I've held off posting for a while as I did research on the symptoms I am experiencing, so pardon me if I am long-winded (as usual) explaning my problem(s).
A few weeks ago I drove the Mustang to the upholsterer, then to a friend's house; total drive time was about 45 minutes with a good mix of interstate and stop-and-go traffic. The car ran great, which I expected since she has never had any mechanical problems other than the fuel pump a few times and all the seals blowing around 120k miles. My friend and I decided to drive to the paint shop for a quote. About 15 minutes into the drive, the car started running like total s***. She was fighting me, bucking, popping, and sputtering. I'd stick my foot in the gas, and she just wouldn't go. I limped her all the way home (what a painful trip that was since every road I got on had construction).
I couldn't get the codes read immediately, so I went home, parked the car and cleaned the MAF sensor. After cleaning the MAF, she cranked right up and idled fine... perfect problem solved! I bought and installed new Autolite stock replacement plugs (gapped to 0.046") and a cap and rotor since it's been a few years since I paid any attention to the car. After that, I figured she would run great. It was a really long crank and pedal dance to get her started, then she idled like crap and died out a few times. Once I got her to stay lit, she idled fine. I bought a new PIP sensor, but have been reluctant to install as I am not sure I want to tear apart the distributor yet. In the meantime, I finally got my code reader and pulled codes. I got a 564, 172(c), and 176(c) - fan (it's been replaced so I figured it just hadn't been cleared), and both O2 sensors were running lean. Got new O2 sensors and installed them yesterday... same problems exist - long crank, hard to initially get running, then bogs down around 3k RPM if I stick my foot in it. I pulled KOEO codes again and the only code I get is the fan code; got no codes at all for the KOER test.
Now, I am at a loss. I was thinking the PIP sensor (I will probably replace anyway since I bought it), but no codes exist. I thought fuel pump, but once the car is running, it idles like a champ. Maybe a vacuum leak? MAF bad (wouldn't that throw a code too)?
A few weeks ago I drove the Mustang to the upholsterer, then to a friend's house; total drive time was about 45 minutes with a good mix of interstate and stop-and-go traffic. The car ran great, which I expected since she has never had any mechanical problems other than the fuel pump a few times and all the seals blowing around 120k miles. My friend and I decided to drive to the paint shop for a quote. About 15 minutes into the drive, the car started running like total s***. She was fighting me, bucking, popping, and sputtering. I'd stick my foot in the gas, and she just wouldn't go. I limped her all the way home (what a painful trip that was since every road I got on had construction).
I couldn't get the codes read immediately, so I went home, parked the car and cleaned the MAF sensor. After cleaning the MAF, she cranked right up and idled fine... perfect problem solved! I bought and installed new Autolite stock replacement plugs (gapped to 0.046") and a cap and rotor since it's been a few years since I paid any attention to the car. After that, I figured she would run great. It was a really long crank and pedal dance to get her started, then she idled like crap and died out a few times. Once I got her to stay lit, she idled fine. I bought a new PIP sensor, but have been reluctant to install as I am not sure I want to tear apart the distributor yet. In the meantime, I finally got my code reader and pulled codes. I got a 564, 172(c), and 176(c) - fan (it's been replaced so I figured it just hadn't been cleared), and both O2 sensors were running lean. Got new O2 sensors and installed them yesterday... same problems exist - long crank, hard to initially get running, then bogs down around 3k RPM if I stick my foot in it. I pulled KOEO codes again and the only code I get is the fan code; got no codes at all for the KOER test.
Now, I am at a loss. I was thinking the PIP sensor (I will probably replace anyway since I bought it), but no codes exist. I thought fuel pump, but once the car is running, it idles like a champ. Maybe a vacuum leak? MAF bad (wouldn't that throw a code too)?