Hi all. I recently took the thermostat off my maverick, and replaced the Upper radiator hose. (i was going to replace the thermo too, But once i got the old one off i realized the new one doesn't look like the right one, so i just said forget it). Anyways, My car still isn't wanting to run right. When i start it up (which it takes forever to do), it starts... But as soon as you let off the gas (or eventually it does it anyways), it dies and makes a low whiiiirrrrrrrr noise for about 5 seconds. People have been telling me that it just needs to heat up (but how can it heat up if it doesn't stay running?). Also, The oil light comes on when it tries to start (but goes off when it starts), The temp light tends to stay on after it has started. Both oil and radiator fluid have been topped off, so i know its not low. Anyone have any thoughts as to what it might be?
First off...put a T stat in it...it wont get up to operating temp with out it.Is the car fuel injected or carbed.If its injected...coolant temp sensor may be bad and lack of a T-stat will cause all sorts of bad gree gree.If its carburated... fuel delivery...idle too low... mixture too lean... float set too low...choke stuck shut.check these for a start and let us know what you find.
Thermostat won't cause what you describe, but it does need to be in there! Did this problem start immediately after you did the 'stat thing, or did it run fine for a while? Did you do anything else at all right before this started? Did it give you any warning, or did this problem start suddenly? The 'whirring' noise you describe... could the starter be hung in the 'engaged' position?
Glad to hear that you got it far enough along that you could try to start it (fuse box problems) Is this the first time you have tried starting it since you bought it and put carb on it? When you first try to start it take the air cleaner off and give it some gas by hand and look down carb and see if any is coming out. If not pour a little down the carb and try to start it (have a rag or something handy to put over carb to put fire out just incase it backfires through the carb and catches fire) if it starts then dies it will probably be because you are running out of fuel. Many reasons this could happen could be a plugged fuel filter, or the carb you got needs some work. You can check to see if fuel is getting to carb by taking off the fuel line at carb and put in a plastic container of some sort (soda bottle) turn car over and see if any is coming out. Just as a safety feature take the coil wire off first so car dont start when you dont want it to. First and foremost be careful when playing around with gas, needless to say it can be dangerous. If you have gas then look for problem to be carb issues if not then work your way back to the fuel pump, take filter off and see if you can blow through it. You get the picture As far as the whirling noise you will probably be able to hear it better when you are in front of the car, heck it could be your heater fan motor, clutch fan or starter as stated in earlier post. Might have to turn your distributor a little one way or another to get car to run. Fords are very cold blooded and if your choke is not working you will have to pump the gas a lot to keep it running. Good luck, wish I was a little closer I would come help you out.
How long has the car and or carb been sitting?? Fuel only has a shelf life of a few months before it starts to go south.
i recently put a new motor in another brand x car and it was having those same simptoms. it turned out the vaccuum advance on the distrubotor was hooked up the the manifold vac port on the carb when the timeing was set. once the timeing was set with out the vac adv hooked up it started easly and would idle.
Hey all. Thanks for the responses (and sorry mine i belated, I worked all weekend). My brother did the carb when he was here in Decemeber, And when he was done.. He test drove it up the block and back. The only issue it had was that it was overheating (which was diagnosed as the T stat being out). The car sat here for a couple weeks, before i finally got around to putting on the new radiator hose. Other then that, I haven't done anything.. And i am pretty sure its gas is still good (My brother put 3 gallons in in decemeber, and i am sure it hasn't ran enough to use it all.) I'll put the new T Stat in today. I still don't know much about carbed engines (or anything else for that matter Haha), But i will try to go through all the suggestions today and see if anything works. Thanks again.
I figured out the whirring noise isn't completely related. As it doesn't always make it (only sometimes, when it dies and the key is left on or if you stop giving it gas while trying to start it). After sitting out there and trying to start it for a good 10 minutes, I got it to the point where it would start right up, and as long as i gave it a steady amount of gas it would keep going, As soon as i let off it would start to sputter then die. Does this narrow it down at all? I'm going to go pick up some gas right now, and see if that helps (although i am pretty sure it has enough in it.) EDIT: Gas isn't the issue. I will now try to see if its the carburetor causing the problems.
sounds like the float in the carb has sunk. probly needs a new float. when it sinks the bowls will overflow out the carb vent. have you taken off the top of the air cleaner? check the float level if gas is not coming out the top. oh and the power valve could be bad and leaking also.
does it shake the whole car??? does the fan keep on moving???? if so... i have the same problem..except for today it did it for about a minute ide say my carborator needs to be adjusted because its bogging down but...
I fixed it. I messed with it a little, and realized one piece wasn't even connected (my brother did the carb work). I hooked that up and it seemed to run good at first. But i see that it is leaking oil pretty bad, So i guess that is the next challenge. The car did die and idle rough after i drove to a store and went to drive home, But i am thinking it was just cold (i adjusted the carb a bit, and it was better, But not perfect.) It'd be easier if the car had a Tach. And some brakes. Haha
