88 Festiva - Tons of issues

[ideas]

Specs: 1988, Carb, 4 speed, Mazda B3 engine, 4 205/60r13 87h plus tires

hi guys, i bought a Festiva 2 months ago and later found out these issues:

1. i need a download link to its repair shop manual
2. its not selecting gears properly, eg if i go from 2nd to 3rd i have to go back in nuetral, then try again sometimes 2-3 times, especially reverse.
3. sometimes i hear a whining noise when in reverse
4. at nights my headlights are so low i can hardly see anything, where do i find the headlights relay & can a HID conversion kit work on this.
5. at nights whenever i rev the car the lights dim
6. at nights when i change to high beam back to low beam, all lights turn off for like 3 seconds, before low beam comes on or sometimes it doesn't come on, unless i turn them off then on.
7. can i install a defogger at the rear window
8. my rear window is tinted, how can i get more lights at the back to see better at nights when reversing
9. the car does not come with A/C nor does it have a Heater
10. its terrible to drive when rain falls, the front window gets really foggy, the only thing i have is the fan so i turn it on but it doesn't help and there is almost no air coming from the defogger vents
11. inside the engine compartment, the oxygen wire is not connected along a few more (like about 6)
12. almost half or more than the vacuum line are disconnected, also not hose is connected to the air filter compartment.
13. i can hardly carry 2 normal weight people in the back, you just keep hearing the back tires rubbing under the car, i would really like to carry 3 people without any issues.
14. no power steering so turning this car is rough
15. if i make a sudden brake and turn while pulling on the steering, the steering would just pull up, have to slam it hard to get it back down.
16. how do i find out what type of carb am using, its all painted in red, dont know where to look for model number or anything.
17. car shuts off, after moving from a stop light or if am in traffic when moving off engine shuts off.

i need help with all these issues, thanks




































My 1st Buy

[Britstiva]

I'll touch on the ones I know...


2. its not selecting gears properly, eg if i go from 2nd to 3rd i have to go back in nuetral, then try again sometimes 2-3 times, especially reverse.
Solution: There is a rubber peice that is inside of a tube on the shift arms underneath the car. It is called a bushing. This peice dessintegrates over time and will need to be replaced. Ford no longer carries the part, so try Ebay or a Mazda dealership for a Protege bushing. When this part wears out, the shift arm has trouble operating. Thus your search for gears.

4. at nights my headlights are so low i can hardly see anything, where do i find the headlights relay & can a HID conversion kit work on this.
Solution: Ebay is where I got my HID conversion for my Aspire.

5. at nights whenever i rev the car the lights dim
Solution: This is odd. Usually they will brighten when the car is revved. I would check the battery terminals and all grounds/wire connections. How old is the battery?

6. at nights when i change to high beam back to low beam, all lights turn off for like 3 seconds, before low beam comes on or sometimes it doesn't come on, unless i turn them off then on.
Solution: The mechanism inside of the headlight arm (push to brighten, pull to dim) wears out. Search for a replacement part in a junk yard. You will have to remove the steering wheel to replace the unit.

7. can i install a defogger at the rear window
Solution: Most Festivas came prewired for everything. Based on the package your car had, decided if you got all the perks or not. To install a defogger, you will have to find a replacement back window with defrost. Get the switch also. BUT before you go doing that... take off the back panel and see if you see any open power connections. Remeber not all festi's came with this option so your car may not have it.

8. my rear window is tinted, how can i get more lights at the back to see better at nights when reversing
Solution: Remove tint. Or wire in a seperate reverse light and have the switch installed inside of the car. The first option is easiest and the second may cause you problems in getting an inspection to pass.

9. the car does not come with A/C nor does it have a Heater
No heat? Has the motor been removed? This car should have heat. A previous owner might have disconnected the heater core from the motor. Look along the firewall of the car to see if you see any open ended peices sticking out. If so, heater core was disconnected.
Easiest solution if the above is connected.... thermostat. There might be a low temp thermostat on the radiator hose connection. This would require a higher temp thermostat to be installed. Therefore letting the motor warm up more before opening the cooling for the radiator.

10. its terrible to drive when rain falls, the front window gets really foggy, the only thing i have is the fan so i turn it on but it doesn't help and there is almost no air coming from the defogger vents
Solution: does the vent selector work? If not, under the dash is a box with wires attached to eachside. Can be seen from driver side and passenger side. Pull the wires that until you get defrost. NOTE Heat only comes out on the floor. That is standard.



13. i can hardly carry 2 normal weight people in the back, you just keep hearing the back tires rubbing under the car, i would really like to carry 3 people without any issues.
Solution: Tires are bigger than what came OEM. If you chose to keep those rims and tires, you will either need stiffer shocks and springs or don't carry passengers in the back.

14. no power steering so turning this car is rough *Can't help you on that one. The larger tires will obviously make steering a bit more difficult. Solution: Get some muscle and stop whining.

15. if i make a sudden brake and turn while pulling on the steering, the steering would just pull up, have to slam it hard to get it back down.
Solution: Remove the Ford emblem in the middle of the steering wheel and tighten the bolt that holds it to the steering column.

And make sure you get a manual! You are obviously going to need it.

[ideas]

Thanks alot Britstiva... and yes the vent selector is working

hey is there any other speedometer odometer that has the battery & oil gauges i can replace the original with?

[FestYboy]

what's your location, we may be able to get a member out to you to help.

[wybnrml]

Also another thing about the heater, you need to have the vent selector on feet or defrost or feet/defrost. Heat doesn't blow out the top vents.

[FestYboy]

all festy clusters are interchangeable.

get yourself a DVOM (digital volt ohm meter) and see what kind of voltage you're getting at the battery when the engine is running, then when you have all the accessories turned on (lights, wipers, radio etc.) voltage at battery should never get below 13.4VDC

[ideas]

Am located in Jamaica.

FestYboy, am new to this can you help me out with like a specific cluster, thanks

[91_festy_Gl]

Wow I see a few things wrong. Those plug wires need replaced. There the wrong ones. Being a carbed engine, you need some vaccuum going to that distributor. That is a nice festiva though.

[ideas]

thanks guys, because i know nothing about cars and i had this to 3 mechanics and none of them told me any of this, what you guys know, you are all knowledgeable.

oh i forget to mention, not sure if it is important but it has over a 124,000 miles on it

[91_festy_Gl]

Looks as if someone tried to clean up the engine bay by removing some of the vac. lines which can be done, but some of that stuff needs capped otherwise you will have vac. leaks and such. I also noticed some random wiring near the battery there. What is that? Does it go to that toggle switch in the car? Does your car have fog lights? Is your cooling fan ran off that toggle? That might be your light diming problem.

[hofficergrover]

definitely vacuum lines are wrong!can see that.
I will take some pics of my 88 for you to redo all your lines in the right spots.

[ideas]

nope, no fog lights and my radiator fan is connected through the switch to the battery, plastic connector burnt off and someone bridged / re-route it for me. if i knew how to connect back those wires back to the connector i would.

[ideas]

definitely vacuum lines are wrong!can see that.
I will take some pics of my 88 for you to redo all your lines in the right spots.

that would be super cool, thanks

[ideas]

all festy clusters are interchangeable.

get yourself a DVOM (digital volt ohm meter) and see what kind of voltage you're getting at the battery when the engine is running, then when you have all the accessories turned on (lights, wipers, radio etc.) voltage at battery should never get below 13.4VDC

i love the look and the layout of this 98 Explorer MOUNTAINEER Instrument Cluster, can this work in my Festy?

[hofficergrover]

I don't think that cluster will work. I might just gonna have to modify it by allot.