1973 lincoln continental, starts but wont stay running, new carb, new distributor.
Asked by DALLYNE Dec 23, 2019 at 05:27 PM about the 1973 Lincoln Continental
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
when you start the car with starting fluid it runs for a minute but you have to hold the gas down but it still dies, the carb is getting gas and will start again if you use starting fluid. 1973 continental 460.
2 Answers
Make sure the choke is working properly.
Your first problem may be the new carburetor. I hope you didn't turn the old one in for the core charge. If you did, try and get it back!! Make sure you have the fast idle and curb idle speeds set correctly. Your shop manual will tell you how. Or a good repair manual will too. I prefer the factory shop manual. Are you using the correct starting procedure? This is not a fuel injection vehicle where you turn the key and go! For a cold engine: turn the ignition on, press the accelerator pedal to the floor ONCE and release it. With your foot off the pedal, start the engine. The choke plate should be closed and the engine should be running at about 1500 RPMs. After a minute or two the choke plate should begin to open. Tap the accelerator pedal to reduce the idle speed. After about 5 minutes the choke plate should be fully open and you can tap the accelerator pedal again to reduce the idle speed once more. While this is going on check the operation of the thermostat controlled air cleaner. Look in the snorkel, you'll see a little flapper door. It should be in the up position. This allows only preheated air to go to the carburetor. You'll see a hose connection on the bottom of the snorkel and, hopefully, a hose connection on the exhaust manifold. This needs to be hooked up and operating correctly to speed up warm up time and prevent carburetor icing in cool damp weather. Check the choke heat tube. One end screws into the carburetor at the choke housing and the other end pushes into the exhaust manifold. Hot exhaust gases are pulled in past the choke to warm it up so it will open like it's supposed to. Starting procedure for a warm or hot engine is press and hold the accelerator pedal about halfway to the floor and crank the engine. When the engine starts, release the accelerator pedal. Do NOT pump the accelerator pedal at any time while starting the engine! Pumping the accelerator is NEVER needed!! If you need to do that, something else is going on that needs attention! Hope that helps! Jim