Fetiva fuel problems

[wallsj1]

i have a 1988 ford festiva that starts up fine but when your going down the road it drives like crap. it has a terrible odor of fuel in the car when driving. also if you floor it it runs even worse it doesnt speed up. there is a sweet spot in the gas pedal if you hold that pedal just barely pushed in it will speed up and go at best 65 miles per hour. any suggestions guys?

[Flyin4stroke]

Full tune up. Cap, rotor, plugs, wires, fuel filter. Then you will be good to go.

[wallsj1]

Unfourtunely all that has been done. Fresh engine rebuild. I think it's a fuel issue maybe with the carb or something

[RhodeStiva]

Not a carb expert. But it might be getting stuck open or throttle cable needs adjusting or iacv

[rmoltis]

What about the accelerator pump for the carb.
When you step on the gas it enriches the mixture.
It's a look like a little well water pump I think?
Sometimes they get very leaky and spray out fuel that would explain the smell.
Also the reason it may be starving the engine for fuel at higher rpms.

I'm no expert on carbs someone correct me if I'm using the wrong terminology.

[wallsj1]

Thank you guys for all the insight I'm not mechanically inclined what so ever so I'm gonna have a friend of mine check these things out tomorrow. Also when I'm at speed maybe around 55mph if I let off the gas it takes a while for it to pick back up speed. It jolts when your holding the pedal to the floor.

[FestYboy]

definately a lack of fuel there. what happens when you mash the gas in neutral? does it stumble? flat out stall?

i suspect you have a jet clog as well as a accel pump issue (start with clogged jet). it's easy to check your jets, but the imulsion tubes and venturis require the top to be pulled of the carb. its not as bad as you'd think.

ok, look at the pic, follow the primary (small) butterfly shaft to the left and you'll see a spring.
at the end of that spring, you'll see a black vertical line. that is the bolt head that allows access to the primary jet through the bowl.
directly above that is the bolt head for the secondary jet.
disconnect the fuel line from the carb, pull the bolts out, allow the fuel to drain.
remove the 5 philips screws from the top and gently pull off the top cover of the carb
you'll now have access to the accel jet and both venturis and you can also vue the jets
take a #2 straight tip screwdriver and insert it into each side hole to remove the jets
(be patient and carefull not to strip the heads of the jets).
also grab the venturis and lift those out for cleaning.
being careful, pry out the thin copper colored tube at the primary venturi.
Note: there may be a very small spring that comes along with that tube. put the spring RIGHT BACK IN where it came from, so as not to loose it (it's really small)
now clear ALL the pieces that you pulled (2 jets, 2 venturis, and the accel jet), ESPECIALLY the accel jet, that thing has a REALY small hole and needs to flow easily.
re-install all pieces (might even be able to re-use the top gasket if it didn't tear).
that should drasticaly improve the driveability.

[wallsj1]

definately a lack of fuel there. what happens when you mash the gas in neutral? does it stumble? flat out stall?

i suspect you have a jet clog as well as a accel pump issue (start with clogged jet). it's easy to check your jets, but the imulsion tubes and venturis require the top to be pulled of the carb. its not as bad as you'd think.

ok, look at the pic, follow the primary (small) butterfly shaft to the left and you'll see a spring.
at the end of that spring, you'll see a black vertical line. that is the bolt head that allows access to the primary jet through the bowl.
directly above that is the bolt head for the secondary jet.
disconnect the fuel line from the carb, pull the bolts out, allow the fuel to drain.
remove the 5 philips screws from the top and gently pull off the top cover of the carb
you'll now have access to the accel jet and both venturis and you can also vue the jets
take a #2 straight tip screwdriver and insert it into each side hole to remove the jets
(be patient and carefull not to strip the heads of the jets).
also grab the venturis and lift those out for cleaning.
being careful, pry out the thin copper colored tube at the primary venturi.
Note: there may be a very small spring that comes along with that tube. put the spring RIGHT BACK IN where it came from, so as not to loose it (it's really small)
now clear ALL the pieces that you pulled (2 jets, 2 venturis, and the accel jet), ESPECIALLY the accel jet, that thing has a REALY small hole and needs to flow easily.
re-install all pieces (might even be able to re-use the top gasket if it didn't tear).
that should drasticaly improve the driveability.

With the car in neutral you'd never know a thing was wrong with it, it doesn't really sputter or cut out at all. Also there has been like two times since I have owned the car ( for about two months) that for about one mile it has ran perfect. So basically what I'm saying is. I have got in the car and drove two times for probably a half mile if that each time and it has ran perfect without any issue then all of a sudden it just goes back it its current limping self

[muleskinner]

Try dumping some SeaFoam in the tank then fill it up with fresh gas. Run it on the hwy for several miles to see if it cleans itself out. If not, clean the jets like FestYboy says.

[tooldude]

I hate to stick my neck out here but WOW I don't know if you are saying you smell gasoline or you're smelling exhaust fumes from running lean. If you smell gasoline then there IS gasoline - externally - somewhere. PLEASE CHECK. Otherwise I would say that with a carburetor you're running lean or you have a heck of a misfire. HOLY SMOKE!

[wallsj1]

I'm pretty sure it's gasoline I mean I think it is. BUT I don't think I'm burning much more gas
Than I'm supposed to. Like its not a leaky hose or something. Surely I would notice

[AlaskaFestivaGuy]

BARBECUE ALERT:

If you smell gas, you're a candidate for a fire. Some years back, I smelled gas in my '74 F250 with freshly-overhauled engine. I stopped to buy groceries. When I came back out and turned the key, the engine compartment burst into flames. The fire truck showed up 15 mins later and cut the hood open, but the engine had already barbecued itself and the area behind the instrument panel was consumed by fire. See photos.

In a Festy, the fuel tank is right under the back seat, so a fire that gets back there could trap and toast any passengers.

Fix your fuel leak!

[Team Lightning]

Are you sure that the vacuum advance on the distributor is hooked up correctly? Idling good but no or limited acceleration to me could be a lack of advance in the disty.
AND Welcome to the site. Also add your location via the user CP up toward the top of the page. Someone may be close to you and can help.

[roadkyll]

i had the same issue with 88 i used to have. swapped carb and all was good. i never did open mine to see what was wrong with it but im sure it was a clogged jet. where are you located?

[wallsj1]

Thanks guys ill try all these things out t
Hopefully today. I'm located in knoxville tn