Ok, long post I know, but I am at my wits end and since you all have been such a huge help so far, I figured what the heck, see what they think.

First of all, even though I am a woman, I do know some about cars, so don't think I am nuts when I tell you what's going on.

We bought the 72 with a 302, manual transmission, stock carb two weeks ago. The day we brought her home she started stalling out on us.
1. We changed all the fuel filters and drained the gas, it looked clean so we put it all back together. Still stalling when we push in the clutch at a stop sign, idles rough.
2. Change plugs and wires. Idles good, still stalling.
3. Take off sending unit in tank, clean and eventually take off tank and spend two hours cleaning it as well.
4. Rebuild carb, blow out fuel lines, new filters, new fuel pump, all back together...idles OK, spring a water leak in radiator (i know, we are tired by now, too)
5. Fix leak, find another, spend a whole day patching with JB Weld and putting back together.
6. Drive her and she starts hesitating when you get in the gas...cutting out, jerking, like she is running out of gas.
7. Take her home and proceed to take everything off to change timing chain.
8. Still taking everything off.
9. Got chain, put it on, put everything back together thanks to Soaring and the others here who answered our questions.
10. Drove it yesterday...still acts like it is starving for gas and has another leak in the radiator too.


Now that we have exhausted ourselves, me typing and you reading, what do you think is wrong? Is the timing still off or is it the carb? When we cleaned the tank it was full of rust and junk but we replaced or rebuilt everything from the tank up...


Thanks ya'll....

I am off to a volleyball game, will check in later

first off, i think it's awesome to see a women in this field, next im still a newbie but here are my guesses. Could the spark plug gaps be off or the distributor. Timing for spark may be off. I thought sometihng could be funny with the tranny. ex, not applying enoguh gas when releasing the clutch expcept now it's while already in gear. And my final guess: could the camshaft be screwed up? Misaligned/worn?


i wish i could help more but like i said im a nub.

Thanks for the comments, we are open to any suggestions right now, especially ones that cost little or no money :)

Still having problems with her are you? :D Now that you most likely have the dirty gas issue solved, you more than likely have a timing or some kind of ignition issue. Have you taken off the dizzy cap and looked at it to see if maybe there is a crack in it? Get us back up to speed as to what ignition you have....points or electronic? If it is points, at what gap do you have them set? If it were mine, I'd replace all the ignition components to include the points, condenser, rotary and cap along with the spark plug wires. Then I would put in new plugs. Ya know, it is amazing how many times even the condenser that goes bad will cause these kinds of problems. So, instead of trying to isolate the ignition problem, I would just get it all replaced with new stuff. Reset the timing by using a timing light after you replace the points. The timing should be about 8-10 degrees BTDC, or you can set it by ear. Advance it as much as you can before it pings, then back off a few degrees.
Now, on the other hand, you may have a carb problem. If it were mine, and the new ignition stuff didn't solve the problem, I would replace the carb with a rebuilt one. Hang in there gal. You will eventually solve the problem, then you will thoroughly enjoy that Mustang. :D

I if I read and understand correctly the car seems to run fine when idling and the stalling problems occur when she's driven? This seems to me like a timing problem. Also have you gone back and checked all the vacuum lines?

Off topic..1/28 for a birthday is cool...mine is also the 28th. Good luck!!

Phil

If it is stalling while moving, It could be the vacuum advance not acting right. So is it running good while sitting? and another question relating to the timing chain. Did you remove the oil pan with the timing chain cover. My book says you are supposed to, but i didn't. So now im going to put it back to together with a whole bunch of permatex and maybe some gasket material and hope to god it doesn't leak.

I had almost the same problem when I first got my mustang. The minute you stepped on the gas, it would sputter and die unless you immediately pulled off. I thought for sure it was a carb problem, but it turned out to be an ignition problem. Change the points on your distributor, and gap them correctly.

