3.0L engine swap

[Farrar]

I had a thought: Back when he was working on the engine install, when it was up and running Bill sent me a photo of the engine from dead center. Why not use that photo as a reference?

I pulled up that photo and looked at the distributor in the photo, and then I looked at the distributor in front of me. I was standing in the same place as Bill's camera was when he took the photo. My distributor was definitely misadjusted now, in a counter-clockwise direction. So I loosened the clamp and adjusted it clockwise.

As it happens, the distributor was turned counter-clockwise (advanced? *) as far as it would go. I turned it clockwise until it matched the photo that Bill sent me. Now it should be close enough to where I can see the mark with a timing light.

I also rigged up a bungee cord to pull the coolant hose out of the way so that I will have both hands free. This car always forces me to think creatively.

But dusk brings the mosquito swarm, and I am delicious to them, so the garage stays closed until tomorrow.

Thanks, gang!

--

* The rotor spins clockwise, so I believe turning the distributor counter-clockwise advances timing. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

[opethmike]

Yes, you ARE delicious...

Hannibal_Lecter_in_Silence_of_the_Lambs.jpg

[Farrar]

Dodge/Eagle workshop manual says idle speed of the 3.0L is 790 RPM. Bill had base timing set at 16 degrees.

Meanwhile, Josh S. in Canada says that his 3.0L was set at 14 degrees base timing at 750 RPM idle.

Because this car is an automatic, neither of those idle speeds is adequate, but for the purpose of setting timing, I think that will work. We'll see what happens tomorrow. If the engine doesn't smooth out with base timing sorted, then I will at least be able to cross timing off the list of possible causes.

And I will make sure the distributor clamp is well fastened before I'm done.

[Ron]

I suppose I could pull the plugs again, turn the engine by hand (I have a 36mm socket somewhere) and try to find TDC of cylinder 1 using the "balloon method." Then I could rotate the distributor until plug wire #1 on the cap is pointing directly at cylinder #1. That should in theory get me close enough to where I could start the engine and see the mark with a timing light, and then make adjustments. I'll try that tomorrow. Will have to find some way of pulling and blocking off the spark advance vacuum line.

There's really no need for all of that -- Since the engine runs, the timing should be close enough to see the mark.

There shouldn't be any vacuum going to the distributor at idle.
(If it is set up like stock, you can pull the line off of the vacuum solenoid to be sure.)

[opethmike]

How come no one has suggested the real fix for these problems?

LS swap.

[Ron]

How come no one has suggested the real fix for these problems?

LS swap.

Carbed!?!

[Farrar]

LS swap.

Carbed!?!

It has been done before.

---

Moving on:

Base timing set to 14° at 750 RPM.
Idle mixture set as good as I can get it, i.e. halfway between "so lean that it stumbles" and "so rich that it stumbles."

Car still shakes like a leaf in the wind. I idled the engine for a while today while re-charging the air conditioning. (New compressor.)

At a certain point while I was messing with the timing, the engine idled as low as 600 RPM. If there were a vacuum leak I doubt the engine would run at that low a speed. Whatever is causing the engine to be lumpy and luggy (and occasionally smoothing out at speeds above 2,000 RPM, causing a weird RPM jump at highway speeds) must be something else. But I am done trying to chase it down. I'll just drive it as is and hope it corrects itself. With functioning air conditioning (for the moment), #2613 can be my daily driver while I sort out my "real" daily driver's electrical gremlins.

[dn010]

Perhaps its worth a shot to pull the airhorn off the carb and see if you've got sediment in the bowl.

[Farrar]

Perhaps its worth a shot to pull the airhorn off the carb and see if you've got sediment in the bowl.

The last time I checked it was OK.

Would dirty fuel lead to lumpy running below ~2,000 RPM?

[dn010]

I would imagine certain circuits in the carb being clogged may.