Ford Cortina Mk3 with a Tercel Engine 3A Vacuum Leak

[TURTCEL]

Aftermarket tachometers are about $30 bucks here in the states. Not sure what they would cost around your way but they are a nice thing to install if your tach is in question.

The accuracy of a factory tach with age on it can be quite questionable. If you hear the engine reving higher than what you think 3000k rpm's should sound like it is a possibility that your tach is inaccurate.

But, with how rough the car is running and I am sure the engine is noisy to a point (valves, exhaust leak, etc.) that even 3000k rpm's can sound like the engine is gonna blow up.

A cheap aftermarket tach is cheap reassurance and easy to install. It should come with all the necessary wires and instructions. Only 4 wires if I remember correctly.

I have always installed a tach on any manual trans vehicle that I have owned, I drive more by rpm's and sound than anything with a manual.

Peace

[DiNka]

sounds like a couple of issues, first make sure you have all the vacuum leaks found and capped off. if you have some carb cleaner spray you can use it to find some leaks by spraying it at various places around the base of the carb (use short puffs of spray), and where the engine rpm changes when you spray it, that is where the leak is located. Also check where the manifold meets the head for leaks as well.

ONce you are sure all the vac leaks are capped off, than you should experiment with the spark timing. You can do it yourself without a timing light, loosen the distributor bolt and advance it a little bit (the direction that causes idle speed to go up is in the advance direction) and than drive it. If you get no ping or knocking (a crackling sound from deep inside the engine) when you accelerated hard, than advace it a bit more. Keep doing this until you get that crackling sound (engine knock or ping), and than back off the timing to where you got no ping. YOu want the most advance where there is no ping or knock.

Your problem, best I can tell from the video, is you still have a vac leak, the timing could be too far retarded, needs to be advance, and you are shifting too early (based on the tach I can see in the video). You need to allow the engine to run up to about 3000 rpm before you shift, and much higher if you are accelerating. shifting and trying to accelerate at 1500 rpm will cause it to miss and stumble.

There is one other issue that might be at play here, make sure the trans is filled with the proper gear lube oil, if it is too low it will be hard to shift and might make load gear noise. The other is your clutch might be bad, you description sounds like clutch chatter, that happens when they get oil from a leaky seal (from either the back of the engine or the front of the trans). If you have a seal leaking on the clutch you will have to drop the trans and replace the clutch and the leaky seal(s).

first get the carb and timing sorted out, than try shifting at higher rpm and see how it acts.

This is kind of a strange experience: helping you fix your car from half way around the world. Good luck!

All taken to note, and when advancing the timing after loosening the bolt should I slide it to the top or down ? either way I will have to move it like 1 inch per time I guess. Yes I still guess its a vac leak and about the accelration part the Engine can't be reved to even 5K Its VERY hard to rev the engine even when idle it screams like a idiot but the rev meter doesnt go beyond 4.5K I don't keep reving as the sound scares me that the engine might blow up :/ I usally shit to the engine sound not the tacho meter both my dads van and the rav4 both toyota's are shifted the same but I rev the rav to about 3K rpm and it doesnt sound this bad at all! I'm not sure if the tacho is faulty but it said 4 cylinder on the back of it... Ohh yeah If I try to rev shift I will probably get the miss to hit around 3K rpm

Ps- if the knocking and pingin sound come should I stop the engine immediately and readjust it ? Like if when I'm driving it start to knock and ping

I pulled the distributor a little up to the top and it started to knock and got it down a bit and went on a ride it seemed to have better accelration and the miss wasn't there on the 1st gear but when in 3rd or 4th it did hit but this time it was better had more power !
And my vacuum advance in the distributor looks like this what should I connect the hose to the top or the botom ?atm its connected to the botom

[DiNka]

Aftermarket tachometers are about $30 bucks here in the states. Not sure what they would cost around your way but they are a nice thing to install if your tach is in question.

The accuracy of a factory tach with age on it can be quite questionable. If you hear the engine reving higher than what you think 3000k rpm's should sound like it is a possibility that your tach is inaccurate.

