xr won't start. (yes another thread)

[anthonyd]

Hi, my xr was running great. Started it up one day drove down the block and then it just died.cranks but nothing.waited till next day and same.The tfi is a motorcraft and it's maybe a year old since I replaced. Any ideas what I should check

[zxr250cc]

Hi,

Did you install the TFI yourself? Did you use clear or white paste on the TFI?

Did you hear the fuel pump make noise when you turn the key on?

Do you have a timing light to check if the plugs are firing or a check test light that you can use for that?

Die slow like asthma or dead right now dead?

Cheers

[anthonyd]

Fixed!! It was a bad distributor rotor. Took like 5 minutes to swap out. I have a standard motor tfi. How long will it last. I can't seem to find a genuine motorcraft one. all the motorcraft ones I see don't say motorcraft on the back like the originals.I think there's a lot of counterfeit ones out there. Maybe motorcraft change the part and they no longer say motorcraft.

Is it worth installing a TFI relocation kit.
Do I have any options of completely doing away with the unreliable ford distributor, cap and rotor , tfi and going to some kind of aftermarket kit.

[andyofcolumbusmerkur]

No telling how long a tfi will last, keep a spare handy.
Ya you can use stand along engine management to run the engine without any Ford stuff.
You should be able to find a good motorcraft tfi someplace.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Motorcraft-I ... pUQAvD_BwE
https://www.amazon.com/Motorcraft-DY128 ... 3329&psc=1
https://www.ebay.com/p/174466724?iid=11 ... AcQAvD_BwE

[anthonyd]

Will this work it's only 7 dollars versus 70.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/184274741995

[zxr250cc]

Hi all,

The matching program in the site says NO.

If you have to be cheap a United Motor Product chip in Rock Auto is less than $20 and comes with real heat sink paste in the box, not clear silicone dielectric grease like Standard, If you have a Standard part use it but get the clear silicone grease off it, clean it and the distributor thoroughly and use real heat sink compound from a computer store. Use very little of it, just enough to run a small bead or an x of it down the chip back it so that it spreads out even all over the back of the chip when installed in as thin a layer as you came make. MORE is NOT GOOD. In this case Less is More! You could pull one at a junk yard as well but it might be dead when you get it.

Cheers

[Ed Lijewski]

Microcenter, Best Buy, Grainger, inter alia, stock thermal compound paste ($6‐$9).

YMMV

[anthonyd]

So I started car this morning and it idled for 10 seconds then stalled. Now it won't start. Just cranks. I hear pump go on and the buzz.

[zxr250cc]

Hi all,

TFI or coil. Flip a coin? Do you have any sort of test light like a continuity tester or timing light?

Without one you can remove a spark plug from the number 1 cylinder near the water pump and connect it to the plug wire. Ground the tip of the plug on a clean bare metal engine part and have someone try to start the car. Any spark at the plug across the gap? If you have spark it is probably a fuel problem. No spark it is TFI or coil, most likely.

Just a few thoughts of what I did to find my problem was a TFI chip. Check all the positive wires and grounds to the battery, the starter solenoid and the engine as well to have good voltage with low resistance.

Also, use a good heat sink paste on your next TFI if yours is dead. I bought one tube at Best Buy for about $8 that had diamond dust in it to improve thermal transfer to the distributor from the TFI chip. TG-7.

Cheers

[anthonyd]

Is this the wrench I need to remove TFI https://www.amazon.com/OEMTOOLS-25013-I ... 537&sr=8-3

Is this the correct thermal paste
https://www.amazon.com/Arctic-Silver-AS ... B0087X728K

[zxr250cc]

Hi all,

The wrench is wrong. You need a 7/32ndths inch 1/4 inch drive deep socket and some kind of wrench to turn it. I chose a thumbwheel but a normal 1/4 inch drive socket wrench or flex handle will work fine. Many companies sell (Wilmar} Performance Tools under various names and the tool number W36125 is a thumbwheel drive and the socket number is W36307. Other tools will work but this set is at many parts stores and probably easy to find and also cheap. Look these part numbers up on the web to see photos.

Why bother to buy offline when it is probably near you in a local store for similar money. Same with the grease. Are you near a computer store or a Best Buy? You could have the tools and the grease this evening if you just go...

Cheers

[Ed Lijewski]

Is this the wrench I need to remove TFI https://www.amazon.com/OEMTOOLS-25013-I ... 537&sr=8-3

Is this the correct thermal paste
https://www.amazon.com/Arctic-Silver-AS ... B0087X728K

$3.44 + free shipping is a deal. The dead XR were it mine can sit until that arrives.

YMMV

[zxr250cc]

Hi Ed,

It is a good deal only if it works. Does your car use a star head bolt? Mine is 5.5mm or 7/32ths (same thing) size bolt head. That wrench definitely is wrong for my car. I can't speak for all versions obviously. The heat sink paste is good.

Cheers

[Ed Lijewski]

Screenshot_20200626-132401_Firefox.jpg (402.75 KiB) Viewed 3166 times

YMMV

[andyofcolumbusmerkur]

I think you just read that too fast, like it shows above it is 7/32 thin wall socket. The problem with a regular socket is it's not thin walled and might not get down in there. There's just the one type of Ford Ignition Module tool. I think I paid 8 bucks at the zone when I first got an xr. You could grind down a spare socket and possibly use that. Been driving around with it in the car ever since but never needed to use it. If I would have never purchased the tool I'm sure that tfi would have gone out on me. Also I've seen little plastic caps on some tfi modules, where you need to pick at it with a sharp tool and pop that off to get to the bolt/machine screw heads. And other times where you couldn't get the tool in there because it was too close to the power steering pump etc. So you may want to make a mark for the distributor, like scratching a line, in case you need to loosen the whole thing and rotate it. So now you need a good "tested or oem" tfi, a removal tool, a little pick, some thermal paste, a socket wrench with correct socket (15mm?) and a nice long extension, and maybe your timing light. Hell just take your whole tool box.