Questionmy 16 yr old bought his first car 68 ford fairlane,when he drives the gas peddle will go to the floor by itself n get stuck,it makes a metal grinding sound right before it does it he has to turn off the key n drift to the side of the road,when he restarts the car its normal again till the next time,its getting more frequent and dangerous in my book.we hv checked all the linkage under the hood around the firwall inside the floorboards and we are stumped,we have cleaned,lubed everything we can think of,please help with this situation
AnswerI can't diagnose this problem without examining the car. However, this is so dangerous that you HAVE to have it flatbedded to a mechanic so they can track it down. I think the problem is probably related to broken motor mounts, but that is merely a guess - you need professional help - this isn't something one can handle alone without years of experience, and it isn't worth taking a chance.
Find a local mechanic with gray hair and grease under his fingernails, one who has been in business for at least 20 years, and throw yourself on his mercy!
I doubt it is going to the floor by itself, more likely he is pushing it to the floor and it is sticking there. If you can get him to admit that is the case, I'll change my opinion and tell you that the problem is that someone has modified the carburetor or its linkage or both, but either way, it has to be seen by an experience mechanic to fix the problem.
Dick (who raised 4 teenaged boys himself - and even was one, a loooong time ago).
