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Got my blue '89L running the other day (and yes, a lawn tractor battery will start the engine! 
). However, it has a few problems:
It runs kind of poorly. The car will start right up, although sometimes it won't idle. When it runs, I have to rev the engine when starting in 1st to prevent it from stalling, which it likes to do. Once the car is moving at a steady speed it seems to drive fine.
When the car is started cold and I'm revving the engine so it won't stall, sometimes it will stumble, and I'll hear a sort of "pop" from the carburettor. It's not a backfire, and isn't very loud, but it is noticeable.
The car also spews out white smoke from the muffler when starting cold, which is near impossible to see in daylight but is very noticeable on a dark, cool night. It passed the emissions test last spring and apparently smoked since day one (the car was driven for maybe a week after it was bought, and has been sitting for about 6 months).
When the car changed hands it had an oil leak somewhere in the engine bay. I traced it to the valve cover gasket, which had grit on it and probably didn't seal properly as a result. When I yanked the cover off, the valves and lifters were jet black, not golden brown like the ones in my silver Festiva. Is this a bad omen?
Since I purchased the Blue Festiva I've replaced the spark plugs and wires, which made a significant difference.
Any suggestions as to what my next move should be? Is the carburettor messed up (my friends seem to think so)?
EDIT:
Did a compression test.
Piston/Pressure:
#1 - 147 psi
#2 - 147 psi
#3 - 90 psi
#4 - 120 psi
Can't check the timing because some idiot changed the belt but didn't put the cover back on... :roll:
The exhaust has a foul smell, can't put my finger on what it is though.
No oil in the coolant, which is full and green. However, the car drips oil. Don't know if the leak is still with me or if it's just oil that was already on the engine dripping off.
/EDIT
I appreciate all your help!!
Regards,
Tim
). However, it has a few problems:It runs kind of poorly. The car will start right up, although sometimes it won't idle. When it runs, I have to rev the engine when starting in 1st to prevent it from stalling, which it likes to do. Once the car is moving at a steady speed it seems to drive fine.
When the car is started cold and I'm revving the engine so it won't stall, sometimes it will stumble, and I'll hear a sort of "pop" from the carburettor. It's not a backfire, and isn't very loud, but it is noticeable.
The car also spews out white smoke from the muffler when starting cold, which is near impossible to see in daylight but is very noticeable on a dark, cool night. It passed the emissions test last spring and apparently smoked since day one (the car was driven for maybe a week after it was bought, and has been sitting for about 6 months).
When the car changed hands it had an oil leak somewhere in the engine bay. I traced it to the valve cover gasket, which had grit on it and probably didn't seal properly as a result. When I yanked the cover off, the valves and lifters were jet black, not golden brown like the ones in my silver Festiva. Is this a bad omen?
Since I purchased the Blue Festiva I've replaced the spark plugs and wires, which made a significant difference.
Any suggestions as to what my next move should be? Is the carburettor messed up (my friends seem to think so)?
EDIT:
Did a compression test.
Piston/Pressure:
#1 - 147 psi
#2 - 147 psi
#3 - 90 psi
#4 - 120 psi
Can't check the timing because some idiot changed the belt but didn't put the cover back on... :roll:
The exhaust has a foul smell, can't put my finger on what it is though.
No oil in the coolant, which is full and green. However, the car drips oil. Don't know if the leak is still with me or if it's just oil that was already on the engine dripping off.
/EDIT
I appreciate all your help!!
Regards,
Tim
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