1995 5.0L.
Recently had the pickup sensor replaced and now the truck runs, no more 'no starts' or random stalling.

However, now the truck is sluggish with accelerating from a dead stop and there are times during city driving when I hit the accelerator and there is a marked delay in response. Engine revs up but no matching speed up.

Any "ah ha's" here?

Have a truck load of other things going on, I appreciate any ideas - not sure how quick I will be able to try/ implement them. . .

 

If you pulled or loosened the distributor, I would check the timing if you didn't.

 

check the TPS...EVERYTHING else runs off of that voltage feedback. If it's out,doyourself a huge favor and replace it with a good one...no cheapass AZ Duralast POS...trust me on that one!

 

Do as yankey said and check the tps when I bought my truck the p.o. put it on backwards and I had no power or downshifts and thought my trans was slipping, my advice is a motor craft replacement may cost more but you'll thank yourself later

 

The TPS is on the bottom of the throttle body? So throttle body has to be removed to access?
I found this, which appears to be an easy way to check it:
http://troubleshootmyvehicle.com/for...test-the-tps-1
Assume that it is valid testing procedure?

On another note, I got a timing light.
Checked the timing and when first started cold it was around 8 degrees, after about a minute it settled down to 0 degrees.
Is that correct?
I thought I read somewhere that 14 degrees was ideal.
I did NOT remove the SPOUT - my understanding is that you only remove the SPOUT when you are adjusting/ turning the distributor.

Thanks!

 

Yes, the throttle body needs to be removed to change the throttle position sensor - well, unless you like a real challenge.

The SPOUT connector should be always be removed when checking base timing - whether one adjusts anything or not. My base timing is spec'd at 10BTDC - there should be a sticker on the cross-member frame work or somewhere in the engine bay that specs out the correct timing for your particular model year, likely says something like 'Emission Control Information' with the Ford logo, etc.

Given your numbers with the SPOUT in, suggest your spark is way late...

 

Good information, thanks!
I will pull the SPOUT and recheck and also look for the sticker.
Thanks again!

 

Found the sticker on the hood back towards the firewall; recommends at operating temperature, in neutral, with SPOUT removed and speced at 10 BTDC.

So looking at the timing the scale left to right reads:
10 ||| 0 ||| 10 ||| 20 BTC

Note it is stamped BTC not BTDC - don't want to make any assumptions here . . .
On the far left of the 10 there is something stamped but can't really read it.
The pointer is aligned to the left of zero at what I would call -8 degrees.

Assuming that to the right of zero is the 10 that I should be at; I can't help but wonder why the truck even runs being 18 degrees out? Shouldn't it be stuttering and bucking in this condition?

So, is BTC the same as BTDC?
And to save me a little trial and error- which direction would the distributor be rotated to move from -8 to 10?

Thanks again.

 

Suggest BTC (before top center) and BTDC (before top dead center) are interchangeable terms.


The crankshaft rotates clockwise, as viewed from the front of the engine. When the pointer is at 0, the #1 cylinder is at the top of its travel.


If you were to manually rotate the engine to top center (0), then rotate it counter-clockwise, opposite its normal direction of rotation, you would be Before Top Center. If you rotate it clockwise, you will be After Top Center. Given what you describe, you want to be on the right-side of the zero.


The distributor rotates counter-clockwise as viewed from the top. You will want to rotate it clockwise to advance the timing, that is, to make the spark come earlier in the combustion cycle. Rotating it counter-clockwise will make the spark even later.


The concern with late spark ('retarded' is the old-school term, now out of favor due to the political correctness freaks) is the risk of burning the valves and overheating the catalytic converter, as the fuel will not be completely burned in the cylinder and will continue to burn as it leaves the cylinder out the exhaust.

 

Doing the happy dance!!!!


Adjusted the timing to 10 BTC.
It's like a new truck!
She shows her 8 cylinders now.

Thank SO much!

TPS must be fine - only did a short test drive, but the response from the accelerator is everything I could have hoped for!