Just A Few Questions.....

[col_ea]

Okay....let me be honest.....I know next to nothing about cars....So I'll make this short sharp and shiny.
About 3 years ago, when the EA Fairmont was still the main family car, It's Automatic Tranny died. My father had it replaced with a manual.
Now that My sister's moved out, my Parents got a new car, I sold my Stigma and recieved the old EA Fairmont as a gift from my Parents (For getting my L's).

To cut the long story Short....The car is running like...well...total crap...

When you start it (Takes a good 15-20 seconds before it catchen on) The RPM Fluctuates to the point where It's almost stalling, and almost up to 1K RPM.

When I'm driving, and put my foot on the clutch to change gears, Sometimes it WILL Stall. if I take my foot of the clutch slightly, It comes back to life, but more often than not...It wont....(This is changing down gears)

Another annoying little problem is the Power Steering system has a leak somewhere, I'm going though a litre of fluid in about 2 weeks, and my pockets arent really that deep...

My Questions Are;

1. Is it worth getting it fixed?
2. Should I get an auto put back in it?
3. What else could be done to help it run a lot better than it is?
and 4. Why does ti stall when I depress the clutch?

Thanks for reading all this, and Thanks in advance for any help or opinions you cna put forward.

[Kenaz]

2. Should I get an auto put back in it?

This is the only question I can answer. And the answer is no. Drive a manual and auto EA back to back and you'll see what I mean.

As for the running rough problem. When was the last time it had a decent service? Maybe it needs new leads, plugs etc.

Ash

[LTDHO]

Col, the ol' girls needs a bit of TLC.

Spend up on a major service and carbon cleaning.

[DUMTEF]

the stalling and fluctuating could also be a faulty map sensor

[spope]

It's also possible your idle speed control motor is sticking - and if your base idle is set too low, that can cause the car to stall when you depress the clutch.
Is the car CFI or MPFI? (ie, tennis racket air filter or boxed air filter?)
If it is MPFI, then it is just two bolts to pull the isc off - if it is cfi it is a bit of a pain, but not that tricky.
The power steering leak is probably from your pressure switch - it is around a $40 part from Ford, IIRC - easy to change.

As for making it run better, the usual suspects. Fluid changes, spark plugs, leads, cap, rotor will all make it a bit better if they have been neglected.

Is it worth getting it fixed? Yes - 5 speed falcons aren't common, and you could spend a small fortune getting another early Falcon regod and roadworthied - even a major service should only cost around $600 from Ford if you are that keen.

[ilsautomotive]

About the power steering, it's probably a leaky switch. I paid about $60 including labour so the part itself from Ford would be bugger all.

[col_ea]

Thanks for all your thoughts and replys.

I had a talk thismorning with my Mechanic and booked it in for a Major service this afternoon.

When I did mention the rough idling and the Stalling while depressing the clutch, he said that the idle speed control motor probably needed cleaning.

I forgot to mention the leaking Power Steering, bt I will do that when I drop it off later on.

Also, While idling (and driving) there is a ticking tound from the engine. I've been told this is "valve chatter" and that the oil has been too hot or something...Is this right?

I would've checked and replied to this earlier, but there was a blackout in my area thismorning.

One last thing....Could I put a tip computer in my EA? or isnt the ECU (Which is still the origirnal from the Auto, could that be a problem?) capable of utilizing it properly?

EDIT: 3.9L MPFI Engine 302,000 original KM