I've had my Ford Capri 3.0 Ghia (automatic) for just over a year. It has been stood in a garage since 1994 and was put on the road just over 6 months ago after being somewhat rebuilt (still some welding needs to be done, but most parts under the bonnet have been replaced). I've been using it as a daily driver to get to work and back since it was put back on the road. I'm not mechanically inclined and I rely on our Haynes book and my dad for his knowledge. I've been having a number of issues with it:
- After 20 minutes or so of driving (typically when the car's warm) the fuel starts to drain back from the filter. If I turn the engine off, I can visually see the filter drain of fuel and it struggles to start up. We changed out the mechanical fuel pump for an electrical one - and while it still seems to drain back, it fires up after about 10 seconds of turning the key - whereas with the mechanical pump it wouldn't fire up until we slackened off the pump and fiddled around with it. Even with the electrical pump, if I stop to run an errand after driving for 15+ mins - it struggles to fire / stalls when I put it in gear.
- The temperature gauge shoots up to nearly red after about 20 minutes of driving. We've fitted an electric fan and radiator that kicks in at around 40 deg. Didn't have this issue until about a week ago (coincidentally after my dad damaged some of the fins and we sorted it with something you put into the radiator that plugs the leak). We left the viscous fan on as well.
- Constant ticking sound while driving. As I rev the engine, it gets louder. We've had the heads off and have adjusted the tappets several times to no avail. Old man seems to think it's the speedo cable, which we're waiting on a new one to be delivered. I'm doubtful of that.
- Smells fuel rich while running. Have done the classic screw the air-fuel screw in and then back it off a turn and a half, but it still smells fuel rich. Carb has been off and had all the diaphragms and gaskets replaced.
- When you put it into gear (reverse or drive) the revs drop from 1000 (idle) to 750 and bounce up and down between 500 and 750 as if it's going to stall. It quite often stalls if you leave it in gear while holding the brake. My dad says that this is normal for an old car, but I highly doubt it.
If anyone has encountered these problems before and could shed some light on these issues, that'd be amazing. I've spent countless hours googling and looking up each of these problems. I owned and restored a 1.6 Laser with my old man before getting the 3.0, and I never had any issues like these with it.
