Hey everyone, been awhile since I posted here. I still stop by time to time and read the archives. Anyhow, I've been having some problems with my 73 302 maverick lately. I'm guessing that the mixture is to rich but just thought I'd ask in case anyone has anything else to add to it. When I lay on the pedal pretty hard the engine will sputter at high RPM and make a sound like a quiet backfire coming from under the hood (most likely from the carb) and when I get on the interstate after a few miles or after gunning it down the onramp, the car will get to the point where it will cut out if I give it much gas at all, I can do enough to keep it at 75 but if I needed to accelerate quickly, it would cut out and I'd be screwed. This is a car that I originally intended to use as a parts car for my 70 maverick but have turned it into a daily driver while school continues to make me poorer and poorer. The engine is in poor shape, the rings are pretty much toast, it smokes at startup and when under heavy acceleration.
when the car smokes under heavy accleration, is it white or dark? Have you tried running the carb off of your other mav?
what kind of carb is it? check these things that come to mind...plugs for gap and cleaness,timing,adjust the carb, do you know how to use the lean drop method? put some Lucus products in you motor to help with the bad rings (not a fix) but might help for a short time,check for proper carb operation-sounds like something stuck or gummed up,if its high mileage it might just worn out!
i would suggest the following you are blowing smoke, sounds like the plugs might be fouled.... also i would be looking at the points in the distributor the gap might be gone...... maybe the vacuum advance (if so equipped) could be bad, not allowing advnacement of timing at RPMS. good luck
It blows white smoke, the exhaust pipes are dark black due to accumlation of oil. The carb is a Edelbrock 4 barrel.
you need a motor! sorry for that news but if it is high miles and all these problems then save yourself some money and price a long block and change everything over. Merry Christmas
You say your problem shows after heavy throttle use in several different senerios. The backfire is leanness. The fuel pump can't supply enough fuel and the carbs runs out of fuel. Change the fuel pump.
The smoke doesn't have a blue tint to it, just white. I agree with the post about my motor being shot, think of this post as damage control, this car is only meant to be drivin till it dies, not much more. My 70 Maverick will be the one that eventually gets a new motor, my 73 (nicknamed Smokey) is a winter/parts car. As far as the fuel pump, that does make alot of sense, but here is my dumb question for the day, is there more than one? I know there is a sending unit in the gas tank but is there another one along the line somewhere? If there is more than one, which one do I need to replace? Thanks for any replies, and thanks for the ones I have received so far.
Sounds like a weak fuel pump to me. Fuel pump is located on the drivers side of the engine, in the front, towards the bottom,, you will know it when you follow the fuel line. Only 1 fuel pump installed from factory, unless somebody got creative, still probably the only fuel pump on the car. Dan
I'm thinking real simple first. With the air cleaner off - look at the squirter and work the linkage by hand. When you work the linkage the squirter should shoot 2 strong streams of fuel into the venturi. If it doesnt or is sputtery.......pull the accelerator pump diaphram. If this is a factory ford 2 barrel it should come off the front with 4 small screws. About 1 inch in diameter. If you are real careful you can pull these off without destroying them. More often the part of the gasket tears and you have to replace them. Pretty easy to do with carb on a bench - nearly impossible on the car. More important when the diaphram is off - look at the little rubber flapper valve. There could be dirt around the flapper valve that allows the fuel to go back into the bowl as opposed to running to the squirter. Pull the flapper back and inspect the fill hole from the bowl - it could be clogged. Run a thin wire (pull the paper off a bread tie) through the hole behind the flapper valve and also up through the squirter hole. Cleaver
The engine is in poor shape, the rings are pretty much toast, it smokes at startup and when under heavy acceleration.[/QUOTE] does the car use water? white smoke indicates a blown head gasket. only at start up and under acceleration has me scratching my head though. if the smoke had a blue tint to it i would have to say valve guides.