Soaring is right, replace all the ignition components and gap those points correctly. If anything, you'll have a fresh tune up:)

ORIGINAL: nualln

The minute you stepped on the gas, it would sputter and die unless you immediately pulled off.



I just had that problem as well and for me it was the carb.
When we tore the carb apart to rebuild it we noticed that one of the gaskets fell off and was allowing the carb to suck more air then it needed, which would make it die when you stepped on it due to the engine not getting a proper air/fule mixture.

Thanks everybody, we are defintely going to check the timing again.

We have ordered a rebuilt carb, a 2 barrel Holley.

We didn't take the oil pan off when we redid the timing chain, but also used a bunch of gasket sealer, I will check that out.

I am picking up my Chilton's manual today at the local part store, in my hick town no one had one on the shelf. But then again, no one has a car like mine, either. :)

When we get the manual we will do the points and vacuum lines, just to make sure. Carb won't be here until Friday or Saturday but I will let you guys know how it's going every step of the way.


Thanks again, Ya'll have a great Day, I am off to my European Politics Class,



Charity

Be sure to let us know!!!

Better yet, Buy a Pertronix system.

The pertrnix system won't solve her problem. She has ignitin or carb issues that have to be resolved .

this might probably be waaaay too easy guys, but i had that exact same problem on another car and it was just the connections on the battery that were corroded like Fck, changed the clamps on it and ran like new...
worth checking out anyway, i'd say....

two more remarks:

a carb rebuild can be done by yourself partswise, but if you really want all the little pipes and holes really clean, get the carb cleaned in a microwave cleaner, that gets EVERYTHING loose and out.

don't know this JBweld stuff, but it sounds like an additive in a bottle that fixes leaks in radiators. please don't go there unless you really have to to get home. it messes more stuff up trhan it will help you along, thermostats, radiator cooling channels, the works....
i know getting it rebuilt costs a lot more money, but it will last forever after a rebuild.

good luck, and indeed its good to see women interested in stangs as well (apart from being interested in the driver :D, only kidding, i think it's great)

Ok, First Glen, I said get the pertronix because it'll help alot. I was just saying that instead of getting points. Second, JB Weld is not something you put in the radaitor, it is a metal that comes in two seperate tubes. When mixed they harden to metal. YOu can apply this to where your radiator is leaking and it usually stops it right up. Believe me i know, because my radiator on my 62 chevy has JB WELD all over it.

ORIGINAL: 6mustang6

Ok, First Glen, I said get the pertronix because it'll help alot. I was just saying that instead of getting points. Second, JB Weld is not something you put in the radaitor, it is a metal that comes in two seperate tubes. When mixed they harden to metal. YOu can apply this to where your radiator is leaking and it usually stops it right up. Believe me i know, because my radiator on my 62 chevy has JB WELD all over it.


JB weld also makes "Stop-leak"

http://jbweld.net/products/uses.php

There is a place here where I live that I had my radiator rotted out and patched a hole for about 10 bucks :D

Thanks for clearing up the JBWELD stuff, sometimes I take it for granted that everyone knows what that stuff is. We picked up the carb last night, we are going to put it on tonight and also set the timing, after checking the points and diz cap. As for the battery cables, they were one of the first things we changed, forgot to mention that in my tirade. When we first bought her she had to be boosted at the car lot, didn't take a genius to see the cables were corroded.

So, we are going to work on her tonight and tomorrow and hopefully drive her to my bro's for a party on Sunday, I will keep you posted.

I am making a list of everything that I need to replace and the radiator is at the top, can't seem to find a good price on one, however. I did find a tank and a couple of other things a lot cheaper than retail around here, (thanks)


I keep forgetting to upload a pic, I will do that ASAP so ya'll can see her. She sure is pretty to be causing me this much trouble, but then again, I am pretty high maintenance myself. lol

Oh, well, i just use the metal JB WELD.:D

sounds too me like its not igniting properly. try installing a pertronix igniter and/or replacing the distributor. replace the spark plugs and probably the plug wire too. thats the first thing i would do.

