Hello all, I have a 77 Maverick and I recently changed the distro cap, plugs and wires. I also installed a new water pump. After all these changes...I am having an uneasy idle that wasnt present before. I got the wires and plugs checked and all seems to be fine. I also had the carb adjusted and it seem to work a little better, but not much. Any CLUES???
the problem is most likely in the ignition parts you put in. did you put a new rotor in with the cap? if you did was it the same brand as the cap? did you put the spark plug wires on in the right order? did you gap the spark plugs? what type of plugs did you use?
Thanks for the reply! I put a new rotor in with the cap today and the problem still occurs. Im not sure if it was the same brand as the cap though. I had the wire order checked today and they are all in the correct order. The plugs are properly gapped also. They are Motorcraft plugs. Im thinking it could be the ignition coil. It looks as if it hasnt been replaced due to the marking and writing completly worn off. Do you think I should possibly have it replaced. All other things have checked out OK by more than 2 certified mechanics. The ignition coil was suggested by the last mechanic.
Is it a rough Idle?? (not smooth) or is it too high an idle.It could be a bad coil but...They usually act up under a load not at idle.
It is a rough idle (not smooth). It happens when I am at a red light and the car is in drive primarily. It also will stall out on me sometimes when I put it in reverse.
Not sure on the carb. I forgot to mention that I had the carb adjusted yesterday!! It seemed to work a little better once it was adjusted, but the problem still exsisted. It seems like I have tried everything!! The funny thing about it is that all this happend once I got the cap and plugs changed, but they are all checking out fine. The coil looks as if it has never been changed though.
Have you changed the fuel filter??? if not...do so.When you change it catch the fuel in a clean metal/glass container and see if it looks dirty/rusty.If so... time to clean out the carb.I would pull the plugs and visually check them for bent over electrodes(no gap) and look for cracks in the porcalin and carbon tracking(black lines on the porcalin)Go over the fireing order and be sure to separate any plug wires that are on cylenders that fire consecutively.Cross fireing is common with cheap plug wires.
Awesome! I will try this in the morning. I havent replaced the fuel filter at all. I just acquired the 77 about 2 months ago and it was sitting for about a year. i am trying to bring it back up to par. So you think I should consider holding off on the ignition coil??
Hold off on the coil till you have eliminated other possibilities.Gas filters are cheap...coils not so cheap.
Did you drop any of the plugs while you were installing them. Also oil and gunk tends to collect in the plug wells. It is possible you could have loaded the end of a plug with gunk when installing them.
