uh-oh... carb problems???

[hey,littlecobra]

had a bit o' trouble when out and about this afternoon.

ultimately, Pepe is in a 'locked, razorfenced' yard, awaiting trailer pickup in the am.

in a nutshell, the linkage is sticking 'open' or 'shut' depending on ?????

ka-powwww! and lost power..... coasted to the side of the road THREE times. Got it running twice, after i let the carb 'unflood' with the gas evaporting and Pepe starting right back up. Go for a mile or two, then no power... coasted off again!

third time, called hubby to get #4 kid, who wasn't amused by this at this point. We pushed it across three lanes of traffic (i had coasted to the inside turn lane to a business) and into a parking lot. A guy that works at the business i pulled into has a Mustang Cobra, probably 03 or so, and has had Rob work on his car... so... he tinkers with the carb a bit and decided the linkage was sticking. I had already come to that conclusion, but what do i know???
After the second loss of power and pull over in a convenience store parking lot, I called Rob in my best Laura Petrie voice... "oh Rooooooooooobbbb!" but Trish answered the phone and immediately i remembered that Rob is at run n gun (where i should be but i'm not) and I talked to Rick whoever that is and he helped me check for spark, and check the choke etc.

went another mile or so and no backfire this time, but loss of power and that's when i stopped in the turn lane and eventually David shows up and we push across the street to the parking lot where this dude (the Cobra Mustang guy) fiddled with it. We decided to take the guy with the locked yard up on his offer to 'store it' over night, (the lot next door to the tinkerer dude)and in the morning hubby will go get the trailer and surely Pepe will start right up and drive right onto the trailer just fine. Monday morning?? Off to the shop! Yikes!
I probably would have made it home, but the two intersections/lights i would have had to travel thru have humongous traffic and I just didn't want to risk it. so....
carb problem of some sort. I at least have a pair of pliers to take off the air filter, and know how to look to see if gas is coming thru.... and ..... whatever!!!
at least i wasn't on the top of high five, right????
the guy with a locked yard has an 11 yo son.... he's getting a ride!
Drove Paddy this morning, Cobra this afternoon.... uhoh.....

beautiful day, anyway. standing on the side of the road in 85*isn't so bad as 100*.

gotta go!
varsity football game. go chargers!!!

[John Martin]

Tell who ever is working on the car to keep a fire extinguisher near by !

[SSSammy]

Kristen,
Pepe just never does stuff like this I won't try to give you a remote diagnosis .. glad the car is secure and you were able to get safely home Good hubby! We'll be waiting to hear what it actually was, of course. Hope it's just a dirty fuel filter!

Best wishes,
Sam and Sally (who is having hot flashes at the moment)

[jshel1]

I think Pepe's just jealous of Paddy.

[hey,littlecobra]

well $hit it's tough.

drove by and checked on him on the way home from the football game.

shoulda taken a pic. it's all lit up and all; maybe too much?? i'd just as soon not have him so visible. razor wire and all but...... god i can't wait to see him in the morning!!!

hubby leaving the house by 7:30 to grab the trailer and get back here. Darn trailer, 30 minutes away.

and he doesn't even have a cover or blankie or anything.... just sitting there. Who are these people and why is my baby in their lot???

fire extinguisher my a$$!!! i was looking for mine, and BUHLIEVE me, my 8 yo said 'do you know how to work that?' when looking at the purty little extinguisher so prettily mounted under my dash. jezzzuss!!!

Rob @ Keith Craft in Plano is getting this problem on MOnday, bright and early. He can zip right down from St. Louis and deal with my problem!! ugh!!!

butterflies??? float???? linkage??? stuck????
what the he!!!??????
I have never taken the air filter off but you can bet your bottom dollar i can do it now! looked right in that carb. nope... nothing fell in; i know better than that. I'm a quik lerner here on cc.

holy$hit!!!!

gawd do ya think the engine will still be in it in the morning???

[FST FOX]

You should have called, I have a nice car cover you could of used to the night to make sure it was covered and all

[LuvDaBlues]

Come on Kristen!!!! Ya got your buddies right here on CC. I just brought my car home from ET's (not fixed) and still have the trailer hooked up. I could of had your "little stinker" back in it's paddock before kick off. My trailer sits behind my fence and is ready to roll within 5 minutes. Man, I could have made some quick cash last night.

You need to get that car expedited. Don't forget the fall cruise is next Sunday the 21st.

BTW, who won?

[hey,littlecobra]

thanks, Patrick. I have a nice car cover as well, but it was 5:45 and they were locking up! It was go in the fenced yard or not.... We took the fenced yard.
On the third break down we were only about 1 1/2 miles from home. Frustrating! I would have gambled on it, but the intersection at Town East and Beltline is so backed up at that time. Tons of traffic right there. Beltline is the 'easy' connect from I30 and hwy 80.
Steve, thanks for the offer of the trailer. Didn't think about calling anybody. Nobody is particularly 'close' and just didn't think about it. Storing the Trailer in Terrell hasn't been a bad thing before. It's on a pad with a cover, so it lives out there on the farm. David just left (yup, 7:30) to get it.

