Automatic Choke

[clintorino]

Do all Festivas have an automatic choke? i have a 89 festiva L and i am thinking about cleaning it but i have no idea in regards to how it functions and where to locate it. Please let me know

[FestYboy]

any reason for cleaning? is it acting wierd? if not, i'd leave it alone or throw some seafoam at it and leave it at that.

[sanjeet]

Murphy's law " if it ain't broke don't fix it "

but you could give the carburettor a clean with a special Cleaner, and you can squirt some down the top when you have the engine running without touching anything....according to my manual the auto choke has a wax pellet, in Aotearoa our Fords are more basic than American assembled models

[clintorino]

the car is idling very high... and someone suggested that perhaps the choke was gummed up/sticking...

[FestYboy]

i had something similar with Scrappy, start by lubricating the outer linkages on the carb (heavily) and allow that to work in for about a week (keep spraying throughout the week). i used PB blaster and then lithium grease when hot.

[WmWatt]

When you spray the car with car cleaner you are also supposed to spray the throttle and choke linkages on the outside of the carb. Might help. You can also tap the gas pedal to jiggle a stuck choke once the engine has been running for about 10 seconds. Mentioned in the owner's manual.

[sanjeet]

"the car is idling very high... and someone suggested that perhaps the choke was gummed up/sticking"...

Check the linkages and adjust the idle stop when the engine is hot and as suggested check the pedal is returning properly, you can pull the throttle linkage back and forth to check it is not sticking.

Also check you have the engine timed correctly and correct spark plug gap....gap should be about 1.0mm on New Zealand assembled engines and I normally set the timing at 1deg before top dead centre with a timing light with the vacuum advance disconnected and plugged (two rubber hoses on vacuum advance).

1deg has my festy running very sweet and it is very fast at this setting

[clintorino]

i dont have a timing light. How much do you think it would cost if i took it to a garage to have the timing and plugs taken care of?

[WmWatt]

In this area they charge about $100 for an "engine analysis" where they hook the car up to a computer. That's why I bought a tachometer and timing light, also a volt meter, vaccum guage, and compression guage. The savings are considerable and I haven't had to have an "engine anaylsis" for years.