Must floor gas for car to start

[sepulslaya]

86 DX, 220,000miles, basic daily driver.

the car normally starts and runs great but on and off recently the car turns over and over and over and if i floor it and keep it floored while cranking the motor it will start, but it takes a second to get up to speed and kinda sounds like it's got to wind up like a jet winds up faster and faster until it gets going. it's strange, but it's worked.

well now that trick doesn't work. i tried starting it and it sort of begins to wind up but it never gets going fast enough to get to a normal idle. if i keep the gas floored it will stay running after i disengage the starter but it's really rough and if i back off the gas at all or try to slip out the clutch or it just dies.

anyway, i'm gonna go get some carb cleaner but i don't have time to test it before i leave for work tonight because the battery is now dead from repeated attempts. just thought i'd post on here before work so if someone knows what's going on i can try other methods if the carb cleaner doesn't work.

[sepulslaya]

gumout did not necessarily help. engine has rough idle and no power now. if i goose the gas it will hesitate for an instant before the tach jumps.

[ghettogeddy]

sounds like your 2nd venturi is loose mine did the same thing its an easy carb fix

[sepulslaya]

the venturi are both in there nice and tight.

[sepulslaya]

helpful info: i replaced the timing belt before it got this bad habit of not starting. i am reluctant to suspect the timing because it started and revved up normal right after i replaced it. but then the next time i tried to start it half an hour later it wouldn't start.

i just replaced the plugs and wires but the plugs looked great.

i drove it around the block without the air cleaner or hat on and it sounds normal but has no power. also it died and sounded like it backfired - sorta - not loud, just one of those "piff!" sounds, like it shot a spark plug or something (which it did not).

[sepulslaya]

also, it did the "rev up to speed" thing tonight without me touching the gas. granted, i had been trying to start it by flooring it for a couple minutes but this is new.

[Dr_Snooz]

Almost sounds like a bad carb float to me. Is it running real rich?

[sepulslaya]

the plugs looked great (no deposits or build-up) and i haven't noticed smoke when i start it. i'll check again but i don't remember it dieseling when i turn it off. how else can i tell?

[sepulslaya]

my timing belt was off (not off off, but off like off a tooth or so)