1989 EscortTac shows surges in RPM, but engine does not race up.
How many miles, has the timing belt ever been changed? (60,000-70,000 miles) when the belt gets near or over it's recommended change mileage it will get loose and cause the engine to run like it has a miss, mostly when cold, also u may need to do the following procedure, Escorts need this more than most other Ford cars
Here is the most common cause of surges and stalls and low idle, it is the idle speed control air-bypass valve and throttle valve (IAC for short), they get full of gunk over the miles and cause idle issues (stalls, low idle) like yours, Get a can of intake cleaner from any local parts store, not carb spray, intake cleaner, it is made by a company called CRC, remove the air intake hose to the engine, hold the idle high so the engine won't stall, then spray the can of cleaner into the intake while keeping the engine running, use at least 1/2 the can, shut down the engine and disconnect the battery for 5 minutes, then restart and complete a number of mixed driving cycles, town, freeway, stop and go etc., after a few days the problem will go away as the system will relearn to the clean intake.
after running good and having fuel filter changed , car now is hard to start after driving around for a bit . It wants to start but chugs and stalls
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