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  • Need Help with 88 Festiva

    Sorry for the long read but we need some help. My son has a 1988 , 5 speed. Recently had an issue with the radiator and when he checked it after driving it appeared to be warm but not hot and when he tried to check the coolant level it erupted everywhere, fortunately no burns but the contents where broadcast over the entire engine compartment. Filled radiator and tried to start it and would only crank over. Tried to push start it and after several attempts was able to get it to start but ran extremely rough. Attempted to accelerate but would start to stall. Towed the car home. Still unable to start so pulled carburetor off. Noted water/gas around intake manifold. Standing gas of about 1/4 inch in the interior of the intake manifold. Cleaned and dried everything out. The radiator had been leaking from accident damage to the coils so replaced radiator. Attempted to start after reassembly. Engine would crank over and even would try to start but would not fire. Pulled plugs and all were fouled with black carbon/oil deposits. Replaced air filter and put in new plugs. Engine fired right up and idle seems to be fine but when car is driven, there is no power when you try to accelerate under load. No idea what is wrong at this point. Please help.
    Last edited by RitzyFestiva; 04-13-2011, 10:32 PM.

  • #2
    Try a nice dry distributor cap, if it got soaked it is most likely the culprit.
    91 Festiva GL "Scrat"
    82 Honda Goldwing GL1100i
    85 BMW 535is "Brunhild"

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    • #3
      Distributor cap looks fine inside and out?

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      • #4
        Let it sit and ilde with the hood open for a few hours and see if that cures your problem. Also put a ninety nine cent YELLOW bottle of Heat in the gas tank. Not the red one, YELLOW. -- They can be idled for days at a time with proper oil and coolant fills. Antifreeze doesn't evaporate properly but this will still probably cure your problem.
        Last edited by Tom; 04-14-2011, 08:44 AM.

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        • #5
          Check the PCV valve. If you had carbon on the plugs, there may be carbon choking the PCV. I had a similar issue, and found that to be the culprit. They're less than $5 at Advance.

          Also double check your spark plugs to see if they're gapped correctly, and a bottle of seafoam helps, too.
          Last edited by DriverOne; 04-14-2011, 08:58 AM. Reason: more info
          In love with a MadScientist!:thumbright:
          There's a fine line between breathtaking ingenuity and "That's the stupidest thing I've ever seen!"

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          • #6
            I'd remove the igntion wires one-by-one and wipe with a clean dry rag. Spraying with WD-40 removes moisture too (Water Dispersant-40). As for the rad not heating up you might want to check the thermostat. Once the engine heats up both radiator hoses should feel warm. If the bottom stays cool the thermostat is not opening.
            Original owner of silver grey carburetted 1989 Festiva. 105k km as of June 2006. 140k km as of June 2021.

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            • #7
              Well so far this is the status: Replaced PCV valve, replaced distributor cap and rotor. Cleaned wire ends

              The engine will start fine and idle. When the RPM can be run up slowly to 3000 RPM. Above this point the engine will momentarily stall dropping engine RPM down to around 2200. During the run up you can get a random "miss" but it doesn't seem to be at the same time. Not quite sure what to try next

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              • #8
                The ceiling in which I can accelerate increases as the car heats up, but right around 3-3.5k rpm is where the engine loses power near operating temperature. This is applying steady pressure to the accelerator, not just short bursts.

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                • #9
                  check that your accelerator pump is squirting fuel properly. also check that you coil hasn't gone south on you. you should also check the operation of your secondary throttle plate.
                  Trees aren't kind to me...

                  currently: 2 88Ls (Scrappy and Jersey), 88LX, 90L(Pepe), 91L, 91GL (Skippy) 93 GL Sport (the Mighty Favakk), 94 (Bruce) & 95 Aspire SEs, 97 Aspire (The Joker),
                  94 Justy 4WD, 87 Fiero GT, plus 2 parts cars. That's my fleet.

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                  • #10
                    .... Following

                    .
                    A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something.

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                    • #11
                      Update: So the beast has started to show signs of a loose intake manifold.. she shakes pretty bad when you try and start her cold. It would sit there and spit at itself long enough for the temperature will rise and start to idle normally, but now she doesn't even shake long enough, it just dies. New gaskets for the intake manifold will have to be ordered, as nobody had them in-stock. I checked the timing of the vehicle, and all three notches on the cam & crankshaft line up perfectly. I then checked the spark plugs to verify their gapping and tightness. A couple of the new plugs are already showing signs of carbon build up, #2 being almost black. The plugs have only ran in the engine for less than an hour.
                      I reset the gapping, and tightened the plugs to 23 footypounds. Vehicle still shakes & quits.

                      The accelerator pump looked really in depth to try and check, and my manual (Ford) didn't say much about what to do if you're trying to diagnose it working or non-working. help? The secondary throttle plate is connected to the accelerator? I'm not sure

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                      • #12
                        greetings, i'm the kid who broke the thing.

                        a little update on the car; an unplugged vacuum line from the carburetor to the high-altitude compensator was the cause of the acceleration issues. 91_festy_Gl's post about his 88lx carb issues got me thinking that i might have the same issue.. so i removed the air intake assembly, and noticed i was missing a connection at the point where he had repaired his problem. browsing through the manual, i found out where the missing line was supposed to be connected to; the HAC. starting from there, I eventually found the other end of the hose hiding amongst the other lines, unplugged. i reconnected the line, and tried to start it up. my previous issue of the car not wanting to start was still present, but the sputters had more umf. after it spit and shook for a little bit, it warmed up enough and the thing eventually started running again.. i let it warm up to operating temp, and coupled with the other tune ups performed, 'Steve' is running better than it was before.

                        the only issue remaining is the sputtering and shaking when trying to start up cold. according to the Ford repair manual's troubleshooting chart, the pausible cause of "Engine starts but fails to stay running" is a loose intake manifold or damaged gasket. is it a fair guess to assume it's correct? another condition on the chart is "Idles rough", but it only does this while it's cold so I didn't think the pausible causes there would apply.
                        Last edited by invader_star; 04-30-2011, 02:06 AM. Reason: elaboration

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                        • #13
                          Ditch the feedback carb and install a Weber.
                          You can also lose all that spaghetti under the hood.
                          Just search for "Weber"

                          Discuss making performance enhancements to the OEM-spec engine in your Festiva or Aspire.


                          Members Builds (questions about repair or how to do something belong in the proper forum)
                          Last edited by bravekozak; 04-30-2011, 05:56 AM.

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                          • #14
                            Look down the throat of the carb when it is cold and make sure the choke is closed.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by zoe60 View Post
                              Look down the throat of the carb when it is cold and make sure the choke is closed.
                              ^ Thats a good idea. Also if you pump the throtlle 3-4 times b4 starting and it helps when its cold. Its a pretty good sign the choke isnt choking.Make sure the wire is getting power at the choke.
                              Some people like to read fiction,I prefer to read repair manuals. Weird I know-
                              Henry Ford: "Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently"
                              Fuseable Link Distribution Block repair link

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