[Modded89LX]

My car is an 89 LX 5.0. It has a Trick Flow top end kit with shorties and cats. I drove this car for over a year in Arizona after I bought it without any issues. I moved to Oklahoma and it ran fine for about a month before it decided it didn't want to idle or stay running anymore. I got online reading forums to see what the common issues were and here is what I have done.

The first was the idle air control vavle. It seems they are very common in causing this issue. I replaced it with no help. After that I checked the TPS but the volatage was fine. Next i checked the salt and pepper conectors. I cleaned and lubed them with no help. A friend suggested a vacuum leak so we tore the top end off and replced all the vacuum lines. After putting it back together it didn't help. I got a scanner and it flagged both the EGR and MAF. I replaced the EGR fist sine it was cheaper but it really didn't help. I replaced the old MAF with a new 76mm and the car would acually stay running but will still surge and die if driving and coming to a stop with the clutch in. I hooked the scanner back up and it was clean. I was out of ideas so I took it to a shop that said they knew about 5.0's. They found the IAC voltage was bad so he replaced it with a Ford IAC. It ran fine for all of about two hours. As a last resort I replaced the O2's which seemed to work for about two days. The car runs fine but still doesn't like to idle at times and will still die out of the blue coming to a stop. The only other thing I can think of is the computer but I don't want to fork out more cash on an idea.

I know this was a book but any help would be greatly appreciated. Right now it's just sitting outside collecting dust.

[BAD98GT]

youll need to clock in(dial in) the mass air sensor. disconnect the neg bat cable and move the senor clockwise/counterclockwise a lil at a time. hook up batt and start the car, allow to run for about 3 min, so the car will relearn the parameters. take for a test drive. keep doing this until it runs/idles good. once you find the "sweet" spot mark the relationship with the tubing with a marker so you know where to place it all again incase you need to remove it in the future.

these sensors can be a real pain in the ass to find the right spot. i had the same issue, then it idled good but at top speed i lost some power, then i readjusted and then the car would stall going around sharp turns, finally i got mine clocked in and no probs since. it took me a few days to find the real sweet spot, just have patience and keep trying different positions.

remember to only move it a lil at a time, on mine iwould move it 1/4 clockwise an the car would give me a cel for running lean, just keep at it and youll find the sweet spot. good luck

below is a pic of mine and youll notice how the mass air sensor is tilted slightly clockwise.

[BAD98GT]

How a Mass Air Flow Sensor Works