MKII Escort Stalls on Throttle

senya · 22-08-2011, 07:59 AM

Hi all.*I have a 1979 Mark 2 Ford Escort with the 1.6 L carbureted engine.*It has to be choked for it to start but once it's started and has been turning over for a few moments the choke can be eased off gradually and the engine will idle nicely. But upon pressing the accelerator, even slightly, the engine wants to stall, especially if you stab it too quickly. If you leave the choke on a little, it tends to rev up must more easily, but take the choke off and it's very temperamental. The problem lessens when the engine is warm.

Can anyone think what the problem might be? I've tried turning the mixture screw to make it run richer (figuring this is what the choke is doing) but it doesn't seem to help much. I'm guessing it will be something to do with the carburettor, i'm just not sure what. i have limited mechanical experience but i do have common sense and i'm eager to learn more.

I'd really love to finish this car and get it registered. Can someone help me?

Pazuzu · 22-08-2011, 11:27 AM

Hi Senya,

Could be a couple of things. (Usually the first sentence in every reply in an automotive forum).
Your air filter could be full of crap & needing cleaning/ replacement. It may idle just fine, but as soon as it needs to "breathe" and sucks in more air, it chokes & just sucks in fuel.
Your carburettor may need an overhaul. If you've never done this since owning the car, it's always a good idea to service it. It's something you can do yourself if you're keen & have a few tools, and a good way to familiarise yourself with what's going on under there. If you're not so keen, there are plenty of places that'll do it for you, for a price. FYI, a carby kit for my 32/36 DGAV webber only set me back about $60 or $70 from memory, maybe less. A few hours later & it was looking like a bought one.
The only other thing I could think of is your timing could be way out- if you're running points ignition, check your settings again. Even better- get rid of points, convert to electronic.
Check your fuel mixture settings again; if you've been adjusting them, you might have been adjusting them the wrong way & just making it worse.

If it's idling with some cunning choke manipulation, it's almost definitely a carby or fuel supply problem, which are generally the cheaper fixes. You might also want to check that your dizzy hoses & throttle cable are connected properly, & there's no interference from nearby objects.

Hope this helps.

-Dan

senya · 28-08-2011, 02:27 PM

Upadte. Well, I've completely re-kitted the carby and adjusted the fuel air mixture and idle. for mixture i turned the screw all the way in, and then it seems to be best at about 3 1/2 turns out.

The issue is still present, unaffected. Still stalls on throttle and the problem is lessened with the choke on.

Any ideas?

Jimmyd · 28-08-2011, 06:30 PM

A couple of quick ones to eliminate;
1. rotten fuel - how long has the fuel been sitting in the tank?, or
2. vacuum leak - check manifold bolts to head are tight, check hose from manifold to brake booster, etc.

3 1/2 turns for idle mixture sounds like a vac leak to me....

Cheers

James

Grandmaspec · 01-09-2011, 02:34 AM

yeah replace you're hoses (i think there's only one coming from the brake booster), that did the trick for me. It could also be the engine is just cold. In winter i usually warm up my car for about five minutes or baby it for a few km's till it stops trying to stall.

SBRacing80 · 13-10-2011, 01:39 PM

Id be checking vacuum leak and distrbutor. vacuum leak can be easily detected using carby cleaner or inox, spray all areas of the engine that have hoses or gaskets, if the engine stutters at any point youve found your leak.
pull you distributor cap off and check to make sure everything is still intact, base timing can be checked with a timing light.
cheers