Stalling in netural

[johnvincent]

After doing some searching, I've found some information buried in other posts but since I'm having this specific problem I wanted to ask about it specifically.

My *new* Terc is stalling when I shift into neutral. At first, this would happen only cold wet nights, of which there are plenty this time of year in Portland, OR. I recently had the alternator belt replaced and it's happening more than usual now.

Here's a rundown of the issue...

- First morning start is OK and idles around 1500 for a few minutes but then gradually slows down and stalls.
- I can start the car, get it in gear quickly and accelerate to start moving but as soon as I shift to neutral, the RPMs drop and it stalls again.
- If the car stalls but it has momentum, I can shift it into an appropriate gear (usually 2nd or 3rd) and with a little gas it'll lunge forward and "wake up" from being stalled.

I've been having to rev the engine at stoplights to keep the car from stalling out. Otherwise, I have to turn the key to get it going again.

Any thoughts - thinking it's not the alternator like my friend thought. Another person suggested it might be the vacuum system? Could be a carb issue or perhaps something with the fuel pump?

Thanks!

[irowiki]

Your idle may be set too low?

[dlb]

how long ago did you first notice this problem, john?

i agree with paul that it may be as simple as the idle being set too low. it could also be just a big vacuum leak, or a handful of them. i doubt it would be fuel related because with that, you usually have issues during high fuel demand times, like hard acceleration. i also doubt it's the alternator or battery because if it was, your battery would be dead and you wouldn't be able to start the car again.

try turning the idle screw in 1 or 2 turns, start the car, and see if that improves the warm idle. if it doesn't, turn it back to where it was and check for vacuum leaks by doing the following.

remove the air filter housing and make sure all the vacuum hoses are going to the right places. there should be a vacuum diagram on the underside of the hood so use that. if you can't tell where some of the hoses go (some are hard to see) disconnect both ends and blow through to make sure you have the right end. suck on the hoses that go to each diaphragm (like the vacuum advance unit on the distributor, both diaphragms of the choke breaker, the choke opener, throttle positioner, A/C kick up if you have A/C, etc) and make sure you cannot suck air through. if you can, the diaphragm is ruptured and is a vacuum leak. disconnect the hose from it and plug the hose until you can replace the diaphragm. make sure all four 12 mm nuts securing the carb are snug but DON'T OVERTIGHTEN THEM. you can check most of the intake and exhaust manifold bolts too, they are 14 mm. there are one or two that you can only access by removing the carb but i wouldn't bother with that just yet.

let us know what you find.

[Petros]

do not mess with the idle just yet. typical it acts this way with a vacuum leak, too lean after the choke opens up all the way. it also causes the fast idle. check for vac leaks first. lots of threads on this topic.

good luck.