hesitation, stalling, backfiring on 88 Festiva

[erikandelman]

Hi all,

I getting a lot of hesitation, backfiring, and stalling on my 88 Festiva. The exhaust smells "rich". I have to pump the pedal quickly to keep it alive while driving. There is also a lag in response - when I press the pedal, the engine revs after a half-second or so. Also, when press my clutch pedal, the engine will momentarily rev, even though I took my foot off the gas as I pressed the clutch... part of that "lag".
Before I purchased it, it sat for a couple years.
I replaced the air filter, and ran it without one, neither helped.
I have replaced the plugs, wires, dist. cap recently, but that did not effect the symptoms.
I don't know much about carburetors, but it seems like it's not getting enough air in the mix? I've poured and sprayed various carb cleaners into it, to no avail. Are there some air passages inside the carb that could be plugged?
Any suggestions?
Thanks so much,
Erik

[phantorn]

Try romping on the accelerator and closing the choke butterfly at the same time till the engine dies. The will usually pull fuel and anything else thru the jets.

[geezerstiva]

is the choke opening? that would do it. but i assume that thats not the problem. try the o2 sensor. on my car, the o2 sensor went bad and you could just barely drive it it was so bad. but if this is the same problem that some of us have had with carbed festys, good luck, cause none of us could find it. o2 sensor i would think, but i'm no mechanic.

[erikandelman]

Hi,
The choke is opening when the car warms up.
I tried the above mentioned cleaning method, it did not make a difference.

Where is the o2 sensor? How can I check it?

Is there some way to just unhook all these sensors and crap and get it to run like my chainsaw does?

Thanks,
erik

[Levitan]

I just unplugged my o2 sensor on my '92 GL and it runs way better than with it. Eliminated alot of the lag probs that I was having. I'm not going to leave it like that forever, but at least until the permafrost thaws here in the Arctic Tundra! BTW, my mpg went up over 10 mpg with it unplugged.

[Levitan]

O2 sensor is screwed into your exhaust manifold. Follow the wire to the drivers side of the motor.
The joint is attached to a bracket. Unlatch plug(Ithink you push down on the latch if I remember correctly) and pull the right side of the wire, not the sensor side.

[erikandelman]

Unplugged the o2 sensor - that made a huge difference. Do I need it, why replace it?

Thanks,
Erik

[Levitan]

Technically yes, because I think it causes your motor to run lean with the o2 sensor unplugged. Correct me if I'm wrong real mechanics...... I just know what worked for me. Right or wrong, I'm not running mine and it runs way better. I'm not telling you what to do, just what I did and am doing.

[erikandelman]

Maybe it was just luck that it ran better with the o2 sensor unplugged, because this morning it was back to really-bad. It's cold this morning, dunno if that had anything to do with it.
What else could cause these problems?
Is there an electronic ignition unit? If so, can it be bypassed?
Thanks,
Erik

[geezerstiva]

replace the o2 sensor would be your best bet i think. theyre only like 20 bucks for a universal one.
if not that, check the distributor cap and rotor for oil or something. there is a seal in the dist that goes bad and leaks oil into the cap. that may be the problem.

[geezerstiva]

take a look at this for some info on the o2 sensor (copied from another topic).

When the engine warms up the O2 sensor starts sending a signal (it has to be warm to work) and the computer starts advancing the timing to burn the fuel more efficiently. The car runs better. As the engine gets older and the parts wear the computer stores information about it's performance and uses that to make it run better too. Every time the battery is disconnected the computer memory is erased. It takes about 20 miles of driving for the computer to reset the numbers in it's memory from the factory default. When the O2 sensor is not working the car just runs on old fashioned mechanical timing where the spark is advanced by the vacuum hose and spinning weights inside the distributor. It doesn't run as well that way.

It would do no harm to clean the EGR valve. No need to replace it as suggested. For info on cleaning the EGR valve on the carb'd Festiva look here www.ncf.ca/~ag384/Cars.htm

[88festiva1.3l]

? this sounds rare on the bottom of your intake manifold there are 4 hoses and 2 plastic screw plug ins that the 4 hoses come out of that sometimes the plastic can crack this is why most 88 r in the junk yard and i remember replacing these parts both of them with after market metal pieces with new rubber hoses

[88festiva1.3l]

i'll send a pic i actally have my other one here at home which has the same problem ?

[erikandelman]

? this sounds rare on the bottom of your intake manifold there are 4 hoses and 2 plastic screw plug ins that the 4 hoses come out of that sometimes the plastic can crack this is why most 88 r in the junk yard and i remember replacing these parts both of them with after market metal pieces with new rubber hoses

I found these... below where the hoses join, they're breathers too, with little caps and filters. What's the purpose of these?
What on earth did you replace them with? Where did you find such a replacement? I could maybe work something up, but replicating the breather part might be harder.
What do you suggest?
Thanks,
Erik