You may need to have the carb re-jetted!!:eek:

Nah, she's getting a new carb.

Hi Everybody...

Got the Chilton and the carb and are in the process of replacing diz cap, rotor, condenser and points. Got the feeler gauge and the timing light and as soon as the hubby gets home we are gonna work on her.


Oh yeah, and we have to fix another leak in the radiator :(

Good. Set those points to right at 0.017 and the timing at 8-10 degrees BTDC.

The manual and instructions for the timing light say we have to set the RPM at 500 before we can set the timing. So we are looking for a tach now, the hubby was going to buy the biggest one he could find just to aggravate me, but I think I talked him outta that. Anyhow, we have tried it at 7 and 10 and the points at .018 but that was a no go. Dad said that .016 may be better than the .018 or 7 even. So I think that all we are waiting on is the tach so we can set the rpm correctly and try 6 BTDC which is what the manual says.

Its been three dang weeks and i am starting to lose my patience, i hope to god this works.

Take your radiator to the radiator shop. They will fix any leak, paint it, and clean out the inside.
for $50

ORIGINAL: tylerdru

Take your radiator to the radiator shop. They will fix any leak, paint it, and clean out the inside.
for $50


You can take it to a shop if you have one you can trust. I personally would rather get a new one. Around here the new one has a better warranty than a rebuilt or patched one. It may cost a bit more up front but it sounds like you have a pretty bad radiator.

Soaring was right on with the points at .017. You can also safely set the timing further to around 8 degrees BTDC without any problems. If you get any engine ping, back it back down to 7 or 6 then.

So I take it the carb didnt fix it?

ORIGINAL: newownerof72

The manual and instructions for the timing light say we have to set the RPM at 500 before we can set the timing. So we are looking for a tach now, the hubby was going to buy the biggest one he could find just to aggravate me, but I think I talked him outta that. Anyhow, we have tried it at 7 and 10 and the points at .018 but that was a no go. Dad said that .016 may be better than the .018 or 7 even. So I think that all we are waiting on is the tach so we can set the rpm correctly and try 6 BTDC which is what the manual says.

Its been three dang weeks and i am starting to lose my patience, i hope to god this works.


The best timing light in the world is your ears. :D Set it close to about 8, then take it out on the road and see if it pings. Tweak it from there. Be sure you plug the vacuum line with a screw or something while you are timing it. Timing also has to do with the quality of gas you have in it. Are you running 91-93 octane? If not, then you should.

91-93 octane is just regular gas right? If not then i will cry.:(

ok, we are about to lose our patience. We can't set the timing correctly w/o a tach, and Glen, my dad said the same thing about the ear. Either we have really bad hearing or we don't know what the heck we are doing. We keep getting a popping from the passenger side exhaust pipe, which to us means that it is not firing in correct time. We have tried it idled all the way down and on 6 and it dies. All the way down and 7-10 it won't stall but the popping gets worse. And when we drive it down the road, it backfires. OK, now what? :(

Nah, don't loseyour patience. It now sounds like you may have a firing order problem. The firing order for that engine is 15426378. The numbr one piston is on the passenger side at the front of the engine. From there you go 1234 on that bank, then 5678 on the driver's side bank.
http://www.mustangandfords.com/techarticles/28738/index3.html

ORIGINAL: Soaring

Nah, don't loseyour patience. It now sounds like you may have a firing order problem. The firing order for that engine is 15426378. The numbr one piston is on the passenger side at the front of the engine. From there you go 1234 on that bank, then 5678 on the driver's side bank.
http://www.mustangandfords.com/techarticles/28738/index3.html


I was told it was 1357 on one side and 2468 on the other but that was for a chevy 350, are the 289s different?

Thanks Glen, we'll check that before we start messing with the distributor again, since we changed the diz cap we might have crossed a wire.