But, with how rough the car is running and I am sure the engine is noisy to a point (valves, exhaust leak, etc.) that even 3000k rpm's can sound like the engine is gonna blow up.

A cheap aftermarket tach is cheap reassurance and easy to install. It should come with all the necessary wires and instructions. Only 4 wires if I remember correctly.

I have always installed a tach on any manual trans vehicle that I have owned, I drive more by rpm's and sound than anything with a manual.

Peace

I will have to buy one soon.

[dlb]

I pulled the distributor a little up to the top and it started to knock and got it down a bit and went on a ride it seemed to have better accelration and the miss wasn't there on the 1st gear but when in 3rd or 4th it did hit but this time it was better had more power !
And my vacuum advance in the distributor looks like this what should I connect the hose to the top or the botom ?atm its connected to the botom

what do you mean you "pulled the distributor a little up to the top"? you either turn it clockwise or counterclockwise. clockwise advances the timing, counterclockwise retards it. you really need to do this with a timing light because it's pretty precise and extremely difficult to set by feel alone.

i think i mentioned this before. the bottom port of the vac advance needs to go to ported vacuum on the carb, and the upper port needs to go to manifold vacuum. first though, you need to test your vac advance: put a clean hose on each port and suck, and then plug the end of the hose with your tongue. if you can suck air through with no resistance, the vac advance diaphragms are broken and the vac advance unit should either be replaced or the hoses should be removed and the ports plugged. if you hear the diaphragm go 'pop' and it holds vacuum against your tongue, that diaphragm is good. one diaphragm can be broken while the other is good so test both ports.

[DiNka]

I pulled the distributor a little up to the top and it started to knock and got it down a bit and went on a ride it seemed to have better accelration and the miss wasn't there on the 1st gear but when in 3rd or 4th it did hit but this time it was better had more power !
And my vacuum advance in the distributor looks like this what should I connect the hose to the top or the botom ?atm its connected to the botom

what do you mean you "pulled the distributor a little up to the top"? you either turn it clockwise or counterclockwise. clockwise advances the timing, counterclockwise retards it. you really need to do this with a timing light because it's pretty precise and extremely difficult to set by feel alone.

i think i mentioned this before. the bottom port of the vac advance needs to go to ported vacuum on the carb, and the upper port needs to go to manifold vacuum. first though, you need to test your vac advance: put a clean hose on each port and suck, and then plug the end of the hose with your tongue. if you can suck air through with no resistance, the vac advance diaphragms are broken and the vac advance unit should either be replaced or the hoses should be removed and the ports plugged. if you hear the diaphragm go 'pop' and it holds vacuum against your tongue, that diaphragm is good. one diaphragm can be broken while the other is good so test both ports.

Up mean clockwise sorry about that my unprofessional-ness When I did that the rpm did go a bit high and it started to knock so i kept on slowly going counter clockwise as the part where is shows 5,10,15,20 is broken -_- WEll I got to a point where it didn't knock and went for a ride much better power when accelerating on 1st gear almost no miss... and about the secondary the bottom port is connected to the Carb but the one on top is left alone so I caped it in case it was leaking where about does that get connected in the manifold ?

[dlb]

the part where is shows 5,10,15,20 is broken

that will make setting the timing accurately very difficult.

the bottom port is connected to the Carb but the one on top is left alone so I caped it in case it was leaking where about does that get connected in the manifold ?

remember that you have to test your vac advance unit first. if it's broken and you can suck air through one or both diaphragms, that means the engine will suck air through them too...which means more vacuum leaks.

the bottom port cannot be connected to any port on the carb. it must be to the correct one or else it might advance the timing at the wrong time, which will cause poor running. look at this vacuum diagram and follow the red line from the distributor vac advance on the top right to the port on the upper left of the carb—this is where the bottom vac advance port should be hooked up to, or simply disconnect and plug the vac advance. better not to advance it than advance it at the wrong time.

http://tercel4wd.com/download/file.php? ... &mode=view

the port seen here just below the big 'AE' is manifold vacuum.



if it only has one port and something is already connected to it, get a T-fitting for it so you can run two things off manifold vacuum.

