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75 Gran Torino, confusing everyone I know with weird symptoms

6K views 3 replies 2 participants last post by  miss_muffy 
#1 ·
I became the proud owner of my Torino a few months ago. It has a 351 Winsor with a two barrel carburetor. I'm new to this forum and really excited to be working on and learning about my car. When I first got it it was kinda hard to start and had an obvious miss and loss of power that wasn't consistent with when it would happen. It would stall out at stops and slow speeds, not start for awhile and act flooded and then it would start and run again eventually. When I'd first get it started if you gave it gas it would cut the engine off most of the time. So, I went out, bought and changed the PCV valve, the fuel filter, the spark plugs, wires, distributor cap, rotor button, some vacuum lines and gave her an oil change while I was at it. When I changed the oil I noticed a strong gas smell to it and gas that had sprayed over the new oil filter from the fuel pump, so I changed that too. After all of that it was starting and running alot smoother but still had the same problems at random times but usually not within the first 30 min. or so of driving unless I'd been driving it earlier. The problem with it stalling when I would apply the gas taking off from a stop or while idling was still a big concern so I took it to my mechanic who had helped before. He ended up finding that the firing pattern of the spark plug wires had been swapped and fixed that. After fixing that it ran slightly better but still had the same problem so I took it back. We adjusted the timing and it ran even better still but still had the problem. I wasn't able to work on it for about a month and drove it around pretty successfully but it would still lose power and stall after I'd been driving her around for awhile. So, when I had some extra time and money I went to get my carb rebuilt. I watched the mechanic take it apart and, as expected, a bunch of gunk came out of it. After putting it back together and putting it back on it wouldn't start and run...if it did start it wasn't for long, then we noticed gas spilling out under the car. The mechanic took the top off the carb and tried to adjust the float and needle and it appeared to be working properly but upon trying to start the car with the top still off it just shot the needle out of the seat and spurted gas 1 1/2 to 2 feet. We tried using the old needle to see if that made a difference, went back to the new one and made several attempts at readjusting them to get it started all to no avail. So I left the car for a day and he put on a fuel regulator between the fuel pump and the carb with an extra fuel filter and had to adjust the psi down to 1 1/2 to get it so idle without leaking. When I went to drive it home he told me to bump up the regulator half a psi at a time if it felt like it was running out of gas. I got it up to 2 1/2 psi by the time we'd gotten home. We popped the hood to tinker with it and noticed gas coming out of the bottom left side of the carb. That was yesterday. My other suggestions have been to replace the timing chain and gears to fix my original problem but i don't know where my carb problem came from or how to fix it. I thought rebuilding it would be an improvement. Any ideas? P.S. Does anyone know if this is the right forum for me? I'm just starting to learn and want a good forum for networking to learn as much as I can.
 
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#4 ·
I haven't gotten around to working on my Torino since I parked it when I first posted. I tinkered with it some and noticed gas coming from a round can shaped thing behind the passenger wheel under the alternator and smog pump. I think its a charcoal canister but I'm not sure. Whatever it is gas is definately coming from a round spot on the top of it or from some seals around it near the top. It spurted at least 20 ounces worth about 30 seconds after starting it and idling. I don't have the slightest clue whats going on with it but I'm going to get a better paying job to pay this car some more attention.
 
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