Help Needed with 202!!

[83 WB_Ute]

Best tip I can give you.
Take it to a mechanic and have them advise and quote.
Diagnostic via web forum is unlikely to be the answer.

I'm with you on this one! I'm quite confused with it, because its a multitude of things all happening at once :/ I fix one, and then another 3 problems surface :(
It doesn't help I have bugger all time to work it out..
I think I'll just take it to a mechanic (my rego fulla) and get him to work it out..

Another possibility is leaking extractor gasket mistaken for lifter noise.

I'm not sure, the gasket was done 4000km ago.. and I checked all the manifold bolts today, and they're tight as they can go..

I think I'm with Innuendo on that one, it sounds like more than one issue to me. First is that the motor wants to 'run on', not a good situ, timing?... possibly, second is she 'rattles'; it does sound like timing and detonation, maybe... but it might be as simple as an inlet manifold leak.... grab hold of the inlet manifold and see if it's loose, sometimes they can do this after miles and miles, and you just assume its the same as when you did it up.

The standard (olds skool) diognostic tool for an engine like this is a vacumn guage, but if you've gotta be travelling in a week or so, and dont have one at hand, a trip to someone like dynatune will be faster and cheaper, as long as they are not gonna charge more than 50 bucks, and know you just want diagnosis.

Yeah, there is just lots of issues going on :/ I'll take it to a mechanic and see what he can find out I won't take it to work, it just gets stack at the back of the workshop and left and then I cop so much shit for it being in a Ford dealership :(

also one thing not mentioned, is fuel quality, a couple of blokes at work are running that shit E10, their cars are rattling there heads off and way down on power, do people not realise that these old cars are designed to run on plus 96 octane. the amount of damage that E10 does to heads,valves, piston and fuel systems is unbelievable. i always run my WB on atleast 95 octane.

I run the old girl on Premium.. Its the only thing that you can get that doesn't have Ethanol in it out this way... :/