Broke down, yet again

[Evil D]

Drove to work last night, everything was fine. Got in to leave work this morning, got about 1/4 mile away and it starts bucking really bad, wouldn't move hardly, tries to die under part throttle. It idles fine and fires right up and even revs all the way through the RPM range, but if you give it part throttle and hold it like you would if you were slipping out the clutch, it dies. I'm clueless.

Also, don't work on cars angry. I ripped the breather off (it's carbed) and now i have no clue where the vacuum hoses belong, so any info i can get on what (if anything) emissions related with all these damn vacuum hoses can be removed would be great.

I'm about 1 issue away from lighting this car on fire, and i'm not even joking.

[Evil D]

Well i managed to get it back home, having to basically clutch drop it to get it moving and hold it to the floor to get it to move at all. I'm totally stumped. I checked and it is squirting from the accelerator pump, but i did notice that if you barely give it gas it drips out of the squirter..is that normal? That's when it seems to start dying. Even with a bad accelerator pump it should drive once you get into the main jets (if this is anything like a Holley?) and it just doesn't seem to want to move under load. You can rev it in neutral all day but when you try to take off in 1st it bogs super bad and tries to die.

[doylerl]

Stupid question, but have you noticed your brakes dragging any? Maybe a frozen e-brake cable? I know after my cars sit for a while with the e-brake on, it takes a little driving to get them broke free. Also, have you checked / replaced your fuel filter?

[Evil D]

Ebrake doesn't work at all, and it hasn't sat and i don't think the brakes are sticking...i did the brakes a few months ago. I haven't done the fuel filter, but would that be something that happened overnight like this?

[Britstiva]

Mine did the same thing... never did figure out what was wrong with it. I did a carb rebuild and that seemed to help it some... but it never quite went away.

[Evil D]

It has to be something with the carb itself...if it was the fuel pump it wouldn't rev in neutral like it does and it'll sit and idle forever. It's only when you try to drive it or if you open the throttle just slightly that it bogs and dies. It does seem to be accelerator pump related, but i would think if that was the problem it would still be drivable once you get up in the upper RPM it should smooth out, when it hits the main jets...unless this carb is just different from the Holleys i'm used to dealing with.

[Evil D]

Well, i pulled the fuel filter and poured it out...everything coming out looked clean. I blew through it and air goes through it just fine, so i put it back on. I reconnected all the vacuum lines to the breather except the 2 big ones (one of them was already cut and plugged when i got the car) and i plugged the front one....but i did this way back while it was having the issue at hand so i don't think that fixed anything.

Anyways i decided to start it up and see how it did just because....i had closed the choke earlier (choke doesn't work) and i fired it up and after a few cranks and attempts it was idling fine (high, because of the choke). I let it run like that for a few minutes and then opened the choke by hand, put the breather lid back on and took it for a drive. Initially it ran as it always did...to about 1/8 mile up the street i turned at a stop sign and it died out again. So i started it back up, and all of a sudden now it's running better than it ever has..i mean it's pulling like a different car...it revs high as hell (no tach) and doesn't hesitate at all. It drives like a new car..

So i drove it to Autozone which is probably 5 miles or so and it's running literally better than it has since i've owned it. Now i am completely stumped and scared to drive it because i KNOW this issue isn't fixed and it's going to leave me stranded again.

[bravekozak]

Weber

Don't bother wasting any time to try and figure out the feedback carb. Weber it like drdan.

http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30959&highlight=Weber

You will be astounded.

[Evil D]

BELIEVE ME i want to, really bad. I just don't have the cash right now. Plus, my ultimate goal is to find a nice rust free car that's worth putting cash into and doing it with that car and moving this one along to someone else to DD. It has some pretty bad rust holes in the rear fenders. I guess if you were good enough with body work and cut/weld repairs you could fix it but not me.

[bravekozak]

Escort carb

They get a junkyard Escort carb have someone weld, surface, drill and tap your stock manifold. Don't bother getting an adapter made.
Cheapest route.

[Evil D]

Well i drove it to work last night and around town today...it's running awesome once it warms up (no choke). I got some carb cleaner and sprayed everything down and cleaned it up...then went for a drive and half way out, the throttle stuck WIDE OPEN and scared the crap out of me. I got it pulled over without blowing it up...it didn't even want to shut off with the key out...it was dumping fuel on its own. I shined a light down into the carb and the throttle plates appeared to be shut to me so i have no idea how it was getting air to rev that high. I got a screwdriver and pressed the plates closed, started it and it's running fine now.

These carbs are vacuum secondary right? If the secondary diaphragm was bad, could it cause this or all of these issues? If the secondaries were open during idle and when trying to drive it, wouldn't it run super lean and possibly cause a bucking problem like i originally had?

[Evil D]

Well, last night i drove it a bit more, and for whatever reason it still runs way better with the choke plate pushed mostly closed. I don't understand why as this to me is a restriction....all i can figure is that maybe it's running really lean somehow, and closing the choke richens it up enough that the air/fuel mix is better and it runs better that way.

If it were running lean, what could be the cause?

Also, are the floats in this thing adjustable? If so how? Is there a sight plug like on a Hollley?

[apintonut]

sounds like vacuum leaks

[Evil D]

I just can't pinpoint where. I need to get some ether and spray it around and try to find something. I can't hear any hissing/sucking noises that are louder than the carb sucking air itself.

[Evil D]

Well, the issue is becoming intermittent now...it runs awesome one day and bucks your brains out the next. So now i'm thinking this might be electrical. What do i start with and what do i look for? Electrical issues are my weakest area.