring.

My dad bought a used 2001 Ford Mustang GT convertible that was optioned with fog lights, traction control, and the Mach 460 stereo, but the head unit had been replaced prior to our ownership, and the two gray cables had been cut. We have a head unit from another 2001 Mustang that we were planning to install, but it is the standard din size which had a separate CD player below it, and has a single gray cable to the amps. Apparently, cars optioned with fog lights and traction control had a different double din deck to accommodate the switches in the dash, and it appears they had different cables too. I have seen schematics that show the double din deck had three wires to each amplifier mounted in the trunk - audio +, audio -, and switched power, with one wire not used. I've also read that the four small speakers were powered by the head unit, but I've also read that there is a third amplifier on the transmission tunnel, which is what I believe we have. When I look at the clipped cables and mess of wires in my dad's car, I can't see how audio went from the double-din deck to the amp or speakers. If the 2 gray cables with 4 wires each were only used for the rear amps and sub woofers, then how did the double din deck get sound to the 4 speakers? The standard din deck has a six pin cable for the external CD player, and an 8 pin cable for all 8 speakers. The speaker count is the same, but the wiring is different, and that's what I'm trying to figure out. I think that a lot of the information I've come across has not made a distinction between these two head units. Does anyone know more about the wiring on these than I do?

On a 1989 Ford Taurus...what should the pressure be in the high side? When I was filling my AC system with R-134a, the needle would fluctuate... it was high, then it would drop, and seem to fluctuate as much as 50 psi as the AC compressor would cycle on and off while it was being filled, but it gradually increased. After I added the third can of R-134a (10 oz. per can, 30 oz. total), I shut off the engine, and could hear a sound like a high pressure gas leaking out, but it decreased and ceased after about 20 seconds. It sounded like it was leaking from the front of the AC compressor. That was a week ago. Now I haven't heard the leak lately, but I also haven't been listening too hard for it. I'm not sure if I over filled my AC system. I obtained a compressor from a car in a junkyard, and never dumped out any oil or liquid in it. If the compressor had oil in it, and I added 30 oz. of R-134a, could that have overfilled the system?

I'm attempting to convert from R-12 to R-134a: a source on the internet and a local repair shop have both said that the mineral oil in R-12 systems is incompatible with the newer oil, and when mixed, they will both turn to "mush". So I'm apparently supposed to drain the mineral oil from my compressor, but the procedure to charge the system involves operating the AC compressor on for 5 minutes to stabilize system pressure before turning the AC to high to add R-134a. If I'm running the compressor for 5 minutes without oil, that seems like a bad idea. Should the compressor be lubricated prior to vacuuming and charging the lines? Will 5 minutes not hurt the compressor? What lubricant would be used to fill the compressor prior to vacuuming and charging the system? Any other tips?

These are the green o-rings used in automotive AC systems. Do they start to leak after a given time, and where could I obtain new ones? I bought a box of them at an autoparts store, but it didn't have most of the sizes that are needed for my 1994 Taurus.

According to my Haynes manual, there is an explicit warning to not add R134a to unmodified R12 systems, because the accumulator and pressure switch must be changed, which was also the recommendation of a mechanic. However, all literature and product information I have read omits this requirement, and they've even said that all you really need to do is install the Low line adaptor, and change refrigerants. What's the danger in not replacing the accumulator and switch? If I had the AC lines vacuumed and installed R134a without changing the accumulator, then what would be the drawbacks? I'm particularly curious about system performance versus time. Anyone have any experience on this? Vehicle is a 1989 Ford Taurus. I can obtain the accumulator from a junkyard and get new seals, but is it worth it if I plan to change the engine about 2 years?

I have conflicting information about what year the changeover occurred. The accumulator and pressure switches are similar in appearance, but are not interchangeable between different refrigerants. Any additional information on why this is would be appreciated.

Since last summer, my mom's 1997 Chrysler T&C van has occasionally refused to stay running after initial start up. It cranks over, fires up, then immediately dies, and the next day it'll start and run like normal. There's still fuel pressure, and no trouble codes. In fact, there was some kind of pressure sensor replaced last summer after the OEM part failed. The 3.8 engine does not have a fuel return line or a MAF sensor. It seems like once the engine fires up, the computer relies on that pressure sensor to calculate air flow or injector pulse width, but that part was replaced and the problem persists. How does this engine calculate air flow without a MAF? Does it have a speed density system? Does anyone know the exact location of the pressure transducer sensor and how to test it? Is this common for this vehicle, and have there been any TSB's issued for this type of problem? I have an auto X-ray 2000 code reader, and was unable to obtain any trouble codes when the engine wouldn't stay running. Could a newer scanner display the voltage signal of this sensor?

'97 Corolla. Major power steering leak. Question: what tool should be used to remove the flare nut on the pressure line that connects to the steering rack?