Farrar's car blog

[Farrar]

All right, I got the thing to start and run with flooding or starving for fuel. Must have been at least ten minutes total.

Bill, I still don't understand how you're supposed to idle the engine using air alone -- I need the curb idle screw pressing against the throttle plates to get anything other than a nasty, jawbone-shattering, "holy crap are your motor mounts okay and isn't that idling a little too low since your volt gauge reads 10" kind of idle. At 900 RPM everything smooths out. This is the best I can do, and it is still pretty rough: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njozBUMU2Us

Farrar

[content22207]

Put a timing light on each plug wire, as close to the plug as possible. I bet you'll find at least one that is missing intermittently. Remember: you were pouring excessive gasoline into the intake while the float was loose (fouled plugs and crap inside the cylinders).

You might be able to clean things up with a good long road burn. Don't be afraid to pull some serious RPM's with the transmission manually selected into 2nd.

Or just buy a clean set of plugs.

Another trick is to pour a bottle of tank cleaner straight down the throat of the carb. Dribble it in -- don't pour the whole bottle at once. You'll have to rev the engine while you do it. Creates a huge cloud of white smoke -- you might not want to do it in the apartment parking lot (parts house parking lot is OK).

Bill Robertson
#5939

[Farrar]

You might be able to clean things up with a good long road burn. Don't be afraid to pull some serious RPM's with the transmission manually selected into 2nd.

I am ALWAYS afraid of pulling serious RPMs with this car. It's thirty years old and I don't want to break it.

Stale fuel may also be a potential problem -- I am down to just above 1/4 of a tank which was last filled up a few months ago. (Thank goodness a carburetor doesn't care what sort of liquid it's metering.) If I am feeling foolish enough today, I will drive the car to a filling station and fill the tank with 100% gasoline. A new air filter is also in order. Those can be had close by, fortunately -- I need to take the car for a safety inspection before I do too much driving since I don't want to get pulled over.

Farrar

[Kenny_Z]

Seafoam that car. I swear by the stuff. I purchased a lousy running 1989 Astro van for 200 dollars and after a bottle of Seafoam she ran like a champ. I ran half a bottle through the engine and then drown the engine with the rest and let it sit overnight.

It smokes like crazy though, like Bill said, don't do it in a parking lot or around complaining neighbors. My neighbors thought it was hilarious.

[content22207]

:47-:55 it is missing pretty badly. 1:29-1:44 too.

Fuel mixture is richer at idle than at throttle. Letting the car idle with fouled plugs is only going to make them worse, not better.

Bill Robertson
#5939

[Farrar]

Spark plug report: 1, 2, & 3: fine. 4, 5, & 6: sooty.

In spite of this, I decided to try to timing light check. When I started the engine, boy was I surprised! The engine idles as you saw when it's warmed up, but when it's cold it idles like shit -- it was like someone was practicing paradiddles on the throttle. (Despite this, the timing light indicated everything was firing as normal.)

I figured that the left-hand side of the engine must still be running too rich, and yet the instant I turned the left-hand idle air screw in, the engine started fumbling. On the other hand, I could turn the right-hand idle air screw in until it seated and I could hear the air sizzling through the venturi and it did not affect at all how the engine was idling. So although I have seen worse spark plugs, it looks like it's time for a new set.

I'll post a picture of the old spark plugs when I get back.

Farrar

I'll post a picture of the old spark plugs when I get back.

And here they are.



Left to right, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6:
SANY0889.jpg

Plug #4:
SANY0891.jpg


Plug #1:
SANY0890.jpg

New plugs are gapped (0.44") and installed. But I have a wedding to go to, so any attempt at running the engine will have to wait until tomorrow.

Farrar

[content22207]

Make sure you don't have any vacuum leaks (don't forget to spray the underside of the intake ports). If you can't get the engine to idle without cracking open the throttle plates that sometimes indicates a vacuum leak.

I've idled carb conversions all the way down to 500 RPM, so it definitely can be done.

Bill Robertson
#5939

[Farrar]

I've idled carb conversions all the way down to 500 RPM, so it definitely can be done.

I did that today. Only I was afraid that the engine was going to walk out of the car...!

Farrar

[AdmiralSenn]

Idling that low, it shouldn't vibrate that badly. I had Christine idling that low at one point while I was fiddling with the fueling information and it actually ran VERY smoothly and quietly.

[Ryan King]

Seafoam that car. I swear by the stuff. I purchased a lousy running 1989 Astro van for 200 dollars and after a bottle of Seafoam she ran like a champ. I ran half a bottle through the engine and then drown the engine with the rest and let it sit overnight.

It smokes like crazy though, like Bill said, don't do it in a parking lot or around complaining neighbors. My neighbors thought it was hilarious.

I want to try this now. I just got done reading their site about SeaFoam. I am going to post a topic asking about it on the main forum.