Carb Question

[bastille10]

What I know about carburators I can put on the head of a pin. Being the recent owner of a '88 LX I've been reading about FI vs. Carb. Mine runs like a top now (carb), but I doubt I would ever do a swap out. Is it really that difficult to find someone to work on or replace these things? Doesn't Weber make a straight up replacement carb for the stock one. The member with the "Alaska" in his blog name was saying how difficult it was to find someone in the Seattle area to rebuild his carb. Maybe cost was a factor (when isn't it?). Isn't it cheaper just to buy a new carb (if available) and be done with it? I would think it would be better than a rebuild and have the issue done with for awhile

Second question - Can anyone recommend a good Festiva mechanic in the Seattle area (Northend would be excellent!)? Checked with my regular Japanese repair shop (We have a '96 Camry Coupe-very rare) and he didn't seem real crazy about working on the Festiva. Isn't it very similar to working on the Mazda 323? Is it because of lack of readily available parts? Last resort would be the Ford dealership (ouch!) near my work.

Lastly - E brake light won't shut off even when down and fully released. Any easy fix (I find it kinda annoying)? Also, do most of your rear defoggers still work? Thanks!

[Ogrekhan]

Hey,

Well that is a lot of questions hehe. Both the festys I have owned were carbed LX models. I've been lucky enough to have no issues with mine , but I have seen others talking about using weber carbs. If I remember correctly you nead to mod the intake for them. There have been a few parts dealers that carry reman carbs as well. If properly rebuilt imo your carb would be as reliable as ever. If that mechanic is worth his salt at all he shouldn't be afraid of the mazda B3 in your festy. It's the easiest engine I have ever worked on with the possible exception of the 3AC in my old tercel. Engine parts are readily available and fairly inexpensive. The E-brake light is another problem I've thankfully never had in my festy, but in other cars I've found that inspecting the contacts at the E-brake will likely reveal the issue. Usually it is as simple as using a little electrical contact cleaner to clear out the crud. Enjoy that Festy!

[econoaddict]

I know of a few japanese repair shops that won't touch a festiva either.
2 have told me that the only reason they won't is the blue oval logo on the car.
If it is seen being worked on at their shop they are afraid they will have everyone with domestics knocking on the door. They specialize in certain makes and want to keep it that way. It's their thing so.....what do ya do.
If you were closer to my shop I would say bring it in.

[WmWatt]

Before leaving your Festiva at a Ford dealership ask if any of the mechanics has worked on one. These cars are old and mechanics move on. Also be aware dealerships only stock parts for 5 years after the model goes out of production. You could also try Kia and Mazda specialists. What you want is an old guy who was working on them when the cars were in production.

[batstiva]

^^ Or, in my case, a shop where 2 or 3 of the mechanics drive their festies to work everyday.

[econoaddict]

Also be aware dealerships only stock parts for 5 years after the model goes out of production.

This may be the case where you are but not true everywhere.
Just last week I got a bunch of stuff for my 73 F250 from the dealer, alot of it has to do with how much storage room they have. Granted most of the stuff for older cars won't be restocked when sold, you never know what kind of treasures they have hidden in a storage area somewhere.