I doubt I can do the fall cruise, anyway. We'll see. Even if the car was perfect!
Yesterday was just a bad day, i guess. my 11 yo was supposed to have her bday party, but with fever thursday night we canceled it. She seemed fine by 4. She stayed home from school, and didn't go to the game either. She and Uncle Trey (my brother) played with the RC cars.
The varsity lost.... doesn't seem to be a big problem, district starts next week. Next week is Homecoming, and we play our toughest team of the season.

I was expecting some ideas on what's wrong with the Carb. Any ideas???????????????????????????????????

thanks! i'll keep ya'll posted!

oh yes. John. I suppose Pepe was jealous, but he shouldn't be. Taking Pepe to school is a special treat. Cruising around in Paddy ain't no big deal!!

ttyl!
Kristen

[fsstnotch]

Are you 100% sure that this is carb related?

i had a similar problem with my mustang a few months ago. Left to go home from work and it stalled. But then it started right back up but was a littel hesitant. Drove about a mile and off she went again. This time it was a bit harder to start but it did finally fire after I cranked and pumped and cranked and pumped. Drove to the next light, about 1/2 mile and off she went again. The whole time kinda hesitating when I gave her throttle. I pushed her into the parking lot of the parts store right there and guessed right away.. fuel pump or filter. Ran inside and got a filter and that did nothing. Put 5 gallons of gas in it and nothing. The pump (electric holley red) sounded kinda weak. I had plans that night so I left it there overnight. Finished the last 1.5 miles in the morning being pushed by a truck. I did a bunch of troubleshooting with the carb and fuel lines and finally dropped the gas tank to check the pump. What was the problem... the pickup in the tank used a rubber hose. the hose had split and the car was getting that.. "sucking through a brocken straw" effect. Which is why it would start but not stay running once the secondaries were pumped out. What a pain! A gas tank is heavy when it's 1/2 full!! I put a new piece of hose on and she fired right up and the pump came alive!

[gsharapa]

Must be the driver.............

Could be many things, ie; vapor lock but not really hot enough for that.........so if fuel related sounds more like stuck float, fuel filter plugged or bad fuel pump. Electrical could also be the issue ie, coil or ignition box. Rob will figure it out..............

Hey Kristen, I put the Evolution Stage II kit (pulley, idler, JLT cold air and Evolution Scat 3 custom tune) on my GT500. You need to go for a ride next time I see ya!!!! zoom, zoom, zoom! I though it was pretty fast before but WOW what a differance!

[Madmiles442]

Kristen my trailer sits in my driveway and you have my cell. If you need a lift, don't hesitate to call anytime. That goes for the rest of yall too.

If it was a carb issue, I wouldn't know it if it bit me. The only time I tinkered with my carb, it took Rob 2 hours to redo it. Doh!

Is the distributer on tight? Backfiring, just wondering if it worked it's way loose.

Don't look down the carb when it's running and you're trying to work on it. A backfire will singe your bangs a trim you weren't planning on.

See? If you were at Run N Gun, Clois could have fixed it and you'd be up and running in 30 minutes! Next year we're BOTH there!

[hey,littlecobra]

if I was at run n gun ROB would have fixed it.

now I've got trailer it up there! and probably pay more.

fuel pump sounds interesting. the distributor is on tight, checked for spark and it was good.

loaded in the trailer and on the way back home in less than 15 minutes. got a full day- gotta go!
thanks for the suggestions.
i feel a lot better hearing some thoughts.
have a good day!
K

[wtm442]

It sounds like multiple problems. Ignition and carb. Can you imagine if the throttle stuck wide open?

Or it might be the curse of the pink thong.

In a couple of days she'll be purring along better than ever.
Good Luck

[G_Edmonds]

I had a similar problem on a previous hotrod. Turns out some holley carbs don't really care for the ethanol they put in a lot of our gas these days. It makes the needle and seat stick causing it to flood. Had to get a steel one. Hate it when a $10 part leaves you on the side of the road.
-Greg

[ssnake]

Kristen,

Do you have my tel#??

If not, drop me a pm and I'll call you to discuss options.

Don

[james-w]

Kristen, Warren had a good point. I bet Pepe just misses the "Pink Thong" Just say the word and I will send it your way. We have had a few questions about why we have it hanging on the mirror!


James

[Barnsnake]

Kristen,
Did you get it fixed? If so, what was the problem?

[Excaliber]

worn out distributor gear...

[wtm442]

My $$ is on a stuck needle due to dirt or other gunk.

[hey,littlecobra]

stay tuned.......