[DiNka]

the part where is shows 5,10,15,20 is broken

that will make setting the timing accurately very difficult.

the bottom port is connected to the Carb but the one on top is left alone so I caped it in case it was leaking where about does that get connected in the manifold ?

remember that you have to test your vac advance unit first. if it's broken and you can suck air through one or both diaphragms, that means the engine will suck air through them too...which means more vacuum leaks.

the bottom port cannot be connected to any port on the carb. it must be to the correct one or else it might advance the timing at the wrong time, which will cause poor running. look at this vacuum diagram and follow the red line from the distributor vac advance on the top right to the port on the upper left of the carb—this is where the bottom vac advance port should be hooked up to, or simply disconnect and plug the vac advance. better not to advance it than advance it at the wrong time.

http://tercel4wd.com/download/file.php? ... &mode=view

the port seen here just below the big 'AE' is manifold vacuum.



if it only has one port and something is already connected to it, get a T-fitting for it so you can run two things off manifold vacuum.

http://i.imgur.com/p0zw84R.jpg

So the line from the bottom of the advance should fit on the one I've circled small. I dono what the hell the previous owner has done bypassing it

This is where the advance is connected atm I should cap that when i shift to the other port as when i removed it today to change the timing it was sucking air.


And about the manifold vacuum port it was used by the choke opener not any more as the choke is fully open so i should find a longer tube and connect that.

[dlb]

...only if your vac advance diaphragms still work. check them first.

[DiNka]

...only if your vac advance diaphragms still work. check them first.

I will

[Petros]

I bet you area thrilled to be able to drive it at last, even if not running perfectly.

I would not mess with the distributor vac advance just yet. Just block all of the vac lines off for now. It will run fine without any of the vac advance lines hooked up, once we sort everything else out and it is running good than we can look at it. If the vac advance on the distributor is leaking it will act like a vac leak and not work anyway, so for now disconnect any vac lines going to it and cap or plug them off. The vac advance helps economy at hwy speeds by advancing the timing about 12 degrees during part throttle cruise conditions, but it will run fine without it. At intermediate speeds and during acceleration is does nothing.

When you trial and error the timing by turning the distributor you get a two to one advantage: for every 10 degs of angle you turn the distributor you get 5 degrees advance. So if you move it to advance or retard direction (clockwise or anti-clockwise) move it about in 10 deg increments or less. Be patient and do it a little at a time and you can get it perfect without a timing light. The most advance you can run without getting the ping on hard acceleration is where you want it. Slight ping will not harm it much, you can drive it lightly if you get ping to get back home. If you get heavy ping, than I would stop and back it off (carry the 12mm wrench with you). Too much pinging and it can harm the head gasket and overheat the exhaust valves where they might fail, a little bit will not cause harm.

It still sounds like you may have a vac leak somewhere, by running too lean it will want to ping more, a vac leak will make it too lean. So you much check all of the places you could have a vac leak, all the components and gaskets, the carb body (especially at the throttle shaft). If you do not have carb spray to help you find it you can also use a propane torch by allowing the raw gas out of a hose around the engine, manifold, carb, etc. and it will make the engine speed change when it gets sucked in. You can also use a hose like a doctors sethescope, you listen in one end and move the hose around the carb and intake manifold, you can hear a sucking sound (put the hose end in the carb throat to see how it sounds). Once you have found all the vac leaks and fix them, than adjust the idle mixture screw. than go back to trying to find the best spark timing.

After you have that all sorted out, than you can check out the vacuum advance diaphragm for correct operation and connect it back up. If it leaks than there is no point in connecting it. Most of the ones I have seen in cars this old in the United States are not working and act like a vac leak, the owners had no idea. So if you are lucky enough to have a good one, than that is the last thing you should mess with. If it not good, do not worry about it.

