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[ericjd]

I just bought a 91 capri non-turbo. It has 98,800 miles. Between myself and Ford service its had the water pump replaced, engine oil system flushed, oil changed with slick 50, lucas fuel cleaner added, new double platinum spark plugs, all new belts, air filter changed, and the key in the crank shaft gear was replaced and timing set. The crank shaft is not cracked according to them. The pulleys on the crank shaft still wobble some but the service mechanic said that the timing belt gear no longer wobbled with the new key in it. They said they were able to time it. One of the small hoses is broke off the front of the vacuum solenoid or 3 way valve which is on the fire wall so it has a small vacuum leak there but I dont think that is the bulk of the problem. I will be replacing that soon. The car has a ROUGH idle and TERRIBLE acceleration. It seems like it is at little more than half power. What could be wrong ? What should I check ?

[yen]

Not sure how helpful this may be but check the air flow meter connections (on the air intake filter box). Sounds like the same symptoms I had after taking the car to a dodgey mechanic.
the wiring could have came loose while you were changing the filter.

[Rocketman]

Vacuum leaks have a tremendous effect on these engines. Fix that first, look for other leaks and get back to us see if its still acting up

[rock-on]

double and triple check the timing,make certain that the cams and crank marks are lined up,if you have a old school vacum gauge that has ignition vacum advance on it,that works the best because you can time your motor off of maximum vacum.or just get a light and make sure it's set at 6 degrees btdc to start.you can run them advanced at around 12 degrees.

[ericjd]

Yen, Rocketman and Rock-on, Thanks so much for your input. Please continue it.
   
   Yen, I will double check the wires to the air box tomorrow, but the problem was that way before I changed the air filter.

   Rocketman, I am waiting for a used replacemebt for this vacuum part as I can not find it new anywhere. I can probably seal it pretty good temporarily tomorrow(friday) to see how much of a difference it makes. I'll let you know.

   Rock-on,  I am wondering about the timing too. A Ford dealership service timed it for me, but I am just concerned if its still off a tooth or something. Would the wobbly pulleys cause a timing problem. Like I said Ford service said the timing belt gear was not wobbling, just the pulleys that are on it. The wobbling seems to go away ( mostly) when I accelerate the engine. What about the harmonic balancer. I saw that you had a problem with that. Where is that and how do I check it ?

Thanks Again, I appreciate all the input.

[Gostlrs]

double check all the vac lines, there were only 2 set up right when i got my car and it ran like dog crap.

[ericjd]

Yup I'll check the vacuum hoses tomorrow.

[rock-on]

the harmonic balancer is bolted on the front of your crank it is connected to the alternater and a/c belt pulleys,you can get to it by taking off the right wheel,remove the inner fender cover,should be four 10 mm bolts holding that cover on,then take loose the alt. belt and power steering belt,get a good impact gun and a 21 mm socket take you main crank bolt out and slide the pulleys off,and that's it.i don't know how to really check them i just went to the junk yard and got one off of another capri,put it on my car and that was the problem.don't forget to put lock tight on the bolt during reassembly and torque it to spec.or you could hammer it on with the impact good and tight,but i didn't tell you that,it's not the proper way,but it's fast and easy and works.

[rock-on]

check your ignition cap and rotor,have your distributor pick-up checked.

[ericjd]

How can you tell if the harmonic balancer is bad or not ?  Also, would the harmonic balancer cause the wobble in my crank shaft pulleys ?

[Phillip]

If the crank pulley is wobbling that is the source of the idle and other problems. you more than likely have the dreaded short nose crank problem. See link.

http://www.miata.net/garage/crankshaft.html

[ericjd]

Thanks Phillip. However Here is an excerpt from my original message above. Once you've read it get back to me with what you think.

"the key in the crank shaft gear was replaced and timing set. The crank shaft is NOT cracked according to them. The pulleys on the crank shaft still wobble some but the service mechanic said that the timing belt gear NO LONGER wobbled with the new key in it."

[Rocketman]

If it wobbled to begin with, a new key will not fix the problem. It would be more than likely a bandaid. It can also make the car impossible to time correctly.

[ericjd]

Rocketman,  So youre saying that if the timing belt gear on the crankshaft was wobbling before ford took the old dented key out (which they showed me), and replaced it with a new good key, that it would not make a difference and that the timing belt gear on the crankshaft would still wobble.  Also, If the pulleys on the crankshaft wobble does that definitely mean that the timing belt gear on the crankshaft must be wobbling as well ?  Or is it possible that the timing belt gear on the crankshaft would not necessarily be wobbling just because the pulleys on the crankshaft are ? All I want to know is whether or not this wobble in general will cause a running problem or not.  What do I need to do to find out so that I can correct it or leave it and move on to the next suspect.

[Rocketman]

Where in NY are you?

If the woodruff key is worn then you can bet the keyways in the crank and the timing cog will be worn as well. Putting a new key in might hold the cog still but if the keyway is worn theres no guarantee it is holding it in the right place.

The outside pulley is seated with rubber as part of the harmonic balancer and can sometimes wobble a bit. The outer pulley has no effect on timing and will not make the car run poorly. However if the crankway is worn then it will indicate by wobbling.

Have you fixed the vacuum leak? Like i said they have a really major effect on the idle.