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03 SVT engine trouble

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kauai808

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Hows it going guys just got this 03 SVT on friday got it for a pretty good deal.. came with the extra air box some belts and a ford fix manual.. some pics and a vid of when i start the engine.. the car dosent idle correct or sound to good at higher rpm..goes in to all gears but seems like its not getting enough fuel or something if i step on the gas from 1000 rpm in sputters and sounds like it want to die ??
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vid vvvv

vid^^^^
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FYI i never got to meet the owner and ask him any questions about the car due to i bought it at a private auction.. [;)] (it was a repo) when i got the car a bunch of wires were cut and looked liked some one spliced them to different color wires ... not sure what the guy was thinking ?? looked like he tried to fix a problem but didnt know what he was doing.. going to replace the air box tomorrow .... any ideas what you think might be wrong? o yea the smoke in the video was from some oil that got on the headers

Mahalo
 
#2 ·
In the last pic its your throttle position sensor wiring that's been cut up....that will definitely cause the issue you have.
 
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#3 ·
Yeah, it looks like you're going to be searching through the car to find all the places he tried rigging things up, and repairing it. You'll probably solve most- if not all- your problems by taking everything back to stock.
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
hooked all the wires up correctly everything seems to be where it should go .. still same problem going to test fuel pressure tomorrow .. drived it down the road, drives fine just sputters a little and doesnt feel like it has any power
 
#5 ·
random thoughts,

Seems odd for a car in Hawaii to have a block heater.
The extra connector on the passenger side firewall is weird.
The wire spliced into the TPS sensor is weird ... note the wiring is not damaged, white wire is spliced into it.
The T on the coolant tank is odd.
Is it making popcorn?


I'm really wondering if the car didn't have a S/C at one time or NOS. The extra wire in the TPS harness might of been for a WOT switch. I haven't the foggiest what the extra harness/connector by the P firewall is for.

My thought is you have a good deal of work ahead of you. So I hope you got a really good deal on it.


First thing I'd check is the cam timing. Response sounds lethargic. Very similar sound to a botched timing belt job. Add to that the popcorn maker sound and I think I have a pretty good case to check it ... or ensure the VCT solenoid is working, should throw a code if it's not.

Looks as though the repair book you have is a Haynes. Complete junk IMO. Far better off buying one of those Ebay DVD repair manuals.
 
#7 ·
Hey man hit me up if you still need help. I'm in Kalaheo, but I'm free this Saturday.

BTW it sounds to be the timing belt was done wrong. I did mine in February and it ran similar to that. The SVT is interference too so careful with it. I have the cam plate and TDC pin if you need to use it.
 
Discussion starter · #8 ·
thanks kauai guy .. my friends going to help me tomorrow, running better today fixed a couple wires .. but still sputters a little on the low end.. not throwing any codes .. checked with a basic scan tool.. seems like its running a little lean all find out tomorrow... let you know if i need help..

Mahalo
 
#10 ·
My svt had similar symptoms that were caused when braking hard or going in reverse hard. We tried a dozen electrical tests and fixes with no luck. We pulled the airbox to look at the MAF, etc when we noticed the motor mount was broken and the transmission was moving back and forth inside the mount. We clamped a jumper cable from the battery ground to the mount and it made no difference.
We welded the mount solid and the car runs fine and we cannot make it run bad doing what we did before.
 
Discussion starter · #11 ·
[grinking] Fixed it !!!

Ran a bunch of electrical test checked all the wires ....

drained the fuel tank... changed the spark plugs .. still ran like crap.. changed the intake mainfold .. still ran like crap... then checked the cam timing and one of the cams was out of time ... so lined the the two cams to there set positions while the motor was at TDC put the belt back on, started her up and is running great today ... going to get the plates . saftey. and registration tomorrow [grinking]
 
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Kauai Guy
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