If you are sure you have no vac leaks and the timing is the best you can make it, and it still runs like crap, than you might have a weak coil, marginal component in the distributor (check for a weak spark), or the carb needs to be rebuilt. You can clean out the carb yourself if you are careful and follow the FSM procedure, use carb cleaner on all the parts and reassemble it. If you do not damage the gaskets you can reuse them and not have to buy a rebuild kit if you can not find one. I have clean out carbs without using a kit to make them run better. A full rebuild with a new kit would be best, but you can try cleaning it out first. Watch out for the tiny parts! loose any and it will never run properly. Have a clean workspace with a clean paper to put the parts on in the order you take them off.

Good luck.

[DiNka]

I bet you area thrilled to be able to drive it at last, even if not running perfectly.

I would not mess with the distributor vac advance just yet. Just block all of the vac lines off for now. It will run fine without any of the vac advance lines hooked up, once we sort everything else out and it is running good than we can look at it. If the vac advance on the distributor is leaking it will act like a vac leak and not work anyway, so for now disconnect any vac lines going to it and cap or plug them off. The vac advance helps economy at hwy speeds by advancing the timing about 12 degrees during part throttle cruise conditions, but it will run fine without it. At intermediate speeds and during acceleration is does nothing.

When you trial and error the timing by turning the distributor you get a two to one advantage: for every 10 degs of angle you turn the distributor you get 5 degrees advance. So if you move it to advance or retard direction (clockwise or anti-clockwise) move it about in 10 deg increments or less. Be patient and do it a little at a time and you can get it perfect without a timing light. The most advance you can run without getting the ping on hard acceleration is where you want it. Slight ping will not harm it much, you can drive it lightly if you get ping to get back home. If you get heavy ping, than I would stop and back it off (carry the 12mm wrench with you). Too much pinging and it can harm the head gasket and overheat the exhaust valves where they might fail, a little bit will not cause harm.

It still sounds like you may have a vac leak somewhere, by running too lean it will want to ping more, a vac leak will make it too lean. So you much check all of the places you could have a vac leak, all the components and gaskets, the carb body (especially at the throttle shaft). If you do not have carb spray to help you find it you can also use a propane torch by allowing the raw gas out of a hose around the engine, manifold, carb, etc. and it will make the engine speed change when it gets sucked in. You can also use a hose like a doctors sethescope, you listen in one end and move the hose around the carb and intake manifold, you can hear a sucking sound (put the hose end in the carb throat to see how it sounds). Once you have found all the vac leaks and fix them, than adjust the idle mixture screw. than go back to trying to find the best spark timing.

After you have that all sorted out, than you can check out the vacuum advance diaphragm for correct operation and connect it back up. If it leaks than there is no point in connecting it. Most of the ones I have seen in cars this old in the United States are not working and act like a vac leak, the owners had no idea. So if you are lucky enough to have a good one, than that is the last thing you should mess with. If it not good, do not worry about it.

If you are sure you have no vac leaks and the timing is the best you can make it, and it still runs like crap, than you might have a weak coil, marginal component in the distributor (check for a weak spark), or the carb needs to be rebuilt. You can clean out the carb yourself if you are careful and follow the FSM procedure, use carb cleaner on all the parts and reassemble it. If you do not damage the gaskets you can reuse them and not have to buy a rebuild kit if you can not find one. I have clean out carbs without using a kit to make them run better. A full rebuild with a new kit would be best, but you can try cleaning it out first. Watch out for the tiny parts! loose any and it will never run properly. Have a clean workspace with a clean paper to put the parts on in the order you take them off.

Good luck.

Got it and about the carb cleaning I did that long time back about 2 weeks ago i didnt rebuild i cleaned it . I will carry on the inspection 2mrw its 2Am here

[DiNka]

OK I tested the advanced vacuum and the bottom one isn't damaged but port on the top is so as petro's said I caped them gonna go on a spin in a while and will report back

[dlb]

if the bottom port is good, it can be hooked up as mentioned earlier. just plug the broken top port and the corresponding manifold vac port.

[Petros]

DBL,

Please stop! I know you are trying to be helpful but you keep going on about the vac advance and it is only complicating sorting out the problems. The vacuum advance is not important to getting it running properly!!!!

DiNka, just cap it off for now! Leave the vac advance as one of the last things to test and connect, you do not need it to make it run well.

