sons first car...needs work!

one eyed willy · 09-12-2009, 09:02 PM

so we just got a car for my son,its his first car and it will need some work.

its a 93 4 cylinder, auto. body is in real good shape, interior needs some work, outside needs new paint and moldings.

so, can someone point me in the right direction,its a 4 cylinder with 8 spark plugs?they broke the timing belt, replaced it and they could not get it running since, said they did a compression test and it was ok,im hoping no bent valves but we got the car for $200 so even if i have to get a whole new motor, its still worth it.

im new to this body style, so i dont know squat.

where is a good place to go for replacing the outside molding around the windows?

motor has 202k miles on it, a/c is good,new water pump.just looking for some good info on this motor.

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dreamer1uk · 09-12-2009, 11:52 PM

Hi and welcome to the 4 banger world

As for the 8 spark plugs, Ford introduced that design to reduce emissions.
Now the 2.3 is a non-interference engine so there should be no internal damage after that timing belt snapped.

The first thing i would do is make sure all the timing marks are all lined up correctly for that motor. If its still not firing, i would check the CEL if it is on.

Does the fuel pump prime the system? Do you have spark or fuel? Id also start with those basics too.

Also, if the ECU is not receiving a single from the CKP sensor, that will also cause a no start too. So check the CKP sensor/wiring too, just incase the wiring was damaged when the old timing belt snapped.

For the moldings and interior peices, id check ebay, salvage yards and even Craigslist. The Fox Body stang has a huge aftermarket following too so parts and super easy to find.

Theres a wealth of 2.3 knowledge on these boards if you do a search

I also forgot to add but these 2.3 N/A's have nothing for power. There only around 88hp. Now the 2.3 T on the other hand, well, thats a whole new other story

one eyed willy · 09-12-2009, 11:59 PM

thanx for the reply, i havent actually got my hands on it yet,just looked it over before giving the approval on the buy.i noticed right off a crack in the crank sensor, not sure the extint of the crack, but it coul be the problem.

my plans were to pull the motor and go thru it,debating on doing forged internals or just keeping it all stock,ill decide all that once i get into the pricing on the parts.

definetly going to pull the motor and paint h engine bay, along with the exterior and throw all new lights and moldings on it.

where can i find more info on this 4 cyl/8 spark plug engine?

dreamer1uk · 09-13-2009, 12:08 AM

Hi,

Heres all the specs....

Derf00 · 09-13-2009, 12:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dreamer1uk

Hi and welcome to the 4 banger world

As for the 8 spark plugs, Ford introduced that design to reduce emissions.
Now the 2.3 is a non-interference engine so there should be no internal damage after that timing belt snapped.

The first thing i would do is make sure all the timing marks are all lined up correctly for that motor. If its still not firing, i would check the CEL if it is on.

Does the fuel pump prime the system? Do you have spark or fuel? Id also start with those basics too.

Also, if the ECU is not receiving a single from the CKP sensor, that will also cause a no start too. So check the CKP sensor/wiring too, just incase the wiring was damaged when the old timing belt snapped.

For the moldings and interior peices, id check ebay, salvage yards and even Craigslist. The Fox Body stang has a huge aftermarket following too so parts and super easy to find.

Theres a wealth of 2.3 knowledge on these boards if you do a search

I also forgot to add but these 2.3 N/A's have nothing for power. There only around 88hp. Now the 2.3 T on the other hand, well, thats a whole new other story

+1, check the timing marks for alignment. My guess is when the timing belt was replaced the marks were put 180 degrees out of whack.

Here's the additional info on the 8 plug four cyl. motor. It was originally a Pinto motor and later adopted for the Mustang

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Pinto_engine#2.3_OHC . The 8 plug design actually gave the car 105 HP total vs the 88 of the four plug design (depending on the year).

one eyed willy · 09-13-2009, 12:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Derf00

+1, check the timing marks for alignment. My guess is when the timing belt was replaced the marks were put 180 degrees out of whack.

Here's the additional info on the 8 plug four cyl. motor. It was originally a Pinto motor and later adopted for the Mustang

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Pinto_engine#2.3_OHC . The 8 plug design actually gave the car 105 HP total vs the 88 of the four plug design (depending on the year).

it shows the 8 plug motor in 1991, it was also in the 1993 right?

Derf00 · 09-13-2009, 12:28 AM

Yep, that motor was in there up until 93. In 94 they dropped it for a v6 (sn 95 body)

one eyed willy · 09-13-2009, 08:48 AM

thanx alot for your help guys,im really looking forward to tearing into this thing and fixining it up.im a turbo guy and could fab up a custom kit pretty easy, what does a set of forged internals go for? can the auto transmission handle the extra boost in power?

dreamer1uk · 09-13-2009, 11:54 PM

Hi,

If you have the auto trans in your 93, the A4LD its one of the weakest made by Ford. Alot of people here who have done the turbo swap have switched to a manual T5 that came also in these 2.3 Mustangs.

If someone is using this A4LD with a Turbo setup, please let us know how its holding up!

As for your other question regarding internals, theres threads on the boards with what people have used as well as websites. You can also try Turboford.net for more info too

sleeper_inc · 09-14-2009, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dreamer1uk

Hi,

If you have the auto trans in your 93, the A4LD its one of the weakest made by Ford. Alot of people here who have done the turbo swap have switched to a manual T5 that came also in these 2.3 Mustangs.

If someone is using this A4LD with a Turbo setup, please let us know how its holding up!
I used it... and with only 12 psi of boost I killed the bands and screwed up 3rd and 4th gear. It will hold up if it's built but the stock 2.3 N/A transmission will be eaten by the power output of the 2.3T.

As for your other question regarding internals, theres threads on the boards with what people have used as well as websites. You can also try Turboford.net for more info too

If you want to go turbo buy a 2.3T engine right off the bat, much eaper and stronger then the E8 block you have right now (like to crack in the cylinders if there is to much power going through them).

These are tough little engines. I tore my 2.3T apart and with spun bearings, melted pistons and bad rings I still killed 5 liters easily. and I was only running 15psi, small clutch and cheap mods (less than $600 into my whole engine, indcluding a rebuilt turbo and a few other parts here and there)