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Question
My 1968 mercury cougar (302 4bl) is running rough and stalling out. On the highway it will back fire. It was tune up professionaly mid summer and I put 300 miles since and it ran well until last week when I took it out for a weekend ride. The vaccuum system was disconnected from the engine to elimiate that problem. Where do I start to trouble shoot points, timming??? What are the point gaps timming marks??
To get the specs for your engine go to web site http://www.woodyg.com/fairlane/finfo/tuneup/tuneup2.jpg The first thing that I would check is to make sure that the tech that tuned your engine put a small amount of lubricant on the distributor cam. Without lube the rubbing block on the points will wear and close the points up and could be your problem. If the tech has not worked on point equiped cars for a while he could have forgotten the lube.
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| Rating(1-10) | Knowledgeability = 10 | Clarity of Response = 10 | Politeness = 10 |
| Comment | Brad thanks for taking the time to answer my question. The tech who perform the tune up has 35 years with working on vintage ford and mercury cars but you did help me at least have a starting point to check. Paul | ||
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Answers by Expert:
Brad Sears
Expertise
All automotive including antique and collectible. However if the car has been modified I can only answer in general terms and maybe get you pointed in the right direction.
Experience
Automotive tech instructor.
Syndicated auto columnist 1970's though the early 1990's.
Syndicated auto radio talk show, Ask Brad About cars, CBS Radio 70's through 90's
TV Show "Last Chance Garage" 1980's PBS-TV syndicated.
Auto instructor for the following companies:
Fram
Autolyte
Holly
Carter
AMF
Ford Motor
University Of Conn
Blue Hills Technical School
Sugar River Technical Center
Grew up in a family garage in Needham Mass and turned wrenches from the age of 14.
Publications
Manchester Union Leader, Nashua Telegraph, Motor Service Magazine, Yankee Magazine, Popular Mechanics (Saturday Mechanic early 80's), Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and lots more.
Education/Credentials
More than I care to remember.
Basically Franklin Technical Institute in Boston, Northeastern University, Fitchburg State Teachers College, Tufts University, and a lot of factory schools along the way.
Awards and Honors
Moto Award winner. And much more.
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