1977 Pinto sedan

[r4pinto]

The rear pan seal was not saveable. I had to get another pan gasket but when I did I got no more leaks. The oil that was in there looked pretty nasty so I went ahead and put on a new filter, as well as new oil of course. It's the first time I have ever done a bottom end rebuild so I'm not sure if it was from the new bearings but am guessing probably so. It sorta looked like the lawn mower oil when my Dad got a new one & I changed the oil for the first time.

As for the carb, I have not attempted to fix it, but did win one off ebay for about $68 shipped. I did drive the car around the block and the car will not respond to the accelerator with me doing anything but feathering the gas. If I try to give it more gas she pops & bogs down. I am gonna take a look at the accelerator pump like you suggested to see if that will help. O'Reilly Auto sells replacement diaphragms for cheap so I will prolly get one of them, as well as take a look at the lever to make sure it's not bent or anything.

I am going to an Ohio Pinto meet on Saturday so I gotta do whatever I can to get her running right before I go. I also noticed the gas gauge is now reading 1/4 tank, but a couple days ago was at 1/2 tank. Either the float is leaking worse than I thought or someone is siphoning gas. My money is on a bad float. I tried to patch it but looks like no dice. Oh well, it was worth a try.

[Cookieboy]

did you get it fixed???

cookieboy hates oil leaks!!! have a few to deal with myself 

[r4pinto]

No more leaky leak.. The car has sat for a day now & not as much as a drip under there. I did stop by Krieger Ford & picked up the float for the sending unit for a measily $7.91 after tax. It hasn't gone up much at all since I bought the last one in 2006. Now I gotta figure out how I will get it installed since there is more than likely atleast 1/2 tank of gas in the tank. That & take a look at why the car bogs & stumbles under anything but light  acceleration.

[r4pinto]

Swapped out the accelerator pump lever for a different one & also the diaphragm. No change in how the car ran. I am getting a rebuild kit for the spare carb so it will be ready just in case the carb I won at ebay doesn't get here in time for the trip. I'm wondering if there is a problem with the strainer I used on the car. We'll see what will happen.

[Cookieboy]

good to hear the leak is fixed, I hope to have one of mine fixed soon.

[r4pinto]

Thanks Brian... Hopefully I will be able to rebuild that carb I got off you & it will work better than the junk one on the car at the moment. In the mean time I will be patching the floor & getting the interior reinstalled.

[Cookieboy]

I hope it works for you too. I really haven't had much luck with rebuilds, never seem to work "perfect" if there is such a thing with carbs.

[r4pinto]

The carb I won off ebay came in today. I was so excited that I tore the old one off & installed the new one right away. The car actually wants to drive with that one on the car! It does need some fine tuning but for now it's alright how it is. The car at first was doing the same thing but I then took her for a spin. As soon as the carb was consistantly getting gas it stopped bogging & popping. She isn't running perfectly liky I would like but I am happy for now how she is running.

I also got the driver side door adjusted so I can close it without picking up on it. When I replaced the hinge pins I never adjusted it so it wasn't perfect. That is now changed. Next I will be reinstalling the interior after I do a quick patch on the rear floor. If all goes according to plan I will be taking her on a test drive tomorrow evening. I do still need to raise the back of the exhaust a little but for now it's alright. We will see if I will be taking the car on an extended trip tomorrow after I drive her on the freeway. It's closed at the moment or I would drive her on the freeway now.

[Cookieboy]

WhooHoo!

 

[r4pinto]

Got the floor fixed with a temporary patch, interior reinstalled & trash removed from the car. I then decided to go to Burger King for dinner. i then went on the freeway with the car for a short trip faster than 45 mph. The car ran pretty well on the freeway & I had some trouble keeping her at 65. She wanted to go faster, so I let her go 75 for a brief moment. So far, so good. Tomorrow comes the last test. I will drive from my house to Newark, which is about a 1/2 hour, 40 minute trip by freeway.  She seems a little sluggish but I don't know if that is the car or the fact that I have been driving a 3.5 liter v6 for the past 5 months. I will be adjusting the new carb so it works a little better, as well as installing a new float in the tank. That will not be too fun since there is gas in the tank but I gotta do it.

[r4pinto]

The car is alive!!! There were problems with the car wanting to die in July 2009, much like what happened June 2006. The only difference was that I was close enough to home & the speed limit was low enough I was able to get her home. I pulled out the sending unit, noticing the makeshift sock I installed was not looking too good. It seemed like it was too thick, not allowing the gas to get through too well. I ordered a replacement sock from the sscenterprises site & was plagued with lack of motivation & bad weather. If I was motivated the weather was bad. If the weather wasn't bad I wasn't motivated. So she sat for a year.

Well, I have finally done it! I blew out the fuel lines, installed a new fuel filter & put in 5 gallons of fresh gas. She fired up after the gas got to the carb! We will see if it is actually fixed, or if it's just a clever disguise. Not to say I have my doubts, but I have been down this road atleast 3 times. We shall soon see what happens next.

[77pinto]

Sounds good dude!!


Don't forget to check your local Ford dealer for stuff like that.  Mine local dealer has lots of stuff like that in stock, and most of the time it works out cheaper with no shipping.


Bill

[Glassman]

Very cool.

I havent touched my Pinto in 7 months. Not since the fire.

[r4pinto]

That's no good  . I read the post on the turbo site...Did a fuel line just go bad on the car or something? That part I didn't catch.

[Glassman]

I'm thinking an injector O ring leaked. I turned the fuel pressure and boost up at the track. Or the fuel rail cracked where the supply line connects to it. I haven't looked close at it yet. I did smell fuel before it caught fire.