hello everyone, i just bought a 1974 mercury comet with a straight 6 for $600. it had some problems when i got it, but i figured for the price, it would be worth fixing over time. the main problem i have right now is that when i start it, itll idle really rough, and vibrate really bad. also. it doesnt seem to be producing very much power at idle, not even enough to power the oil pump, because the oil light and sometimes even the alternator light come on, until i rev the engine, but come back when i let off of the gas pedal. (when the engine is reved up, it doesnt shake or feel rough)And thats not the end of the fun, when i put it into gear, it doesnt like to move much, the engine sounds and feels like its struggling and stalling, and before getting far, it eventually dies out and is kind of hard to restart. it wasnt this bad when i got it about a month and a half ago, its degraded over time. im going to the store right now to get new points plugs condenser and wires in hopes that will help, but since im not much of a mechanic, im guessing thats not gonna help too much. any help at all will be very greatly appreciated.
Well butthole,,,doing a tuneup first is a good thing. Pay attention to the plugs you pull out. What you describe can vary from bad gas,, moisture in the distributor,,,bad carb. The fact that the oil and alternator light both coming on probably means too low an idle, but with what you describe. If the oil light stays on,, the engine could be worn. Do you know how long the gas has been in it? Dan
ive put about 15 dollars worth of gas, about 5 at a time, in it since i got it, it had about a quarter tank when i got it, and now that you mention it, i put a new carb on it thinking that could be the problem, but when it ran the same as it did before i returned the carb, but when i pulled the vacuum line off the carb from the distributor, a little bit of i dont know what, some kind of liquid came out, i thought it was weird, but i didnt think too much about it. when i give it the tune-up tomorrow, i'll check for moisture and dry it, i'll let you know what happens.
you know im not really sure weather its an adjective or a noun, its my name because my favorite band is butthole surfers. i just changed the plugs and wires on it, and its running MUCH better, no more rough idle and it has acceleration now. although the oil light wont go away... im going to put an oil change on it today, it was supposed to have one in 2000 according to the sticker on the windshield, and the dipstick says its overfull, by alot. hoping that will fix the problem
I just started working on my 77 maverick, and was having the same problem. I put new gas in it, changed out the spark plugs and checked the old ones, and gave it an oil change (I got my mav with way too much oil in it too!). After that I got my acceleration back, no stalling issues and the engine is running much better now as well. Going to change out the cables today.
butthole, keep an eye on your dipstick. check your tailpipe, make sure that's not plugged. was the liquid coming out of the vacuum line brownish material by any chance? it might have just been some condensation.
