stalling

dark horse · 03-08-2000, 06:42 PM

When ever I start my car it either stalls or feels like it wants to. This morning before school it took three tries to get it running. Latly theres been an overwhelming gas smell in the inside. What does this sound like? Oh yeah... 1968 coupe, 289 2v with c-4 tranny.

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1968 coupe

muncie · 03-09-2000, 01:09 AM

if ya run the original motorcraft car... replace the accelerator pump.... bnout 1 per month...start there & work yer way deeper, if necessary...luck!

dark horse · 03-09-2000, 11:23 PM

Tonite something weirder happened. When I was drivin home from work, the first few times i hit the gas, it would go then it sounded like the pedal clicked and the whole motor stopped and then started while i was going, this would happen if i put the pedal about 3/4 to the floor.

------------------
1968 coupe

Lou Lyman · 03-10-2000, 04:59 PM

Check your motor mounts.
Lou

dark horse · 03-10-2000, 07:41 PM

the motor mounts would make the engine almost stall out? hmmm.... it seems to only do it if i dont let the engine warm up.. this car is really startin to piss me off.... im soo sick of every thing going wrong every day.

------------------
1968 coupe

macx · 03-10-2000, 09:06 PM

oooh! A real live carb problem (no efi tech!!)
Yeah, well. Check to see if you've got gas coming out of the upper part of the carb anywhere. Gas on the intake manifold would eventually smell on the inside of the car. If it starts hard either/both hot/cold, your float might be sticking and letting too much gas in & flooding it somewhat. Check your exhaust pipe with your finger - if you've got black but dry and sooty stuff, it's too much gas. Also, your choke could be sticking shut - either one would be somewhat relievd by depressing your gas pedal a ways down. Also, does the engine smoke black after it starts when this happens? Maybe your choke pull-off vacuum can is shot - they're available separately at any decent auto parts - it pulls the choke open a little when the engine is cold so it starts without flooding. It's hooked to your choke linkage with a small rod and is a little round can with one vac hose. Also, after the engine is warm, take off the air cleaner and see if the choke is fully open. If not, check the adjustment on the little round dark plastic housing index marks, and check the tube from your exhaust manifold to the choke housing - it can easily get plugged so heat doesn't reach the choke and open it. If it's plugged, get a large diameter wire or small rod and hammer one end flat. Put a vise grips on the other end and rotate it thru the tube like a drill bit, just don't push too hard. Also use some solvent to soak the hard stuff in the tube.

dark horse · 03-12-2000, 09:24 PM

Well here's what I did so far. I changed the fuel filter and added STP carb cleaner to my fuel. Then I opened up the choke plate and sprayed carb cleaner in there. After this, I checked my distributor cap for corrosion due to a leak. It checked out OK, no leaks. I let the car warm up and everything was pretty smooth. I drove it around and no stalling when lettin off the gas. However I noticed my choke plate never opened fully. It would open the littlest bit. I lubed up the joints to make sure it wasnt binding. Then I turned the idle mixture screws one turn back and then one turn forward to make sure there was nothing blocked. Now it drives normal (or so I thought because this car was probably always driving choked which is why I have bad gas milage and poor performance.) and when I really get on it it back fires quite a bit. I let the car sit for a few hours and when I started it up, the same old shits happening again. Could it be I have a few fouled plugs and I'm not runnin on all cylinders? Headaches! Headaches! Thanks for all the help. Oh yeah, the little round dark plastic housing has a coil inside that opens the choke plate. Could this be bad? What do those marks mean? There are arrows on it that point in a clockwise motion and say lean? What is that for???

------------------
1968 coupe

Clark Rodgers · 03-13-2000, 02:30 PM

Dark Horse,
Your getting close to the problem, that choke plate has to be fully open when the car warms up. What I do is turn the plastic dial towards lean then start the car and see if it goes full open when warmed up.
If this does not help after turning the dial towards lean then the choke thermostat is not working. It is a spring that moves when either warm or cold. If this choke plate is staying almost closed the mixture will be too rich and foul out the plugs.
And what in the hell is this motor mount thing?

