What Next? 1973 Ford Contry Sedan

BTW, had a thought, but it died of loneliness. If the vac advance arm isn't attached to the breaker plate with a clip, that can allow the plate to be loosey-goosey.

 

Oh,I put the "E" clip on myself. I just was worried it could've popped off somehow. Today while they were pulling the destroyed muffler off,the manager said "Look at all the carbon--too rich!" And then I drove it home,and no power and it spit back once. Then I thought that maybe the carburetor has a huge internal leak or something and that it is intermittent and that it is getting worse. Before I put the distributor in,when I had #1 spark plug out it, was wet. So maybe I am going to remove the carb and get another one!

 

Wow. Yeah, that can do it, also. Wet plugs can cause stalls. But I'd make sure the choke is fully open when hot. What specific model carb is it?

 

According to the book,it is a Motorcraft 2100-D. Tag says D3MF-DA. They describe a leaking power valve and a test for it. Symptoms match. Boy,this really makes me appreciate computer-controlled fuel injection. I'll try to get a carb that's a reasonable match for this engine. Anyway,that rough idle,stalling,etc.,could all be because of the carb. I know I am doing more parts throwing,but what can I do? I timed the distributor to the engine,gap, dwell,etc.,every time the relationship of the timed elements stays the same,so how could it be timing anyway?
I had the carb rebuilt early in the game by Carbs Unlimited in Auburn,WA. Maybe he missed something in the build. Maybe I should've had it done locally,I don't know. maybe I should just replace the power valve. Maybe I need a carb genius.

 

Oh,yeah,I forgot to say the choke operates to specification.

 

Did you try adjusting your carb ?

 

In this case, because of the propensity of the power valve to take a dive from a carb backfire, I would say pull the carb, ensure the valve's condition first. I remember Carbs Unlimited. I used to deal with them when I worked for a shop in Lakewood, as we also did carb rebuilding, but locally.

 

His rough idle and stalling could just be adjustment . Allot of people buy carbs bolt on and never properly adjust them to their engine . They don't come preset just for start up . The 2100 is easy to rebuild and one of the easiest and don't "normally" have power valve problems . A vacuum gauge could be your best tool now . Just trying to save you money .

 

Anyway,I got the new carburetor installed on the engine,now I need to connect & adjust the details. I am not going to attempt to start the engine until I see some fairer weather. I need to get a new length of vacuum advance hose & test the vacuum advance unit,clip on the kickdown and return spring,etc.
I also want to verify (again!) #1 on TDC on comp stroke,damper on "0", rotor on its mark,& then when it is running, .017,12B,26,600 rpm,choke,fast idle,dashpot setting,etc.
The black blast in the destroyed muffler and the recommendations in the manual suggest a fuel system issue now,so that's where I am going.

 

I had an hour to devote to this project this AM. Tomorrow morning I may have enough time to test & assemble this thing. Can you believe the rebuilder put the air horn on the carb in such a way that the stud for the air cleaner would not thread in? I had to take the air horn off and reposition it and its gasket. Putting the little choke arm back together proved quite frustrating, & then I had to go to work.
One other weird thing--I thought I had the distributor in the engine the right way,but when I put the timing light to it,I had to turn the body of the distributor all the way clockwise to get the timing at 12B. So now the vacuum advance unit is practically touching the radiator hose,and the left bank wires are all stretched out. Don't I now want to start over with the vacuum advance unit facing front and the rotor going one tooth counter clockwise? This is driving me crazy,and I know it's a dumb question.

 

Yeah, you're off a tooth. Move the body back to where you started, remove the hold-down, lift the dizzy just enough for the teeth to disengage without coming off the oil pump or pump drive rod, then carefully rotate the rotor shaft 1 tooth CCW and drop back in, start over. The dizzy should never have to be turned more than 7-10 degrees to set timing as long as dwell is correctly set.

 

Thanks for the tip. I was going to start all over again. I did have to tap the starter so the distributor would drop in place. The new carburetor makes the engine idle smoothly,that was one of the problems all along. As I left the driveway,the engine did spit back once,but after that drove normally,city streets,freeway,etc. Dwell magically went to 30. Maybe I should check idle mixture next. AC compressor belt is off for now. But mainly,I have to fix that darn window.

 

The accel pump likely wasn't all the way full. It happens. I'm interested to know what the vacuum is at this time, before you fine-tune the idle mixture and speed, then after.

 

I drove the car awhile,then it started running rough and stalling again. I drove it home and parked it again. When I could get to it,I tried to start it but it wouldn't stay running,and sounded awful. So: I've swapped out every part and reset timing and checked compression and vacuum and that the damper mark is in time with the distributor,and this still happens. And I don't want to explode a fourth muffler! Something is going on,and I don't know what it is.
I couldn't check vacuum,because the engine wouldn't stay running.
The strange thing is,this is an intermittent problem,but also one that bites you on the ass when you least want it.
I thought about fuel contamination,but I don't know if that fits.

 

Did you check vacuum while it was running poorly ? If I remember right you had electrical issues previous to this with resistor wire and such. Wires that normally run across radiator support running behind engine on firewall and such . Also problems with EGR spacer . I would start with making electrical tests . This is if you are sure of your mechanical diagnostics. I hate to see that after such a long time and money spent you still have the problem almost for 2 years other than a few miles. Maybe time to look beyond the internet for a fix .