[George]

Thanks for your input yanbros. The smell occurred during city driving up to 90 kms/hr. I might just change the trans filter and oil as a preventative measure since I doubt it hasn’t been changed for years.

[George]

No, the vehicle does not burn oil. I didn’t mention that I had stored it for the last three months at my dad’s acreage, so perhaps there was a nest built somewhere near the engine or exhaust during this time. However, it doesn’t make sense that I could smell it from the tail pipe. Anyway, the smell has tapered off, so hopefully there won’t be anything to worry about. Thanks for your input.

[George]

I checked the transmission oil: no smell and no color change from normal. Fortunately, the smell seems to be gradually going away which is a good sign. Thanks for your suggestion.

[George]

Good question about the procedure used in rebuilding the carb. The most recent work done on it was by a good friend of mine. I’ll have to ask him what he did exactly. I’ll also pursue your suggestions about a possible vacuum leak and ignition timing problem. Lately, I’ve been inundated with work and unable to spend any time with the vehicle. Hopefully, things will settle down next week and I will be able to look into the suggested causes offered by the site members. Thanks Bluesnut for yours, I’ll let you know what I find.

[George]

Thanks, Eric, for all the resources you posted for me. Gone are the days of heading to the library in the hopes of finding literature that might be of help for a backyard mechanic. Your site is awesome! I’ve really appreciated the help I’ve gotten from you and the other members from the site who have been so generous in sharing their experience and knowledge! The neck of my carb is stamped “Carter” but it has a tag attached to it that says “Autolite”. I’m looking forward to viewing the videos you posted. I’m sure they’ll be a great help in tracking down the solution to this stalling problem which has been plaguing this vehicle for the last ten years. I bought this vehicle thinking it would be a great way to learn about cars without having to deal with computer technology. But It has been a frustrating relationship and things are now on thin ice. If I can’t get this thing fixed, it might have to go. Your site is my best hope in getting it back on the road as I can’t afford to pay someone else to tinker with it.

[George]

Yes, your right about that. Thanks for setting me straight, Evil-I. I’ll check out the suggestion you posted regarding the accelerator pump linkage on the carb. Thanks for your input.

[George]

Thanks for your response, T-Rex. No, I haven’t had any issues with the engine backfiring but I’ll check the vacuum advance tubing for leaks. I don’t know much about how the vacuum advance system works. (I’ll have to read up on this.) There’s a black circular unit behind the carb that I assume is part of this system. Perhaps isn’t set right. This unit was actually scabbed from another carb after the original unit broke when a mechanic friend dropped it while rebuilding it. I’ll definitely follow up on your suggestions. Thanks again for your advice.

[George]

I took a look down the carb and did get a stream of gas coming out of the jet, I’m assuming there is only one jet on this carb. The Maverick has an inline six. I can drive the vehicle if I baby the gas pedal and be careful not to accelerate too suddenly. Is it possible that there might be a vacuum leak causing the problem? I haven’t checked for this yet. Thanks

[George]

Thanks for the video, Eric. I think I’ll pick up similar wire brushes for my angle grinder. I’ve done some of my own exhaust repair work with my mig, however, without a hoist, it’s pretty tough and hard to get a good weld! Just wondering if the green coveralls you were wearing are meant for welding?

[George]

Thanks for your advice, DaFirnz. You’re correct in saying there’s only so much you can do on you’re own driveway. I’ve had experience removing the power steering rack from a Pontiac 6000 but the one on this Mazda seems to be hard to access. Your comment about replacing the seals is worth bearing in mind. There is nothing more heartbreaking than to discover that the part that you’ve spent so much time and energy in removing and attempting to fix, is still leaking or failing! I suppose my next step will be to research what would be involved in removing the rack and then decide if the vehicle is worth the effort. Thanks again for taking the time to respond to my post.

[George]

Thanks a bunch for your advice! Should be a piece of cake to finish this job up now.

[George]

Yes, you’re right. I pulled a wiring diagram form “Shop Key” which showed a red/white wire going from the gauge to the sensor. But I’ve searched high and low for the sensor and couldn’t find it. Any idea where it might be?

[George]

The harness has two wires, black and green. I grounded out the black wire and turned the ignition to “run” but the gauge’s needle didn’t move. I checked the fuses under the driver side dash and all were good. I don’t have an owner’s manual for the motor-home so I don’t know what systems these fuses protect. I also searched for a fuse block in the engine compartment but couldn’t find any. I tried following the wires from the harness. They enter a taped bundle of wires running on top of the engine alongside the fuel injectors. I expected to see them separate from the bundle and head to the instrument panel, but they didn’t. This is leading me to wonder if I don’t have the wrong sensor. I thought of tracing the wires from the instrument panel but this seems quite involved. I don’t want to pull the instrument panel out if I don’t have to.
College Man, could you explain how to ohm the wires at the gauge and what resistance I should expect. Thanks again for your help.

[George]

Thanks for the advice, I checked for fusible links along the cable going from the starter solenoid to the alternator and found none. I also checked my fuses and found non that were blown, so I repaired the blown out wire and tried starting the truck. It started fine! Looks like I missed the bullet with this one. These Ford F150’s are pretty tough. Thanks again for your attention to this problem.

[George]

Just to follow up on the battery draining issue with my Mazda. As it turns out, the Daytime Running light system isn’t causing the drain. It seems to have something to do with the turn signal mechanism. I happened to discover it by chance while fiddling with it. A slight movement of the signal tree would turn the lights on. I found that if I placed the signal tree in the forward, high beam, position, the lights would turn off and stay off. So for the time being, I have instructed my daughter to keep the signal tree in this position unless she is driving at night. Looks like I’ll be hunting for another signal mechanism at a wrecker in order to fix the problem permanently. Though I have pulled steering wheels before on older vehicles in order to replace signal mechanisms, I have never tackled one that has an air bag. I’ll have to do some research first in order to find out how to disable the air bag system. That might be a new repair posting topic. Thanks again.

[Author]

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