------------------
69 351W Sportsroof deluxe

Lou Lyman · 03-13-2000, 04:33 PM

If you hit the gas, as dark horse says, with
the pedal depressed 3/4 to the floor there is a good amount of torque built up. When the pedal clicks, the motor has lifted off the broken mount. Guess this never happened to anyone but me (and the motor was completely stock at the time).

dark horse · 03-13-2000, 09:47 PM

whoops messed up.. asdfkjlasdhflk

[This message has been edited by dark horse (edited 03-13-2000).]

dark horse · 03-13-2000, 09:51 PM

heres what i did today. i installed new spark plugs. the old ones were all BLACK. yuck. started the car back up, played with that black circular plastic thingy and the choke opened a little more (about half way). I also adjusted the carburator a bit since when I started it after the plug changed it was runnin rich (indicated by black smoke i believe). and it was backfiring at idle too! i adjusted the air fuel mixture a bit so it stopped but when i went down the street, i couldnt even lite em up it was boggin and ohhh mannnnn back firing. well supposedly my compression ratio is 9.2:1 what octane should i be runnin??

------------------
1968 coupe

Clark Rodgers · 03-14-2000, 12:12 PM

With that compression ratio you could run just about any octane. When you say it is back firing then you are talking timing. It won't matter how rich or lean it is, you are getting the fuel to ignite at the wrong time. Check on where your timing is set, and you can't always believe your timing mark cause the dampner can move if the rubber is getting old. Try checking this out and moving it till the engine runs smooth.

------------------
69 351W Sportsroof deluxe

dark horse · 03-14-2000, 10:04 PM

Today's fixes: Used all my 87 octane and put in 93. I also changed my plug wires and fixed the choke plate by moving that black choke coil houseing more. Now it closes and opens completely. No more back fires either, I adjusted my air/fuel mixture too. I turned the screws as far as I could until the car would almost die out and then backede up a bit. I hope I did that right. Also, I played with the idle a bit. With the car warmed up, in drive my idle should be at ____ rpms? right now its at about 750 and in park at 1000rpms. Sounds like too much doesnt it. Thats fully warmed. But if I drop the park idle more, the in gear Idle goes down even more and my car sounds like it will stall. My performance picked up a bit though. I chirped second for the first time! Still feeling slow though. I guess I need to drive another 68 289 to see what mine should feel like. I would also like to thank this board and people for all your help. I'm only 16 and have no mechanical experience other than reading mustang magazines for the last 2 years, so I think I'm doing pretty good.

------------------
1968 coupe

red · 03-15-2000, 12:32 PM

Sounds like your doing good.
If you can get ahold of a timing light, check out how many degrees advanced you are and post it here, don't forget to pull and plug the vacuum line to the distributor while checking the timing. Also, replug in the vacuum and have someone goose the gas a little to check if the vacuum advance is working. I'm assuming you have vacuum advance, I think there is a (slight) chance you have only mechanical advance?

-JON

dark horse · 03-15-2000, 02:01 PM

Well I don't exactly have a timing light but my b-day is on saturday so I'll have some money. Yes I have vacuum advance. And today my car back fired again and tried to stall only on the initial start up though. Not while I was drving. Maybe its timing related.

------------------
1968 Mustang Coupe.
289 2v. c-4 automatic
Dual exhaust and full legth headers with glasspacks.

[This message has been edited by dark horse (edited 03-15-2000).]

dark horse · 03-16-2000, 03:02 PM

I will try the accelorator pump next. Thats what alot of folks are suggesting

------------------
1968 Mustang Coupe.
289 2v. c-4 automatic
Dual exhaust and full legth headers with glasspacks.

03-08-2000, 06:42 PM	#1
dark horse Registered Member Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: Wilkes-Barre, PA 1968Mustang Posts: 188	stalling When ever I start my car it either stalls or feels like it wants to. This morning before school it took three tries to get it running. Latly theres been an overwhelming gas smell in the inside. What does this sound like? Oh yeah... 1968 coupe, 289 2v with c-4 tranny. ------------------ 1968 coupe

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03-09-2000, 01:09 AM	#2
muncie Registered Member Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: walton ind usa Posts: 15	if ya run the original motorcraft car... replace the accelerator pump.... bnout 1 per month...start there & work yer way deeper, if necessary...luck!

