I posted last winter about a problem with my truck, '69 360. Whenever you start it up in the morning it takes a lot of work to warm it up. If you press the gas too far it will sputter and act like it is not running on all cylendars but if you don't give it gas it will just die. This happens no matter what the temperature is outside but when its cold (50s and lower) it is worse. Then when you put it in gear and let off on the clutch and give it gas it will start to sputter again, but if you let off the gas then it will just stall. So the only way to get it out ofthe driveway is to press in the clutch, then let off the clutch, then press in the clutch, and let off the clutch. Even if you try to pop the clutch a little it will start to sputter. So when you finally get it out of the drive way and go down the road at 55 for two miles and stop at a stop sign the engine will start to die, or even sometimes it will die immediatly after you press the clutch. So over the summer I did some work to it, but the problem has not changed at all. Some things I did were:
-rebuild the original carb,and when that did nothing for the problem I bought a new one(2 barrel).
-replaced all intake gaskets and carb gaskets
-checked the timing gears
-replaced the plug wires, dist. cap, rotor, points and condenser
-tuned it up
-checked the compression in all cylendars, all good
Do you guys' have any ideas? Once the engine warms up, it runs fine, if I shut it off and come back within twenty minutes or so(depending on how cold it is outside) it will not have any of these problems.
thanks for the help
brad

 

It sounds like the choke isn't setting. The next cold morning, before you even touch the key, pop off the air cleaner and take a look at your choke. It should be at least partially closed. If not, then you'll probably need to adjust it. On mine I just loosen the black plastic cylinder and give it a small fraction of a turn (like maybe 1/8" or 1/4" on the circumference) in the rich direction until I like how it starts and runs.

Good luck!

--Matt



1972 F250 Custom Sport Camper Special 4x2 360 2v C6 3.73
Soon to have a 104" wheelbase as part of a Broncification project
My FTE Website -- http://www.clubfte.com/users/mlf72f250/index.html
My Galleries -- https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gallery/displaygallery.php?userid=1108

 

Your truck sounds just like mine. I know my problem is the choke, just been to lazy to put on the electric one I bought.

 

I have a manual choke. Do they sell kits to change to an electric choke? How hard is it to do this?
thanks
brad

 

If you already have a manual choke, I would probably keep it. You can check to see how the choke plate moves as you pull the cable. I put a manual choke on a 302 that doesn't get started very often. Used to take a lot of cranking. Now it starts easily if I pull the choke out a little.

 

It does not have a problem starting it's just hard to keep it running. So I was wondering if an electric choke would be able to adjust as I am warming it up.
thanks
brad

 

It isn’t the choke! The truck starts fine cold, and almost immediately runs rough. That tells me that the system to warm the incoming air, fuel, intake, choke release, is not working. The choke is not coming off like it should. Installing a manual choke will not solve this problem. Ford used several combinations of systems to warm up the incoming air and take the choke off. Do this; Cold engine, remove the air cleaner, press the accelerator to the floor and release, (the choke closes), start the engine and lay the back of your finger on the intake at the base of the carburetor, with your other hand force the choke open a little so the engine does not stall. Your finger should be getting really hot within about 30 seconds. If it doesn't the exhaust passage in th4 heads or the intake are blocked with carbon. Also check for a exhaust manifold heat riser, if you have one be sure it is closing (cold) and opening as the engine warms. Then check the warm air supply to the intake from the right exhaust manifold, the engine needs hot air when it is cold or the carburetor will ice up and run like crap. Make sure the choke is coming off after the engine is at running temp 180 degrees minimum, 190 if you live in the north. I use a manual choke, exhaust manifold heat riser and a hot coolant plate under the carburetor. I live in Georgia.
William in Atlanta

 

Hey Brad-

Is the choke pull-off adjusted correctly on your carb. When you pull your choke cable, the choke plate should be closed. When the engine starts, the choke pull-off should open the plate about 3/16" to 1/4".

If you can't get the choke pull-off to work correctly with your manual choke setup, or if you don't have one at all, put a cable stop on your choke cable or adjust it so that when you pull the cable all the way out, you still have that gap between the plate and the air horn.

Try this and see if it works for you. I did away with all that heat riser / intake heater crap along time ago and have NEVER had any problems starting and running my hoopie when it's cold out.

Joe

 

I started my truck and put my hand on the intake manifold and had the truck running for about 3 minutes but it never got hot, there was only a little bit of heat that you could barely feel. I will try that choke pull off idea before I do any tearing apart of the engine.
thanks for all the great information
brad

 

Gentlemen! Check out mlf72f250s gallery under pictures of the carburetor. See how many different ways Ford uses to heat the choke and incoming air fuel mixture. In cold wet climates these are a must and in really cold climates we use oil and coolant heaters. The PCV adapter uses hot coolant to heat the carburetor base (these were disconnected). I don't see the wires for a electric choke element heater that is usually present, (may not be required)? Near the choke element housing (black round thing) is a saddle that the heater hose should lay in, providing more heat for the choke element. Below the choke element housing is a white tube (white stuff is insulating materiel to keep the tube warm), that transmits hot air from the exhaust manifold to the choke element. On the air cleaner is a hose that connects to a can/shield type affair that takes hot air from the right exhaust manifold and puts it in the incoming air stream. And! Out of sight is the exhaust manifold heat riser (left exhaust manifold) that forces hot exhaust gasses across through the intake manifold below the carburetor. This passage is really hot and burns the paint off the intake in this area. You probably don’t need all of these but you do need most of them. I use a manual choke, Edelbrock 1605 600cfm carburetor, PCV hot coolant adapter and exhaust manifold heat riser. My truck is garaged and I live in Atlanta.
William in Atlanta

 

I think some of you guys are getting automatic and manual chokes confused. The manual choke does not have a pulloff valve. The driver is supposed to perform this function by releasing the choke a little after it starts up.

Also, somebody mentioned setting the choke by pressing and depressing the accelerator. Again, this is how you set an automatic choke. That's because you have to release the high-idle cam by pressing the accelerator. You need to press the accelerator when you pull the cable on a manual choke, too, so the high-idle cam does not bind - but just pressing the accelerator alone on a manual choke is not going to do anything.

Hope this clears up some confusion.

 

Maybe one of your ports in your intake has a little carbon build up
Take it off and taker it to a machine shop and have them dip in a vat to clean it out. cost about 20 bucks ?or maybe you have some bad valves and seals in your heads? Just an idea


Brian in Albq.
68 ford 390

 

No confusion here- I was assuming he started out with an electric choke like mine, THEN went to a manual setup. In which case, the choke pull-off would still be in place.

Think about it.

Joe

 

my truck did the same thing ( 1972- 302 ) till i installed a manual choke. when i bought my new edlebrock performer carb, i stuck with the manual setup since it worked so well.
i would definitely try it before i started tearing the motor apart

mike