After Gary left today, I decided to try to fix the choke. I loosened the choke cap after letting the engine warm up. Unfortunately, turning it does not have the impact he described. It does not do anything to the flap.
Since I had the car warmed up, I thought I would go ahead and decrease the initial timing. I set it to about 8 or 9 degrees. The idle was at about 900 RPM so I went ahead and dropped it to about 700 RPM. I then tried to set the idle mixture screws. This time, it seemed to have a little impact. They are about 1 3/4 turn out.
I thought I would try to take it for a drive with the new timing. I really expected it to hesitate even more but it did not. In fact, I put it in gear and slowly started rolling. I floored it at 700 RPM and had nothing but tirespin. There was no hesitation. I'm glad to have it fixed.
I'm not sure exactly what fixed the problem. I'm not sure it matters.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Unexpected Help Arrives
I was working on my wife's car today and Danny stopped by with a friend. Danny helped me a little more than a year ago with some welding on the Mustang. He said he had a friend who was really interested in Ford's back when he came by and his friend (Gary) was with him today.
According to Danny, Gary is an old Ford tech. Danny wanted to show him the type job I did on the engine compartment. I showed them and then started up the Mustang.
I mentioned my troubles working on the carburetor. They both commented that the car was currently running a little rich. They said they could smell the unburnt fuel (which must be faint or I'm used to it) and they could hear it in the exhaust. I'm not sure how they can do that but I would like to learn.
The choke was not turning off again and they thought I just had the idle that high. I pushed the choke release and they commented that it idled well. Gary said the way to set the choke cap is to get the car all warmed up, loosen the choke cap screws and then turn it until you just see the choke flap move. He said to then tighten the screws and it should be perfect.
Gary also said my initial timing of 14 degrees was too high. He said to drop it to 8 or so and then try to set the idle mixture screws. He said I should have better luck then.
I now have a few projects for the Mustang. Coincidentally, I just finished work on my wife's car a few minutes ago. I'm not sure I'll get to these things this weekend but I'm glad to have a few new ideas to try.
According to Danny, Gary is an old Ford tech. Danny wanted to show him the type job I did on the engine compartment. I showed them and then started up the Mustang.
I mentioned my troubles working on the carburetor. They both commented that the car was currently running a little rich. They said they could smell the unburnt fuel (which must be faint or I'm used to it) and they could hear it in the exhaust. I'm not sure how they can do that but I would like to learn.
The choke was not turning off again and they thought I just had the idle that high. I pushed the choke release and they commented that it idled well. Gary said the way to set the choke cap is to get the car all warmed up, loosen the choke cap screws and then turn it until you just see the choke flap move. He said to then tighten the screws and it should be perfect.
Gary also said my initial timing of 14 degrees was too high. He said to drop it to 8 or so and then try to set the idle mixture screws. He said I should have better luck then.
I now have a few projects for the Mustang. Coincidentally, I just finished work on my wife's car a few minutes ago. I'm not sure I'll get to these things this weekend but I'm glad to have a few new ideas to try.
Friday, March 5, 2010
My Daily Driver
I needed to make some fairly lenghty repairs to my wife's car this past weekend. I knew I would not be able to finish over the weekend due to the need to order parts. I decided to move forward and they use the Mustang as my daily driver this week. While things have not going perfectly, they have gone very well.
I had to drive at night once this week. The headlights seem almost non-existent. They really should be replaced with somthing a little brighter. I've heard of people using a relay setup to ensure the lights receive a full 12v. If the headlights alone don't fix the problem, I may wire up some relays.
The choke is not set correctly and it is annoying. When the car is first started, it does not seem like the choke engages immediately. If I rev it a few times, it will catch and begin to idle at about 1500. If I walk back in side to finish getting ready, I can come out a few minutes later and it will be idling at about 2,00 RPM. If it has been idling for 15 minutes, it can still idle at 1,500 RPM which does not make sense as the choke should be off by then.
The other issue I noticed is the idle speed kept dropping yesterday. It would drop and the car would sputter as if were going to die. At one point it did die in the driveway. It then started doing it again this morning as I idled in the line to drop my son off as school. A few seconds later, it was back to idling at 1,500 RPM.
There is a rattle under the dash behind the radio and another behind the driver side A/C vent. I'll need to look around under the dash to see if I can find the cause.
I've had to leave theMustnag out overnight the past week. There is a little water in the passenger floorboard. I've completely sealed the cowl vent on that side so I'm not sure of the cause yet.
The car still rattles alot when going over bumps. I really need to go around the car and make sure every bolt I see is tight.
Finally, I learned on VMF this week that the 7&8 spark plug wires should not be run beside one another. It can cause a cross fire problem. I've done this since I purchased the car. I'll need to fix this when I have a moment.
Other than these items, everything went great. I do not consider these a big deal as they did not stop me from getting to work or anything. These are just a few kinks I found while driving it more than normal. I'll try to fix all these and then it should be better for the next time it needs to serve as my daily driver.
I had to drive at night once this week. The headlights seem almost non-existent. They really should be replaced with somthing a little brighter. I've heard of people using a relay setup to ensure the lights receive a full 12v. If the headlights alone don't fix the problem, I may wire up some relays.
The choke is not set correctly and it is annoying. When the car is first started, it does not seem like the choke engages immediately. If I rev it a few times, it will catch and begin to idle at about 1500. If I walk back in side to finish getting ready, I can come out a few minutes later and it will be idling at about 2,00 RPM. If it has been idling for 15 minutes, it can still idle at 1,500 RPM which does not make sense as the choke should be off by then.
The other issue I noticed is the idle speed kept dropping yesterday. It would drop and the car would sputter as if were going to die. At one point it did die in the driveway. It then started doing it again this morning as I idled in the line to drop my son off as school. A few seconds later, it was back to idling at 1,500 RPM.
There is a rattle under the dash behind the radio and another behind the driver side A/C vent. I'll need to look around under the dash to see if I can find the cause.
I've had to leave theMustnag out overnight the past week. There is a little water in the passenger floorboard. I've completely sealed the cowl vent on that side so I'm not sure of the cause yet.
The car still rattles alot when going over bumps. I really need to go around the car and make sure every bolt I see is tight.
Finally, I learned on VMF this week that the 7&8 spark plug wires should not be run beside one another. It can cause a cross fire problem. I've done this since I purchased the car. I'll need to fix this when I have a moment.
Other than these items, everything went great. I do not consider these a big deal as they did not stop me from getting to work or anything. These are just a few kinks I found while driving it more than normal. I'll try to fix all these and then it should be better for the next time it needs to serve as my daily driver.
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