'82 CHP Mustang 5.0 HO firing order
 

I'm under the hood after replacing the fan clutch and fighting to get the new belt on - Belt 1, Greg 0 - will try again later, and was about to change the distributor cap, rotor, wires and plugs.

I got out both my Haynes and Chilton manuals and noticed something peculiar. The firing order as it is on the car right now matches what the books show to be NON-HO.

Can someone specify the difference and what would happen if I used the HO firing order when putting the new parts on?

History - records in the file on the car show this motor was rebuilt .040 over in 1993.

The disitributor isn't in there like photos show, either. The vacuum diaphragm is turned more toward 5:00 than 6:00 as you face the motor from the front. Sorry, I'm not a mechanic. Would that be advanced timing or retarded if you rotate the distributor counterclockwise?

Since the motor is no longer original, I'm thinking I should put all the new parts on matching the way she sits right now.

If anyone is willing to talk for a few moments, PM me your number and I'll call you from a 901 area code on my cell.

Thanks,

Greg

Greg,

The '82 is non-HO.

My shop manual shows the firing order as 15426378.

Clockwise advance, counter retard.

Call me if you need more. :)

Then why does the air cleaner lid say "5.0 Liter H.O." on every '82 CHP I've seen, including mine?

Thanks, I matched it up the way it was. Got some other work to do, so I'm not able to crank it yet.

Cap, rotor, plugs, wires, fan clutch and almost the belt. Busy day.

Time for a short drive before dark in the B4C.

:p

Ford marketing? :dunno:

The shop manual only refers to the 351 as HO (only available for Police and Canada).

Here's a good link: http://www.302w.com/Firing-Order.aspx

Thanks, Mike. Another "myth" dispelled about the '82 CHPs. I'm glad I looked and found that and didn't just take everything loose.

No prob (and I was messing with you a little). Everything I've ever seen refers to the 5.0 from '82 on as HO, it's just the firing order is different on the early cars? I will check the shop manuals for the '83 and '85 and see what they say. I know it changed at some point.

Found it. Section 21-21-33 of the '82 shop manual says 13726548 (for Mustang and Capri only), which is the same as the "HO" 351. So, it's printed both ways in the same manual. The earlier reference came from 23-01-6, which is the section on ignition.

Learned something new. I'll still verify with the other manuals and my car, also, if you need it.

"Mr. Magee, please don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." :No no:

Now, I'm so confused. Please, if you don't mind, anyone with an '82 CHP take a look at the firing order under your car's hood.

But how bad would it run if mine was wrong? It's been this way for quite some time, I would imagine. It sounded a little bit high on the idle as I haven't got it tuned for this elevation yet. But it passed emissions inspection with flying colors, as you'll recall. No stumbling, sputtering, etc.

Greg

All '82-'86 Capri and '82-'95 Mustang 5.0L engines were "H.O." and all used the 1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8 firing order.

I read somewhere that it was changed to reduce bearing load, but who knows.

If Jim doesn't get out of his tree stand and beat me to it, I can get you a pic of mine tomorrow. I'd definitely go with the 137 order, though, based upon what I've now read.

Thanks for the pic, Fox. That's what's in the '82 shop manual (minus the color and 5.0 HO label on the bottom).

Thanks, guys. The thing with Chilton and Haynes, they show both HO and non-HO for the 1982 5.0L motor. I don't have that '82 shop manual, will have to look for it. I have one for the 351W HO Vic I've got, so I know their value.

With the engine work that's been done to my car, would it not run rough if it were wired incorrectly? I've driven it several times. I'm going to be changing out the battery cables and need to get the new belt on, so I haven't cranked it yet after the tune-up. I know it works with the non-HO firing order, so with no replies while I was under the hood, I wired it back up that way. Haven't got a chance to touch it since.

I guess my question is this: what reason would there be to have wired the motor up with the non-HO firing order. What would have been changed in the motor to require that, or is it just an oversight or confusion?

Thanks.

The camshaft dictates the firing order. If your engine runs on the 154... firing order, either the camshaft has been changed out or the whole engine is from a vehicle that did not have a H.O. engine.

Not every 5.0L engine was H.O. From '82 through '86, only the Capri/Mustang 5.0L was H.O. The 5.0L engine in all of the rest Ford passengers cars in those model years was S.O.

S.O. = 15426378
H.O. = 13726548

good info FOX !

You could figure out if the block is original if you got the VIN off the top rear.

Hmmm, got me curious. I'll look for the VIN in the morning and post the results.

Were you able to verify if the engine (block) was original to the car?

Not yet. I looked but wasn't able to come up with anything concrete. I want to clean the block more and bought a box of Crayons to try to fill in the numbers for easier reading.

I did look over the paperwork on the motor more in depth. What I thought was a receipt and warranty for rebuilding it now looks like an outright purchase of a rebuilt motor.

They used the 351W cam from '73 passenger cars IIRC in the '82 HO motor. My uncle had an '82 Capri 5.0 4spd that ran awesome but scrap got high and he crushed it due to rust. What a waste.