I am a Newbie. I have a 95 T-Bird SC that I bought from a "mechanic" this summer and have been seeing intermittent problems with the car. I suspect that I have a vacuum leak but because I'm not a mechanic, I wanted to get your opinions.
Issue 1: When starting the car while it's cold, the car runs pretty good and idles as it should. However, when starting the car after it's warm. It takes a while for it to start like it's not getting fuel. It often idles very rough and almost stalls.
Issue 2: My check engine light goes on and off throughout my driving. It's not a flashing or blinking light but it comes on from anywhere from 5 seconds to several minutes. It usually comes on when quickly accelerating and then letting off (passing) but does often come on during normal driving in the city. This may be a bit overboard but it seems like the light never comes on when I have the cruise control on. Once the light comes on during normal driving, I can turn on the cruise control and the light will go out. Could this be an issue with my chip?
Issue 3: I am almost always getting 18 mpg whether all highway driving or during city driving. I got 21-25 when I bought the car.
Issue 4: The car also has problems shifting in and out of gear, especially at slower speeds. Sometimes, when I quickly accelerate, it slips out of gear and then won't shift back unless I let off the gas pedal a few seconds.
Can a vacuum leak cause all of these or is it likely to be several issues at once?
I know this is rather long and I would have broken them into individual threads but didn't know if they were all related.
Thanks for any help!
Issue 1: When starting the car while it's cold, the car runs pretty good and idles as it should. However, when starting the car after it's warm. It takes a while for it to start like it's not getting fuel. It often idles very rough and almost stalls.
Issue 2: My check engine light goes on and off throughout my driving. It's not a flashing or blinking light but it comes on from anywhere from 5 seconds to several minutes. It usually comes on when quickly accelerating and then letting off (passing) but does often come on during normal driving in the city. This may be a bit overboard but it seems like the light never comes on when I have the cruise control on. Once the light comes on during normal driving, I can turn on the cruise control and the light will go out. Could this be an issue with my chip?
Issue 3: I am almost always getting 18 mpg whether all highway driving or during city driving. I got 21-25 when I bought the car.
Issue 4: The car also has problems shifting in and out of gear, especially at slower speeds. Sometimes, when I quickly accelerate, it slips out of gear and then won't shift back unless I let off the gas pedal a few seconds.
Can a vacuum leak cause all of these or is it likely to be several issues at once?
I know this is rather long and I would have broken them into individual threads but didn't know if they were all related.
Thanks for any help!
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