cjhillman
Posted a lot
1979 Capri (Rolling Project) 1985 Escort mk3 (Daily)
Posts: 1,582
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I got in the Escort the other day and forgot its still driving pretty rough.
The problem is when you accelerate moderately hard the Car jogs pretty hard. Imagine 30mph in 4th gear and the revs are a bit low, it will buck about unless you to go back to light acceleration. On the flip side under really hard acceleration it doesn't do it either.
At this point I'm guessing its either:
-The Condenser, as I didn't replace this (just the points) and it was ok for a little bit after replacing everything.
-The fuel pump
-The Carb or Carb accelerator pump.
My question is how to I test this cheaply or for free. Fuel pumps and Carbs are expensive for this engine at the moment. Would be nice to get it driving nicely. My bet is still on the ignition as when I swapped the leads it was good for a while. It couldnt be the coil could it?
I cant find one but the original condenser is a Bosch - 1 237 330 350 if anyone comes across one.
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vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,082
Club RR Member Number: 146
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If it's a failing condenser that's something that will usually get worse the more you drive, and then clear up when it's had chance to cool down again, so if it's not doing that you can probably rule that out.
Fuel pump is unlikely if it improves under load, normally a failing pump will starve fuel supply under load so it's probably not that.
Carb is a possible contender, especially if there's weak components or dirt in there.
Another possibility is that your timing might be retarded a bit too far, or your idle a little low, these things can wander. It might also be distributor related with a weak vacuum advance or tired springs.
To find out if it's the coil, which is also not a bad call, you can test the output with a multimeter to see what it's actually doing before you replace it with a new one.
One other thing I can think of since you mentioned replacing the points is that the securing screw might have come loose since you fitted them and put your points gap off just enough that it's messing things up, that at least is a completely free fix since you just need to look and get the feeler gauges and screwdriver in there to sort that.
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cjhillman
Posted a lot
1979 Capri (Rolling Project) 1985 Escort mk3 (Daily)
Posts: 1,582
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Cheers for this vulgalour ! I'll try testing the coil and maybe put some redex in tomorrow. I think the car has always been like this but I've accepted it. The more I drive other Cars I notice it, so it must be an item that always been on it. Could I test the Vacuum advance/ springs by sucking on a fresh pipe to Vac advance? Never done this before but know of it. I think the idle is a little low too so can try that.
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vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,082
Club RR Member Number: 146
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If it's any consolation, the Princess has a similar trick before its warmed up or when the oil in the dashpot is low (just SU things) and clears up when it's driven a bit more.
I don't know how to test the vacuum/springs, that's a bit above my smarts, there'll be plenty of info online of how to do it I imagine.
Redex probably won't do much of anything for this, do some checking and collate some data before spending money on potions. It's likely there's just a setting a bit off somewhere, or a couple of settings that are a little bit off and compounding to appear worse, you just have to find where they are.
Damp weather won't be helping much either of course, especially since you're still running points and condenser. I switched to a hall effect electronic kit to replace them and haven't looked back since. I don't mind points and condensers, it's just really hard to get decent quality parts reliably now so the electronic ignition kit was a great cheap upgrade that has led to smoother running and more reliable starts.
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