Well, it only turns off when I'm driving, for about 15-20 minutes, then I come to a complete stop, then switch gears to parking or reverse. It shakes a bit first, maybe it's over heating? help

 

So after 15 min of driving it shuts off?

Does it restart easy?

does it die really smooth like you shut the key off or does it kick around and surge then die?

-Gun

 

Well, maybe more than 15 mins. It varies.

It doesn't shut down while driving, it only shut down on me when I come to a complete stop and switch to parking or reverse.

It doesn't turn back on easy. i gotta wait like 10 mins before it'll turn back on.

Doesn't die smooth, it kicks around, then dies.

Hope that helps

 

Humm thats odd...the part about putting it in park.

It never dies when you come to a stop in drive?

I would think it would be the opposite...Fine in park zero mph but dies in drive zero mph.

SO it never dies when moving in drive and it never dies stopped in drive?

Im guessing its a low speed circuit issue with you carb. My guess is it leans out and dies. but that doesnt really explain the heat issue (only dies when warm)

I would first check for air leaks around the carb by running the engine at idle and spraying carb cleaner around the base and listening for engine rpm change. If it changes rpm then its leaking air at that spot.

Also check the water level in the radiator...can you see water when you remove the cap...If yes its probably not overheating...

Next step would be to take the carb apart and clean out all the dirt, rust and varnish.

-Gun

 

I think it might have died on me before on drive, but the last two times where when I switched it to park

There is water when I remove the radiator, so it might not be a heat issue.
Thanks, I'll try the carb cleaner thing

 

Any new changes to the car?
Based on your description check for vapor locking. A fuel line too close the exhaust will do something like that. However, it is cool out so this may not be it.

Fuel pressure- maybe a bad pump

When you solve the problem, be sure to post what you did to fix it.

 

I'm having the same issue except mine dies while driving. It shuts off smooth and restarts easy but it constantly keeps shutting off for the past couple days now. Any ideas?

 

two items thunder, if you have a dashpot on the carb, make sure it's set correctly. Second, use carb cleaner and check for a vacuum leak. The dashpot is the round thingy on the driver side of carb that pushes a little spring loaded rod against the linkage. Its designed to slow the butterflys at the point of closing, and keeping them from shutting so quickly as to stall the motor. if you don't have a dashpot, then you might have a vacuum leak

 

Improper set idle air fuel ratio can cause shut down. If you are running lean, the engine can flop and sputter then die basically from starving for fuel. It then can be hard to get started because the intake is complete empty of fuel vapor.

A vacuum leak will also cause issues, but you should notice the car running poorly.

An ignition problem can be hard to solve. If you loose spark, the motor will die and not start again until the spark returns.

Low fuel bowl level from various causes, can cause the engine to starve for fuel and die and will not fill back up until the needle and seat allow more fuel in and the fuel pump has cycled enough to fill the bowl back up.

Vapor lock will cause the fuel in the fuel line to boil thus causing vapor in the line and finally causing fuel bowl to empty. Once the fuel cools off enough, it will flow again. In extreme cases, the carb can actually become heated to the point that fuel will vapor lock in the bowls, but this is extreme.

Remember, you need three things for an engine to run...fuel, air, and spark.

Check your fuel bowl level. Fuel should be right at the bottom of the sight glass. When the engine dies again. Do not crank and crank. Check the fuel level again to eliminate that as an issue before you try to restart. Also check your vacuum ports and spray with carb cleaner around the intake and carb as mentioned above to eliminate that as a possible issue. You may also want to check the plugs and idle vacuum levels for proper idle AFR. Finally, check the fuel pressure to eliminate a bad pump. Hopefully one of those things is the issue. Ignition issues and vapor lock are much harder to diagnose, so start with the simple stuff.

 

First I am new to the forum. I have a 1976 Ford Mustang II Ghia with a Motorcraft 2150 carb. I need to replace the dashpot. Where is the best place to get one and how do you adjust it?