Hi, my 1982 pinks if the timing is set anywhere above 4 degrees, but the timing should be 9 degrees - as you can imagine, it doesn't drive as responsively as you'd expect!
1. Brand new weber 38 dgas carb recently fitted with K&N style chrome filter
2. Brand new bosch distributor
3. newish but rather cheapo leads
4. Correct spark plugs, Motorcraft AGR22c, approx 6K miles use
5. Always run on BP ultamate/optimax with Castrol Valvemaster
6. CO/mixture set to 2.5%
It was only recently I decided to check the timing and I discovered it was retarded, but I would like to know if any knows why it pinks! At about 3 degrees is does not pink, at say 5-6 degrees is only pinks when accelerating at higher speeds, say from 60-70 mph but I cannot replicate it at lower speeds, even when climbing hills etc. If I set it to say 7-9 degrees, it pinks much more and at lower speeds. Any ideas please? I don't believe I have any manifold leaks as the idle speed is rock steady i.e. no hunting etc. Generally the car starts fine, although can be a bit lumpy when cold - a characteristic of most carb engines I believe?
I am going to pour some redex into the spark plug recesses soon and leave it to soak for a bit, perhaps the engine's a bit coked up, although I would have thought modern fuels would be ok aqnd it get some good motorway runs?
Any thoughts would be much appreciated
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Has it been retarded to cope with 95 ron lead free?
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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think tvm has your answer i remember these used to pink sometimes on quality 4 star.........
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BP ultimate is I believe 97 ron and Optimax is 98 ron, so surely I should be able to set it to run higher than 3-4 degrees when using these fuels? I think leaded was about 99 ron ( I wasn't old enough to drive when leaded petrol was commonly used however!)
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Hi Richard,
These engines were always prone to pinking, and got worse over the years as the fuel quality went down hill.
It will also be worsened by weak mixture, over advanced timing and high underbonnet / intake charge temperature.
Using the K&N free flow air filter could cause the mixture to run a little weak at higher revs, and will also allow heated air intake.
You would be better off using the standard air filter box, fitted with a good quality filter element, and ducting a cold air feed to it.
With regard to timing, you need a little more advance at low revs for good idle, progression and throttle response, but less at higher revs.
To obtain this, you need to adjust the centrifugal advance mechanism below the base plate in the distributer. Either slightly stronger springs or bend the spring anchor tabs a little to tension them more.
Good luck!
DC
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good post rebel.............and yes they always did run hot as you say probably due to the lack of space underbonnet,maybe as well as your good advice some extra cooling ducting is in order?
2.8 ghia x best car ford ever made in my opinion.
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You could try filling the tank with genuine 4 star leaded petrol (which is actually still available from selected outlets) and seeing how it runs on that.
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I think you need to check the dynamic advance at various points in the rev range to check the distributor is operating properly over the whole rev range and is the correct type for the 2.8 V6 . A good workshop manual should have the advance curve or a Ford dealer might be able to help. Not unknown for new units to be faulty or have wrong springs/weights fitted.
If fitted the vacuum advance should be checked. Try running with this plugged (after advancing timing) and see if the pinking is still there. Some fords had vacuum delay capsules fitted to prevent pinking... definitely Escorts but not sure about Grandad's.
Seen cases where the woodruff key on the crank pulley has got worn and given this sort of trouble but i think it's unlikely.
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Since you don't say otherwise I will assume that the car ran okay prior to the new carb being fitted. This being the case I would suspect one of two things:
1. the carb is not jetted up to suit this engine
2. more likely the use of the K&N is allowing more air flow at moderate to high engine loads and is thus weakening off the mixture.
I would also imagine that a few degrees retardation would be required for the use of unleaded rather than leaded fuel (albeit Optimax or Ultimate)
I'd also recommend a decent set of leads (Magnacor are superb if you can run to the expense)
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Thanks all for your excellent advice.
I am a bit of a novice really but don't mind getting my hands dirty. Fiddling with the distributor weights etc. is a bit beyond my capabilities unfortunately.
Originally this car was fitted with a Motorcraft distributor (blue cap) and the original 2.8 carb. I did fiddle with the timing with this setup initially as it was retarded and still had the pinking problem. I then fitted the new Bosch unit (red cap) and noticed no improvement.
The old Pierburg was a little worn and it is very hard to find these carbs (apparantly they were not particularly good carbs anyway!) According to various people, the weber 38 dgas as fitted to the 3 litre Essex engine (Mark 1 Granadas and some Capris etc) is a much better alternative to the Pierburg, so I got one of those and installed it.
So now I've got a nice new carb and distributor and I hoped I'd be able to tune the car up properly and enjoy better performance etc. I'm going to look into getting a air box assembley from a mark one Granada (the original from the Pierburg does not fit) and a decent set of leads. I think the Magnacor leads are available from Burton Power via the web so I'll look into those and put some fresh plugs in - I have a new set of NGK's somewhere...
I will also blank-ff some of the air filter to restrict air flow and see if that helps.
Thanks again, I'll keep you informed!
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The best carb. wopuld be a late model Solex/Pierbuurg(the one with twin seperate idle systems(Weber type)not the earlier combined idle system).Sling the air cleaner and fit a Ford-it works in all conditions but does not look pretty.Timing on 97 oct. is nine degrees and should be retarded to six for 95 unleaded.Ford leads and Bosch plugs were the original fit and can't be improved on even if you throw money at it.When it is set up properly,which is what most engines need,not a load of pretty bits,if you still get pinking,then retard a couple of degrees at a time till it goes.An early Ford distributor give a couple of degrees more spark at the topend-later cars were restricted slightly on power to meet German insurance classes-and the best was the Ghia X ESTATE-unless you got one of the rare COUNTRYMAN estates.
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HT leads are certainly NOT all created equal. Bear in mind that OEMs design DOWN to a price rather than up to a quality. Especially Ford.
I've tried several sets of HT leads on my Rover turbo - the high underbonnet temps have killed them all off except for the Magnacor KV85s I have had for 4 years now. Yours is normally aspirated so the blue 'sporting' version will probably be fine.
It sounds suspiciously like you've bought the 38 DGAS fitted with jets to suit the 3.0 litre V6!!! You have the 2.8 V6. I'd recommend a rolling road tune. 'Fiddling' will get you nowhere.
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New Ford leads will be as good as any others;you say you've used the same leads for 4 years.You could have replaced the normal leads several times and still saved money.
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