brad12

Alright, i have an 86' GT with the 5.0 (manual) in it, i am having a problem with it starting. It is an all original car with about 210k miles on it, the only thing it has done to it is a k&n air filter and a sound system that is hard wired into the factory stereo wiring harness. Now i was driving to work a few days ago and i make it to the road that my job is on and all of the sudden i have no throttle response, the radio was still playing and the lights never dimmed so i assumed i had just stalled the car so i pushed in the clutch and tried starting it while i was still driving but it didn't start so i just coasted into the parking lot. I turned off the radio and tried again to start it, no luck. So i went to work and when i got off my uncle came to help me trouble shoot, we pulled the spark plugs and did a spark test and it was strong (the spark plugs are old but they were not oil covered and it isn't running rich or lean) so we checked to see if the fuel pump was turning on, which it was. So we decided to see if the engine would even turn, we sprayed ether into the engine and cranked it and this is where it gets weird, it didn't turn over at all, no pops anything the engine never got off the starter, so that is where the quick test ended. Now we are going to tear into the engine but before we do we wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions on what might be going wrong or any ideas where to start. This is my daily commuting car so if the admins can keep this near the top for help that would be great. I love this car and the community that comes along with it long live the stang and hopefully mine will live again soon. Thanks Again

DJ19895.0

It may be possible that the timing chain somehow broke... That is rare but it would produce those symptoms. Good luck fixing it up! Let us know how it goes.

dflo209

Same problem happened to me come to find out it was the alternator wires shorting out on me......

Bubba 95SN

Check timing, may have jumped. Put timing marks at tdc and pop cap off. See if rotor is pointed to correct cylinder on cap.

brad12

Definitely goin to check the timing next, never even crossed my mind

stangman5.01988

If you got good spark you got juice if it wont even turn over with a good battery check your starter relay next to the battery get a long screw driver with the key on and jump the battery terminal to the relay positive see if it will jump for you if it does and it still wont turn with your key go get a new one for 20 bucks.

brad12

the engine turns fine on the starter, but when we sprayed the half can of ether into the throttle body it didn't want to fire at all

stangman5.01988

when you say fire you mean turning the motor over or the motor running?

Bubba 95SN

Must be spinning over to get spark.

brad12

hey guys i appreciate all the help, it turned out that the timing chain had jumped, really helped with repair cost knowing the problem and helped to keep me from being screwed over by the shop, i would have done it myself but i don't have time (packing up to go to Air Force Basic) thanks again guys!