1988 LX Cold Starting Issues

[creyes1994]

I have a 1988 LX that I drive regularly. It has a problem when I first start it. If it's during the day, it will usually start right up, but when I push the gas hard or past a certain point, the engine will sputter. If its early in the morning when I first start it I have to use starting fluid otherwise it won't start. If it starts, the RPMs have to be at least 2000 otherwise the car won't stay running. Again, the motor will sputter if I push the gas too much, and if I hold it and the car is at idle, it will shut off. I've noticed that if I forget the starting fluid and try to start it, it will flood itself out. If that happens, trying to use starting fluid will not do anything, and the only way to get it running is to either wait a day and try again, or pull the car with a chain and release the clutch at a certain speed. Then I have to keep my foot on the accelerator pedal for a little bit before releasing it otherwise it will sputter and die. It would be nice to see what other people have gone through in regards to this.

Thanks.

[FestYboy]

start with your ignition system, clean everything, replace worn parts, look for carbon tracking. second, make sure your accel jet is pushing fuel, if it's not, the jets are likely clogged and need to be cleaned out (easy fix that can be done in the car with a few tools and a gasket kit).

[creyes1994]

I installed new wires along with a distributor cap and rotor. I have a new set of spark plugs that I'll put in to see if that helps but it's unlikely.

[FestYboy]

look for carbon tracking at the coil tower...

[WmWatt]

I'd spray the interior of the carburettor and exterior linkages with carb cleaner. Wouldn't hurt ot get out the household vacuum claner and clean the air filtre. My mechanic says the air control valve on old Fords and Mazdas would stick. It's the little round cylinder on the front of the pulse air attachement on the driver's side of the air cleaner housing. Easy to remove and check not sicking and clean if it is.

[creyes1994]

I was able to get the car started after letting it sit all day. When it started up, there was a bunch of white smoke. As I am currently tied up with school, I'll post a video of how it runs when its cold, and I'll check everything that you all suggested. Thank you very much.

[FestYboy]

white smoke screams head gasket failure... make sure you don't have coolent in your oil and visa versa

[creyes1994]

Will do...

[eurotiva]

Festyboy is the man

[creyes1994]

Sorry for taking so long to respond. I have checked the oil for coolant, and it's good. In one of my automotive classes, we pulled the oxygen sensor, and it was completely black from running rich, and the connection somehow broke. I can assume the sensor probably needs to be replaced along with the spark plugs. Starting the car with starting fluid and driving it everyday will keep it going for now, but the big question is, why is it running rich? As promised earlier, I'll post a video of how it starts and runs cold tomorrow morning.

[bravekozak]

It's probably running rich because the connection broke. The computer errs on the side of caution and runs rich.

[Bert]

I realize that you are located in Texas so when you say 'hard to start when it's cold' means something quite different to folks that live north of the 49 parallel. My carb vehicle refuses to start when it's below 0 F simply because new-fangled ethanol gas will not atomize in the carb sufficiently at that temperature. So, I use only non-ethanol gasoline during the winter and no longer have that problem. This was already happening to me when ethanol content was 5% and I see now that it is often 10%.

[creyes1994]

You're right, I completely forgot to mention that. Currently, it's 59 degrees here, and I'm going to post a video of how the car runs when its first started right now.

[creyes1994]

The videos didnt save. I was going to try to film the car again, but it's not sputtering when i push on the gas right now. I'll have to try again later.

[eurotiva]

Camera shy...