5.0 help, car won't run right after tune up

I'm editing this thread, so read the whole think please

ok, i've got an strim on my 90 gt, it was running fine, but 1 of the belts were shredded and i figured might as well change and due a tune up.

now, the car is falling on it's face,

this is what i did,

changed serpentine and s/c belt.

cleaned and oiled k&n filter

changed plugs wires cap and rotor

now, instead of idling smooth, the engine falls on its face, it'll idle fine for a couple seconds after the car is started, but then the idle will start dropping down to almost nothing like the car is going to stall, and then it will all of a sudden come back up and spin and then almost stall and then spin,

the closer it comes to stalling, the faster it spins and then falls on it's face again,

i checked all the plugs and wires and where they are at, #1 is almost at noon on the distributor, i tried pulling the air filter in case i oiled it too much or something and wasn't getting air

i also changed the battery, the battery all of a sudden was dead for no apparent reason, now the car will start and not stall but almost stall, when the battery was dead, and i was jumping it, it would stall.

does anyone have any clue as to what the problem might be, the 5 year old crap had the car running great and now it's crap,

i am 100% sure it's not the maf as i have run the car in default mode and it still does it

the car runs fine for 20 seconds and then the idle starts dropping and then dropping more, etc...

one of the mechanics at my dealership told me it's the plug gap, since i changed it to 35 it's probably having trouble, but i know for a s/c'd car you need the 35 gap

edit

i am thinking there is an underlying problem, and maybe this will shed some more light, today, i loosened the s/c belt as i was going to test that theory, i went to start the car and it cranked once and then died. there was no interior lights, no headlights notching. now, remember, b4 i did the tune up , the car was running fine and starting fine, after tune up, battery was pretty much dead,

so, i get out the jumper cables and hook them up to my other car, right away i have interior light, go to start the car, starts right away. i shut it off, i unhook the cables and the light is still on, i go to start the car, it starts fine, very weird to me, a battery doesn't charge in 5 seconds.

so, maybe this is relative to the other problem that i am having

if n e 1 has some insight please lone it to me

[ June 05, 2004: Message edited by: beefcake ]

 

put a new battery in since this was goin on
no check engine lights

 

with the car in default mode, it is not running off the maf, i thought i put that in the first post lol,


i was talking to my used car mechanic who races mustangs at the dealerships, i told him what was wrong, he asked me what my plugs were gapped at, i told him 35 per vortech, he said that right there is my huckleberry, he doesn't know where they got that #, but he said the car is not burning off enough fuel he said regap around 45 and all should be well

 

ttt

 

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Dan the ranchero man:
I would be checking to see when you did that tune up if you damaged or unpluged a connector or wire. I would also look for a vacuum hose or connection that might have been knocked loose while working on the car. I would trace my steps back through and see if there was anything you might have done. I did the same thing on an 84 merc wagon. all tuned up and wouldn't run right to save a life! Found a hard plastic vacuum hose that had a small crack (I moved it to get at the plugs) Once replaced the car ran great again. Good luck Dan<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

tomorrow i'm going to regap the plugs to stock gap and see if that fixes it, then i know for sure, i took it from 35 to 40 and i do think it's a tad better, but who knows

tomorrow i'll know for sure, then it's off to checking sensors, my old mech who specializes in vortechs did tell me that the 5.0's did have trouble sometimes with the stock gap,

i got an idle air spacer but i want to make sure that the plugs are the prob first

 

problem fixed after regapping the plugs to .52,

so, now the question is, what needs to be done to get the car to run well at .35, the car may actually run well under throttle, but i haven't even tried,

not to mention, i'm using stock plug, so once i go 1 heat range colder, problem will probably be even worse,

also, since the plug gap definately is the prob, what exactly is the problem ?

 

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> problem fixed after regapping the plugs to .52 <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Wow! That's over half an inch! Seriously, might the widening of the gap in effect, retard the igniton timing abit? Just a thought.

 

If you don't have a boost reatrd, get one. Sounds like your ignition system needs to be upgraded to M.S.D. if you haven't already. The stock system often pukes with boost.

 

well, was a little more too it, last night, put in a new alternator, old one was bad, that combined with too low of an idle setting was killing the car at idle.

after that, it was running good again, same as b4, but still falling on it's face at wot.

put in the 24 autolites (1 heat range colder due to blower) and gapped them at 35 as was originally recommended, car is still running and idling right, now the big end death is gone and running awesome