85 lx 2.3l 4cyl wont fire

[wwwyzzerdd]

i got a 85 mustang lx from a friend whos had it sitting for years, well he actually let me have it since its been sitting for so long, i towed it home and was anxious to get started on it, i dropped the gas tank and dumped the ten year old gas out of it cleaned it up a bit, cleaned out the lines and everything, then i put it all back mounted the tank and fuel lines, bought a new hose to go from the fuel line to the fuel pump, this model has the mechanical fuel pump, then i changed the oil, replaced the filter and all that good stuff, went and bought a battery and some gas for it and tried to crank it, well it turns over but wont fire, so i dumped some gas on the carb, when i tried to crank it, it spit the gas out of the carb and shot a flame, but didnt start, so i tried it again, this time it just spit gas out, like a mist, so i gave up on that took another look over the engine and i found this vacuum valve or whatever it is just sitting on top of the distributor, just sitting there, not attached to anything, anyways sorry for the long read, but my main question is wtf is this thing? and wheres it go? and what does it do?

View attachment 275689

also i would like to know where to find where the fuel filter goes on this car, i searched the lines where i could see them and couldnt find a fuel filter, i dont think its inline, because its metal and has a bolt end on it like it connects to the carb somewhere or something, but i couldnt find it

any help i can get will be greatly appreciated

-steve

 

[RustBucket]

That's the PCV valve and it's not your problem

Check the timing belt. If it's sneezing back through the carb, the timing is off. Pop the little plug out of the front of the timing belt cover and see if the wheel in there moves when you crank the car.

If it doesn't move, the belt is bad. If it moves, post back and we'll check something else.

 

[wwwyzzerdd]

it moves, the belt is ok, the timing doesnt sound off, but i wouldnt be surprised if the timing is off, i have the cover but the cover was taken off by the previous owner and has probably been sitting with the belt cover off for many months/years, of course i cleaned it the best i could before trying to turn the car over, to make sure no rocks or solid objects got in the way of any of the belt teeth

thanks for the reply and for letting me know about that valve, its been bothering the hell outta me

 

[RustBucket]

Double check that the marks line up, after that I'd check everything on the distributor.

Make sure that the rotor spins while cranking, and that it point to the number 1 cap post when #1 is at TDC on the compression stroke. Also verify the firing order is correct.

 

[dreamer1uk]

Hi,

Did you check for spark?