Not a Ford, but you guys are the best.
My 12 year old son just recently got 72 VW Beetle. It runs pretty good except it occasionally dies out. I hate intermittent problems. We drove into town and it started to cut out and lose power on the highway. It then caught and sputtered at about 40 mph and then ran ok. A couple hours later we were coming home the back way and it died out again, only this time it wouldn’t start at all. We towed it home, but at the bottom of our driveway it started and I was able to drive it up the driveway. My 18 year old then said that the same thing had happened to him a while ago when he borrowed the car. It wouldn't go over 40 and he was afraid it was gonna die.
I know it doesn’t take much to make these engines run, spark and gas, but what would cause intermittent problems like this? What are the symptoms of a bad condenser? I’m putting new points in it today but didn’t think about the condenser when I was a the auto parts store yesterday.. What about the coil? Do they die slowly, intermittently?

Thanks in advance,

 

Don't forget to check for loose wires in-between too.

 

Drive it till it acts up again. Check for gas at the carb. Check for spark at the coil, and whether the coil is real hot. I'd bet on the ignition system, condenser or coil, but rust in the (very long) fuel lines is a possibility too. Does it start right up after one of these incidents, or does it need to crank a while (like it needs to suck fuel all the way back)? If it starts right up, sounds like ignition.

 

Heat will cause electrical components to act up. Does it run okay when it's cold? Restart easily after it's had a chance to cool off? I'd be really suspicious of the coil, myself.

 

Ok, here is an update. Replaced points (old ones didn't look bad, but I had already bought the new ones for $6.00) Wouldn't start. There was gas in the fuel filter between the fuel pump and the carb. Now I'm thinkin stuck float.... Float bowl was empty. Took fuel line off fuel pump, no gas.... blew air through and then I got gas.. (coming out the fuel line.) Blew air through a couple more times, hooked everything up and ran good.

My daughters car is broke (needs new master cylinder for the clutch) so I told her to take the VW.... she breaks down about 3 miles from the house. Get my 18 year old out of bed (yes, it's 10:30am) and I drive down the road and my daughter takes my car to work and my son comes and we tow the VW home.

SO my question now is... if there is junk in the trunk (gas tank) how do I clean it out? I blew the line out again, actually it came loose from where it goes through the fire wall and leaked quite a bit onto the ground till I could get it jacked up and get under there. Now it's all back together and it ran fine for about 20 minutes. (Then I shut it off and came inside.)
I'm thinkin to just drain the tank, but if there is stuff...????
And of course it still could be the coil... or 5 other things.. LOL
As always thanks in advance.

 

happened to my '85 f150 when I tugged on that flattie stuck in the tundra last Spring. jerked the truck and knocked something loose in the tank. Rust flakes or other debris in the tank will clog the fuel line. Only way I know of to getting everything out involves removing the tank, pouring out all the gas (hopefully not much in there, good for brush fires) and shake everything out. If this car is going to be a project of some sort, it may be a good idea to prep the inside of the tank just like any of ours. This may or may not be the cure, but it would make sense to one of the problems.

I would rule out any other possibilities first. get a piece of fuel line, a gas can, and see if it will run smoother that way.

 

Scott,
Yeah that's sorta my thinkin... I may just let the gas drain into a large jar for awhile and see if there is any 'junk' in it. If so, then as you said... pull and prep.
Just what I needed.
I LIKE working on my truck, not so much on vehicles just to keep them running.

 

Hey, that's daily for me, lol. Pulled the rear wheels off my Saturn the other day for new tires, resting on jackstands. The other 4 jackstands are under my tbird in the garage. Today the wife's Blazer makes a whining noise. Want to jack up the truck to see if the 4wd is stuck engaged, hmm, which jackstands do I use? Then I have the breaker bar on the Meteor that I've been trying to free the engine on, the 73 IH pulled out front on Fri. to get that running before pulling the engine when the rear end fell right out, and today I made room in the garage for the '48 frame to come in, now that I have AC, lol. It never ends. Atleast my repaired Jeep is working....til tomorrow?

Moral of this: keep going. Someday I might get to work on what I want to work on.

Steve, if you have a can of good gas handy, you can direct inject it into the carb or use a hose aft of the fuel pump. Unless it's inside the tank, and see if it runs.

 

I'd pull the tank, clean it and coat it, and replace all the rubber hoses in the system. It will take less time that towing it home again! Remember it's 30 yrs old, hard to believe, isn't it?

PS doesn't that **** you off about kids that sleep til noon??!! My son was supposed to come over "early" Saturday to change out the U-joints in his Mustang. At 10:30 he was having breakfast, he didn't get here til noon. My old man would have kicked my butt out of bed if I was still in bed at 9:00... How times have changed

 

Ross, I can relate from the other spectrum end. Sleeping on my grandfather's couch in a room where we were putting up sheetrock, he was running the drill, saw and every other power tool at 5:00am. Talk about a rude awakening. Guess he wanted my help, lol.

 

Do you have an inline fuel filter? I always ran a few disposable filters and replaced regularly on my 70 baja...they are super cheap...

I am thinking it is a fuel problem too. Sounds like you tried this already, but sometimes the float needle can get stuck...give the carb bowl a couple whacks with the back of a screwdriver or something that won't cause too much damage! See if that changes anything.
Also take off the brass plug on the bottom of the bowl let the fuel drain out...blow out the jet that is behind the plug while you are at it.

Also, Do you see a stream of gas at the top of the carb when you work the accelerator pump? If not, or it is weak - rebuild the carb.

At any rate, a carb rebuild is a cheap and easy fix for these...the kits are like 12 bucks I think....at least they used to be!

What carb do you have on it? solex? 30/31?

It has been a while, but I still remember fixing my bug all the time. I think I may have had this same problem or similar one at some point? I remember rebuilding my carb and having the problem fixed.

 

some of the guys are right on target i beleive as it's the same freaking issue mine has { the 53 } decided to develop three days before the big cruise . crap in the fuel system . i only have the filter between the tank and electric pump left to change now , as i already changed the other , and we shall see . mine runs fine going down the road , but ocassionally , and when i let it deccelareate while in gear , will have trouble idling . goose her and bam she's running fine again . the inline was full of crap so i know the other one is too . tank has been off the truck and cleaned and coated 3 times but still we have crapola floating ...... such is the life for us fools and our old cars !!!!!!!!!! i love it though !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!