03-09-2000, 11:23 PM	#3
dark horse Registered Member Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: Wilkes-Barre, PA 1968Mustang Posts: 188	Tonite something weirder happened. When I was drivin home from work, the first few times i hit the gas, it would go then it sounded like the pedal clicked and the whole motor stopped and then started while i was going, this would happen if i put the pedal about 3/4 to the floor. ------------------ 1968 coupe

03-10-2000, 04:59 PM	#4
Lou Lyman Registered Member Join Date: Dec 1998 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 70	Check your motor mounts. Lou

03-10-2000, 07:41 PM	#5
dark horse Registered Member Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: Wilkes-Barre, PA 1968Mustang Posts: 188	the motor mounts would make the engine almost stall out? hmmm.... it seems to only do it if i dont let the engine warm up.. this car is really startin to piss me off.... im soo sick of every thing going wrong every day. ------------------ 1968 coupe

03-10-2000, 09:06 PM	#6
macx Registered Member Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: Gordonville MO USA Posts: 448	oooh! A real live carb problem (no efi tech!!) Yeah, well. Check to see if you've got gas coming out of the upper part of the carb anywhere. Gas on the intake manifold would eventually smell on the inside of the car. If it starts hard either/both hot/cold, your float might be sticking and letting too much gas in & flooding it somewhat. Check your exhaust pipe with your finger - if you've got black but dry and sooty stuff, it's too much gas. Also, your choke could be sticking shut - either one would be somewhat relievd by depressing your gas pedal a ways down. Also, does the engine smoke black after it starts when this happens? Maybe your choke pull-off vacuum can is shot - they're available separately at any decent auto parts - it pulls the choke open a little when the engine is cold so it starts without flooding. It's hooked to your choke linkage with a small rod and is a little round can with one vac hose. Also, after the engine is warm, take off the air cleaner and see if the choke is fully open. If not, check the adjustment on the little round dark plastic housing index marks, and check the tube from your exhaust manifold to the choke housing - it can easily get plugged so heat doesn't reach the choke and open it. If it's plugged, get a large diameter wire or small rod and hammer one end flat. Put a vise grips on the other end and rotate it thru the tube like a drill bit, just don't push too hard. Also use some solvent to soak the hard stuff in the tube.

03-12-2000, 09:24 PM	#7
dark horse Registered Member Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: Wilkes-Barre, PA 1968Mustang Posts: 188	Well here's what I did so far. I changed the fuel filter and added STP carb cleaner to my fuel. Then I opened up the choke plate and sprayed carb cleaner in there. After this, I checked my distributor cap for corrosion due to a leak. It checked out OK, no leaks. I let the car warm up and everything was pretty smooth. I drove it around and no stalling when lettin off the gas. However I noticed my choke plate never opened fully. It would open the littlest bit. I lubed up the joints to make sure it wasnt binding. Then I turned the idle mixture screws one turn back and then one turn forward to make sure there was nothing blocked. Now it drives normal (or so I thought because this car was probably always driving choked which is why I have bad gas milage and poor performance.) and when I really get on it it back fires quite a bit. I let the car sit for a few hours and when I started it up, the same old shits happening again. Could it be I have a few fouled plugs and I'm not runnin on all cylinders? Headaches! Headaches! Thanks for all the help. Oh yeah, the little round dark plastic housing has a coil inside that opens the choke plate. Could this be bad? What do those marks mean? There are arrows on it that point in a clockwise motion and say lean? What is that for??? ------------------ 1968 coupe

03-13-2000, 02:30 PM	#8
Clark Rodgers Registered Member Join Date: May 1999 Location: Rowlett,Texas Posts: 306	Dark Horse, Your getting close to the problem, that choke plate has to be fully open when the car warms up. What I do is turn the plastic dial towards lean then start the car and see if it goes full open when warmed up. If this does not help after turning the dial towards lean then the choke thermostat is not working. It is a spring that moves when either warm or cold. If this choke plate is staying almost closed the mixture will be too rich and foul out the plugs. And what in the hell is this motor mount thing? ------------------ 69 351W Sportsroof deluxe

03-13-2000, 04:33 PM	#9
Lou Lyman Registered Member Join Date: Dec 1998 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 70	If you hit the gas, as dark horse says, with the pedal depressed 3/4 to the floor there is a good amount of torque built up. When the pedal clicks, the motor has lifted off the broken mount. Guess this never happened to anyone but me (and the motor was completely stock at the time).

