High idle need help ASAP

[Jim in Michigan]

I have a 1988 Festiva with a carb,, it started out that I couldnt give it gas or it would bog out,,changed the carb from another festiva after changing plugs and such,,now my idle is extremely high..I have tired adjusting it but it seems it will either be high or have no idle at all when warm,,right now I am at a high idle that wont come down,,could I have got some vacuum lines wrong? anyone have pics of how they should be,,the diagram on the hood is useless to me,,the car is a 88 Festiva L with carb and 4 speed tranny,,,please help,,I have to work tomorrow morning and this is my only car,,,,Jim

[Festy46]

Re: High idle need help ASAP

Take the air cleaner off after the car is warmed up and make sure the choke is completely off ( choke plate should be straight up and down). If the choke is off, look on the right side of the carb (as you face it from the front) and locate the fast idle cam. Follow the rod that comes down from the choke . It should be connected to the cam. Make sure the cam moves freely and doesn't bind. There should be a screw contacting one of the notches on the cam. If the cam moves freely and the choke is completely open, back off the screw that is touching the the cam notch. If you back it off until it doesn't touch and it still idles fast, check the left side of the carb for the regular idle speed screw and make sure it is backed off enough to allow the engine to idle. The idle screw on the left side is a big knobby plastic thing. If you back that off and it still won't idle, look at the right side of the carb and locate the secondary barrel shaft. The throttle cable is connected to the primary. Try turning the secondary shaft counter clockwise as you look at the carb from the driver's side. If this slows it down you may have the secondary shaft binding or you could have a small spring that is supposed to keep the secondary closed missing from your carb.

[Jim in Michigan]

I have removed the vacumm operated idle thingy and have taken off the electric one as well,, all thats left is the mechanical one on the left side,,the choke is now staying open as it should be, but the idle is rough and sometimes it wont idle at all,, I pulled the carb off and permatex'ed under it to seal it better,, the carb felt kind of wobbly like it wasnt flat on the bottom, its not running like it should be,, but I am gonna make do,,I bought a 91 festiva with fuel injection and a 5 speed today for 50 bucks,, the guy said he was driving along and it quit,,has spark and has fuel,,I think it jumped time,,by looking at what I believe are the timing marks(top gear mark at roughly 3'oclock where there is a lil arrow) with the bottom mark on T the top is about 2 teeth off ...are these the marks??? Thanks,,,,Jim

[Safety Guy]

Jim, 50 bucks is a great deal!

Sounds right on the timing being off, but get a shop manual off ebay (don't pay more than $27 shipped) and look it up. Should be pictures, I think. Any manual from '90 to '93 should do for your FI Festiva. Getting a Haynes manual is also a good addition to your library. Sometimes it has good pictures.

As I recall those timing marks are somewhat offset so I can't say for sure. I remember checking my "new" B6 engine when I was turning it around. I checked the timing marks and compared them with the rotor position under the dist cap.

Karl