Double check the spark plug wires to make sure they didn’t get crossed up. If it is TBI, you should see gasoline spraying from the injectors. No gas means you’re getting it towed.
Whatever’s left in the tank is no longer gasoline
In fact, it can damage and destroy the pump and sender
saleenmustang wrote:
Tires still hold air and were full when I got there tires look like they have enough tread and are in good enough shape to run for a while.
See:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=138
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=183
It has a carb no injectors, also not by the car at this time but I do think it’s probably the pump or the lines not getting the gas to the carb, also do you know if spark plugs come pre gapped if you buy the certain ones for make and model at autozone?
My mistake you said earlier it had 116 miles I didn’t know you meant 116,000 miles. But I still think you should just have it transported to where it needs to be.
" it got pulled into the garage and parked around 10 to 15 years ago even the oil maintenance sticker says 2002 or 119k miles. "
The tires could easily be 20 years old, and are unsafe, even if they look OK. You will have to spend several hundred dollars, minimum, to get this car safe to drive. Probably $1,000, if nothing’s actually wrong with it. The tires must be replaced, the brakes need a complete check, with corrosion of the master cylinder and calipers pretty likely, the hoses are probably in poor shape, the gas isn’t gas, so the fuel system needs to be cleaned out, and this assumes the engine and transmission are OK…
Some ‘say’ they are pre-gapped, but I always check. I’ve found so many that were inconsistent and out-of-spec. Like they settle as they are shipped and handled.
It probably will have to be towed but the problem is I dont want to tow it home just to find out I cant do thr work myself and then have tow it to a mechanic I just wanted to get it started to see if it will even run I understand it’s not safe I dont need the safety lessons please.
Saleenmustang; You seem to be pretty much of a novice around cars. If you had a lot of experience you would know that the rubber seals in almost every part on this car are dry rotted…right along with the tires. Call and ask any tire shop, “I have a deal to buy some used tires that are like new, but they are 10years old…should I buy them”.
If you try to get this car running anymore, you will just be pumping crud into the fuel pump and the lines and then the carb or injectors. This could make much more work for you later.
All the hoses including fuel and vacuum lines are dry rotted as well.
THe rubber coating on the plug wires are also dry rotted.
Next time you go to work on this car, try bending a few vacuum hoses, & plug wires in half and you will see the cracks where the vacuum will leak or the spark will arc.
The belts also will be dry rotted too.
Tow it to your house and have someone with quite a bit of experience check this car out.
When it was driven into the barn/garage…everything was lubricated from use…even if it was rare use. It has had all this time for everything to dry out and keep getting drier.
This isn’t just a safety lesson, it’s an economics lesson. You will have to spend WAY more money than this thing is worth, best case. You’d be better off finding a running car, you’ll end up spending less.
OP says he does not need a safety lesson. Well, he does if he plans on putting this thing on the road without doing the things it needs to be safe.
yeah, trying to start it with 10 yr old gas was your first mistake, but you have a chance to have a good reliable car, if you follow the above advice and take it to a mechanic for proper service
This link indicates the scope of the problem with the Ford 3.8L engine that is the subject of this thread
And the problem began with the earliest 3.8L long before the CAS recognized the problem with 1988 and later engines. The engine was as notorious for failure as the Vega had been for Chevrolet 10 years earlier.
I will take the OP at his word that he understands that this vehicle cannot be assumed to be safe. I hope he understands that it would have been irresponsible of us not to emphasize it.
Wes made an excellent point. Having it towed to a mechanic for a thorough examination is the best way to find out what the starting point will be. Short of that, have it towed home and start the assessment.
I’d bet lunch that the carb will need rebuilding as a very minimum, and the brake and cooling systems will definitely need some work. There’s lots of pressure-holding elastomerics in these systems, and they’re all too old. The tires, well, even if they were new when the car was last run they’re old now. And then there’re shocks, bushings, brake mechanical parts, etc.
Re the lack of fuel being fed in, the way a carb works is that a bowl is filled with fuel and a float operates a needle valve that allows more fuel into the bowl when the level drops, The carburetor draws its fuel through an orifice from the float bowl. I’d bet that the float system and/or needle valve is/are long-since gummed up and not functioning, and if the float is stuck and won’t drop or the needle valve won’t open the gas won’t get into the float bowl… or into the engine. That may account for your lack of fuel getting into the engine.
That model has throttle body injection, @tsm. And properly diagnosing the EEC requires a Thexton breakout box and a very experienced mechanic.
Not according to the OP, who posted
"It has a carb no injectors, "
That’s consistent with the information I found on the internet.
Well, I’m confused, Rockauto lists both carb floats and fuel injectors for the '85 3.8 T-Bird…???
I will remain in my perpetual state of confusion, @tsm. But I feel right at home here. Earlier I quick checked my usual sources which indicated Central Fuel Injection (throttle body injection) and just now checked the only manual I have held on to for the 1885 Fords and it shows only CFI on that engine. And when the uninitiated look into the CFI they often call it a carburetor.
But regardless of which it is I strongly advise that the OP get a wrecker or a tow bar and pull the car away to wherever he can deal with it. Or leave it where it sits.
I’ll go with the OP’s statement.
I admit that in the first page of the thread I made the carb statement and assumed I’d erred when Rod corrected me, but it appears either is possible. Perhaps there was a mid-year change.
I also realize that it isn’t at all uncommon for someone to mistake a throttle body for a carb. But I’ll take the OP’s word for it unless evidence comes forth to the contrary.
He needs to get the old fuel out if the tank and change the oil before attempting to start it as well.