Rough idle, surging, no power on hills ,no codes

[Dirtyduo]

Hi, I got a festiva 2 weeks ago and have had non stop problems , I have fixed all the codes, first I had cts. Then 3 days later got the o2 code, it seems to run high idle and no power on hills, I put in new o2, now it runs thirty seconds then dies, can go around block but surges the whole time. I have no codes since replacing o2. I changed plugs , wires , new battery, cartridge fuse swap in engine bay. I cleaned the grounds and I have replaced fuel pump motor and filter. New air filter too. The fuel mileage was terrible from the beginning. Any suggestions would be great.

[WmWatt]

Just generally I'd want to check the cylinder compression and engine vacuum. It's cheaper to just buy the guages than have it done at a garage. There is a "sticky" thread at the top of this page which says what a vaccum guage can tell you. What year is the car? They vary somewhat from year to year. How many miles on the odometer? You could try some fuel injector cleaner and engine cleaner which might help the performance and fuel economy before actually diagnosing what the problems are.

[Dirtyduo]

It is a 1992 model , build date was November of 91. It's got 140,000 miles. It ran great the first few days I had it , and that was with a 2 story mouse nest in the air filter box. I guess I need to do some vacuum testing, and some fuel additives, last owner put in a new fuel tank. Was not a spec of dirt in it when I changed the fuel pump. Another thing, the fuel gauge stops at a half of a tank. Works normal above that level. Thanks for replying so fast.

[WmWatt]

People havve reported a fuel guage problem due to wear. Seems the varnish wears off the wire winding. Check it out by searching here on fuel guage. One soltuion is to add 300 mi to odometer reading when filling tank and refill before odometer reahces that number.

[Dirtyduo]

Thank you so much , 300 mile range is really useful knowing that.

[1990new]

Have you checked out this thread?

https://fordfestiva.com/forums/forum/maintenance/repair-help-forum/25346-surging-troubles

[william]

Check and make sure your afm door moves freely and there are no cracks or loose connections on the intake tube from air box to engine. I see your pretty close to me if you can't figure it out I maybe able to come down to look it over.

[Dirtyduo]

Hey fellas , . It was a crack on the bottom side of intake tube. I was able to hot glue the crack. That one really had be stumped, I must of cracked it when I removed it to change the o2 sensor, it would of took me a long time to find it if you guys would not of mentioned to check there, really glad to be a new member of the festiva community. Thanks to everyone that replied

[william]

Glad you figured it out hope to see you out at lakestiva!