03-13-2000, 09:47 PM	#10
dark horse Registered Member Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: Wilkes-Barre, PA 1968Mustang Posts: 188	whoops messed up.. asdfkjlasdhflk [This message has been edited by dark horse (edited 03-13-2000).]

03-13-2000, 09:51 PM	#11
dark horse Registered Member Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: Wilkes-Barre, PA 1968Mustang Posts: 188	heres what i did today. i installed new spark plugs. the old ones were all BLACK. yuck. started the car back up, played with that black circular plastic thingy and the choke opened a little more (about half way). I also adjusted the carburator a bit since when I started it after the plug changed it was runnin rich (indicated by black smoke i believe). and it was backfiring at idle too! i adjusted the air fuel mixture a bit so it stopped but when i went down the street, i couldnt even lite em up it was boggin and ohhh mannnnn back firing. well supposedly my compression ratio is 9.2:1 what octane should i be runnin?? ------------------ 1968 coupe

03-14-2000, 12:12 PM	#12
Clark Rodgers Registered Member Join Date: May 1999 Location: Rowlett,Texas Posts: 306	With that compression ratio you could run just about any octane. When you say it is back firing then you are talking timing. It won't matter how rich or lean it is, you are getting the fuel to ignite at the wrong time. Check on where your timing is set, and you can't always believe your timing mark cause the dampner can move if the rubber is getting old. Try checking this out and moving it till the engine runs smooth. ------------------ 69 351W Sportsroof deluxe

03-14-2000, 10:04 PM	#13
dark horse Registered Member Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: Wilkes-Barre, PA 1968Mustang Posts: 188	Today's fixes: Used all my 87 octane and put in 93. I also changed my plug wires and fixed the choke plate by moving that black choke coil houseing more. Now it closes and opens completely. No more back fires either, I adjusted my air/fuel mixture too. I turned the screws as far as I could until the car would almost die out and then backede up a bit. I hope I did that right. Also, I played with the idle a bit. With the car warmed up, in drive my idle should be at ____ rpms? right now its at about 750 and in park at 1000rpms. Sounds like too much doesnt it. Thats fully warmed. But if I drop the park idle more, the in gear Idle goes down even more and my car sounds like it will stall. My performance picked up a bit though. I chirped second for the first time! Still feeling slow though. I guess I need to drive another 68 289 to see what mine should feel like. I would also like to thank this board and people for all your help. I'm only 16 and have no mechanical experience other than reading mustang magazines for the last 2 years, so I think I'm doing pretty good. ------------------ 1968 coupe

03-15-2000, 12:32 PM	#14
red Registered Member Join Date: Sep 1998 Location: Millburn, NJ Posts: 310	Sounds like your doing good. If you can get ahold of a timing light, check out how many degrees advanced you are and post it here, don't forget to pull and plug the vacuum line to the distributor while checking the timing. Also, replug in the vacuum and have someone goose the gas a little to check if the vacuum advance is working. I'm assuming you have vacuum advance, I think there is a (slight) chance you have only mechanical advance? -JON

03-15-2000, 02:01 PM	#15
dark horse Registered Member Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: Wilkes-Barre, PA 1968Mustang Posts: 188	Well I don't exactly have a timing light but my b-day is on saturday so I'll have some money. Yes I have vacuum advance. And today my car back fired again and tried to stall only on the initial start up though. Not while I was drving. Maybe its timing related. ------------------ 1968 Mustang Coupe. 289 2v. c-4 automatic Dual exhaust and full legth headers with glasspacks. [This message has been edited by dark horse (edited 03-15-2000).]

03-16-2000, 03:02 PM	#16
dark horse Registered Member Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: Wilkes-Barre, PA 1968Mustang Posts: 188	I will try the accelorator pump next. Thats what alot of folks are suggesting ------------------ 1968 Mustang Coupe. 289 2v. c-4 automatic Dual exhaust and full legth headers with glasspacks.