Work through everything else, make sure all the other systems are working, AND THAN go back to connect the vacuum advance. By capping it off you eliminate the vac advance in the beginning as a possible problem, it makes getting the car running properly much easier.

Sorting out a engine that has had this much monkey business done to it must be done systematically. We do not even know the extent of the problems yet, if you try and fix it by randomly changing one thing after another you many never getting it to run right.

You can not adjust the mixture properly if there are ANY vac leaks anywhere on the engine, you can not get the timing set properly if either there are vacuum leaks or if the mixture is adjusted improperly, you can not get anything adjusted properly if there is erratic or irregular spark.

So please use this procedure: just cap off all open vac ports first (use individual caps, not plugging vac lines into one port and to another), look for and correct any other possible vacuum leaks. Than adjust the mixture. Than adjust the timing as I outlined above. Check for strong spark, if okay and if it still runs like crap than work your way through the carburetor using the FSM (you will need to study both the emissions control chapter and the fuel system chapter), connecting each of the components, or by-pass them, one at a time until you solve the problem. Once it is running good you than can go back and connect the vac advance, if it runs like crap after than you know something is wrong with the vac advance.

you will only solve this problem by first eliminate all of the systems that are not necessary for proper running, that way you eliminate a possible problem (or multiple problems) that will prevent you from finding and correcting critical systems malfunctions. Anyone of systems can mask and hide other problems, it will be very difficult to sort it out without systematically going through each system in turn in the proper order. It is not enough to assume they are working properly, especially when there is likely multiple issues.

I once bought a Tercel4wd real cheap because it ran like crap, in addition to having a failed diff. I replace the diff and than turned my attention to the engine. the collage kid that owned thought it needed a carb rebuild, I found NINE vacuum leaks and misrouted vac lines. After I fixed those, and made a few adjustments it ran fine, but it took a while to sort it all out.

[DiNka]

DBL,

Please stop! I know you are trying to be helpful but you keep going on about the vac advance and it is only complicating sorting out the problems. The vacuum advance is not important to getting it running properly!!!!

DiNka, just cap it off for now! Leave the vac advance as one of the last things to test and connect, you do not need it to make it run well.

Work through everything else, make sure all the other systems are working, AND THAN go back to connect the vacuum advance. By capping it off you eliminate the vac advance in the beginning as a possible problem, it makes getting the car running properly much easier.

Sorting out a engine that has had this much monkey business done to it must be done systematically. We do not even know the extent of the problems yet, if you try and fix it by randomly changing one thing after another you many never getting it to run right.

You can not adjust the mixture properly if there are ANY vac leaks anywhere on the engine, you can not get the timing set properly if either there are vacuum leaks or if the mixture is adjusted improperly, you can not get anything adjusted properly if there is erratic or irregular spark.

So please use this procedure: just cap off all open vac ports first (use individual caps, not plugging vac lines into one port and to another), look for and correct any other possible vacuum leaks. Than adjust the mixture. Than adjust the timing as I outlined above. Check for strong spark, if okay and if it still runs like crap than work your way through the carburetor using the FSM (you will need to study both the emissions control chapter and the fuel system chapter), connecting each of the components, or by-pass them, one at a time until you solve the problem. Once it is running good you than can go back and connect the vac advance, if it runs like crap after than you know something is wrong with the vac advance.

you will only solve this problem by first eliminate all of the systems that are not necessary for proper running, that way you eliminate a possible problem (or multiple problems) that will prevent you from finding and correcting critical systems malfunctions. Anyone of systems can mask and hide other problems, it will be very difficult to sort it out without systematically going through each system in turn in the proper order. It is not enough to assume they are working properly, especially when there is likely multiple issues.

I once bought a Tercel4wd real cheap because it ran like crap, in addition to having a failed diff. I replace the diff and than turned my attention to the engine. the collage kid that owned thought it needed a carb rebuild, I found NINE vacuum leaks and misrouted vac lines. After I fixed those, and made a few adjustments it ran fine, but it took a while to sort it all out.

Yeah I though of going step by step and Now i'm tring to find any vacuum leaks from the place where the carb gets connected to the manifold