It's a 302, not a 289 Kbunny.

So then ford and chevy are different by how they number the cylinders, ok.

Yeah, some of the things on the car have been great as far as self explanatory or common sense, others have been a royal pain. It didn't help that I tried to do some stuff by myself and had to start over when I had help....lol

then again the hubby keeps insisting that he isn't a mechanic so what choice do I have except for trying to do it myself, right? :)

Does anyone know a mechanic that makes house calls? I don't...

The 289 and the 302 have the same firing order. Yes, a Ford 289 is different from a Chevy 350 in how they number the cylinders. 91-93 octane gas is premium. 87 octane is regular.

Well...
Now I am really embarassed...and the hubby is [:@]

We believe we have figured out our problem. We put the timing chain on in the dark, by droplight...and we think we............



skipped a tooth. [:o]


He looked in the Chilton last night and checked the timing by rotating the motor by hand and watching the rotor....and....

we figured it out, we think. A friend has confirmed it, a friend who hadn't been with us every step of the way--he jumped on the cause of the backfire right away.

So now we take everything back off and start again.

Got the tach and parts of my dash are now in my front seat. Makes me a little nervous actually.

Just thought I would bring you all up to date.

Hope everyone is having a great day..:)

Ain't it a fun hobby? It is so exhilirating to finally get a propblem solved. There are just so many pieces of the puzzle to solve.

Yeah, especially when hubby keeps reminding me he is no mechanic. We are working this all out on our own and with a manual. Gives us a sense of accomplishment after the headaches are gone. ;)

On your first repair you usually learn something. You learned to be more careful. I learned to be much more organized When i replaced my water pump. i wasnt paying attention to the bolts. They were differrent sizes!:D

This is like a mini series where they leave you hanging until the next show. I CAN'T WAIT:)

I hope all turns out well. It is nice to see a husband and wife working together on a project like this. I think you had better do it this time.;)

Yeah, That stinks. Pulling off the timing chain cover and gears is not a pretty job, or easy.

Pulling off the timing chain and all that other stuff takes so long we aren't even going to tackle it until Sunday.

I did get my dash back together, though. :)

What did you replace on the dash? Anything electrical? Or just the dash pad?

We actually didn't replace anything in the dash, we were looking for a way to wire the tach, but decided against that route.

We checked the timing chain and set it on 6 BTDC and it is still popping. We are beginning to think that the pointer has been bent or broken and we can't find a pic of one. Does anyone have one? :)

Christine is still losing power. We opened the carb to 2 and 1/4 turns and that made it worse, so we think that the pointer is wrong and making the mark off by a couple.

We are going to try backing it down to the 4 hash mark and see if that helps.

She runs, she just doesn't sound very good. Sounds like she's sick...:(

Timing it by ear may be your best bet since the the pointer on the chain cover is obviously bent out of whack.

Thanks Soaring.

I am going to upload some pics from campus in a lil while so everyone can see her. I figured it's about time. lol

I will let you know what happens after we work on her tonight.

Sounds like you all are getting it. I usually use a timing light then time it by ear, and then drive it and tweak it.

does anyone have a picture of where you point the timing light?

If you look at the front of the engine, the wheel below the wheel that the fan is connected to. You will see a little pointer and numbers etched on the wheel.

The pointer can't get bent. It's aluminum, it would snap off, before bending.

Looks like that's what happened, then, because there is no distinguished pointer on there.

it should be on the driver side, by the harmonic balancer. It protrudes off of the timing chain cover. You should have seen it when you removed it.

It's not there.

Latest news...
Someone told us that putting platinum plugs in her may have caused her to misfire because we don't have an electronic ignition.

After resetting the timing chain, the points and changing the plugs BACK to the original, she still hesitates a little.

While acccelerating you can feel her hesitate... when you reach top speed she levels out but you can "feel" that it is not at top power.

What now? [sm=boohoo.gif][sm=headbang.gif]


please help me.....