I've been cleaning up my engine, trying to get 15 years of dirt and oil off, and now when I start the car it starts up right away, but then stalls if I lift my foot off the gas. As long as I keep pressure on the throttle the engine runs fine, but as soon as I let it idle the engine just stalls. All I've done to the engine is clean everything up as well as hook up the vacuum advance/retard which had previously been disconnected. Do I just need to adjust the Curb Idle or could this be a timing issue? Ideas?

 

Could be timing, curb idle or both.

 

Alright, I'll check those out tomorrow, is there anything else that could be the culprit?

 

Vacuum leak maybe, since it's been sitting a while. Fuel leak, bad seals etc in the carb. It's hard to narrow down the problem if it doesn't stay running long enoguh to diagnose it. Could just shoot it, and turn it into glue.

 

Alright, it was running fine before I started cleaning the engine bay, although the vacuum advance/retard wasn't hooked up. I don't think it's a fuel leak, it's been sitting for a while and the only stains on the garage floor are from a pin-hole in the transmission cooling lines.Can youset the idle without a tachometer?

 

You can set it by ear if you have to, but a tach helps. And a timing light as well. It ran before you cleaned it, but the advance wasn't hooked up? Try unhooking it again and see if that helps. Do you know what the base timing is at?

 

Same exact same thing happened to my 65 mustang. One day it just started stalling when it got hot. Turned out the idle positioner was goofy and was just closing the throttle all the way. I hadn't taken off the air cleaner in months....[sm=wtf.gif]

 

Maybe a choke problem too... I would start with the idle though..

 

I say just adjust the idle up a little....

The vacuum draw from the unhooked hose could have been what was idling up the engine a little, and the idle was probably "set" with the hose off.... Now that the hose is attached, you will simply need to reset the idle.

Start by doing it the easy way by adjusting the screw that slightly opens the throttle.. My money says that this is all you will need to do..

In any case, whether I am right or wrong, this is what you need to try first.... IMHO of course...

 

Well I tried adjusting the idle this morning, if I increase the idle RPMit will idle fine,but then as soon as I add some throttle and let the car slow back down to idle it just stalls out. I should add that I'm in Canada and the temperature is around 32 F. Any other suggestions?