No worries.... The only good thing about this situation is that you are on-line 100% of the time so we are not left hanging. Some people only come on once a day and I have bad dreams about thier issues... At least I just stay up typing instead of dreaming about your car troubles.... :spank:
you can vent all of your worries and knowledge here. No complaints from me. i'll take what i can get. Thats why i dig the site so much, all the help! ray:
Big thanks for MHGS for coming over and helping me out. Definitely cleared the air for me on my timing issue. Fortunately, i had it set correctly. Now it's time for a carburetor rebuild! Thanks again MHGS for your time.
Thanks. Wish i had $300 to spend on a new / rebuilt carb http://www.everyday-performance.com/quadrajet_carburetors.htm
Been following this thread. I had similar challenges in the beginning. And it was guys like Sean, Devon and Larry who persisted till I clicked. Kudos to you guys. :beers2:
you rebuild that carb and I will come over again and we will get it running really well. Was a pleasure meeting you and you have a nice looking cruiser !
Been following along and wanted to chime in. I was in the same boat a year ago and read through the power timing thread about 5 times. The more I read it the more confusing it got. Eventually I just went out and did what you did. Try something and see if it made things work right. If it didn't I came back here and asked what I did wrong. I can tell you that for me it ended up with a rebuilt hei (which was my plan anyway) with a custom setup using a vac can from a different car and advance springs from a kit. In the end my setup gives me an initial at 8 and should have a total advance at 32 and the vac advance limited to 10. Of course my initial is actually at 6 because I was reading the timing marks upside down ou: and I'm not sure exactly what my total is because I figured I didn't want to nitpick since it was running good. I also didn't find out till after that the vac cans open at different rates based on the vac level of the engine, so god only knows what my advance curve actually looks like. But ultimately my car runs great on cheap 87 octane and it has good response and a nice low idle. So if you ever feel silly about getting confused just remember that we've all been there, and some of us are still there :TU:
indeed, couldn't agree more. ---------- Post added at 11:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:09 PM ---------- Ha, thanks! Big Old Land Yacht. I will definitely give you a shout. ---------- Post added at 11:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:10 PM ---------- Yup, well i understood the initial timing and how to set it and then how the mechanical and total advance worked. But simply could not figure out of all number why a 12* initial works as opposed to an 5* advance. I needed an actual number to start with. So I went with a number that was close to what the book recommended, since it's not newly stock, it's advanced a little more. Seems to work and MHGS helped with he idle to throttle transition. I think i should be good once i get the carb rebuilt. BTW, has anyone tried cleaning a carb with vinegar, i read a few articles on it? Then dip it in normal carb cleaner.
I have had great luck with using some lemon extract to water in a pot and boiling it. I then drop the carb into the boiling water and leave it for 20 min then remove and dump into a bucket of plain water. No need to buy expensive carb cleaner. http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Clean-a-Motorcycle-Carburetor,-The-Right-Way&id=1460030
Looks like i'll be buying a pot and trying this. I've never seen lemon juice larger than those small 8oz bottles. So i suppose i could add it to the water. Maybe with some vinegar also, since it can work as a polisher. Did you remove all of the throttle linkage and butterflies before boiling it? ---------- Post added at 10:13 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:06 AM ---------- Since it's only lemon juice, seems that it would be safer for a lot of the bushings for those parts, hence, making the rebuild that much easier. What do you think?
I have the carb rebuilt and put it back on the car. However, its still running rough and the idle sounds like it surges then drops... when i drive it, it's pretty responsive. MHGS. Do you have time to swing by tomorrow?
Glad you got it rebuilt.....sorry not much better on the smoothness, I can't monday but tuesday I could ? After that it will have to be not till the next week as we are away for a much needed break.
Yea, i think there my be a vacuum leak somewhere, maybe the valves? not sure how to check that though. any tips? The engine idles fairly high, and when i rev it, it sounds like it has a super charger, a lot of air-sucking sound (Whooshing). The top of the carb doesn't feel like it's sucking much air (when my hand is on it, but it does raise the idle and it smooths out the engine a lot) However, my ported inlet on the carb feels like it's sucking much more than before. I'll have to try spraying some wd-40 and seeing if the engine reacts. MHGS, Let's shoot for next week, i'll be prepping my truck for a car show at the end of the week. Have a good vacation Mark. let me know when works for you, when you get back.
Update: The good: I seemed to have put in the metering rods improperly. I think i allowed them to bounce back up once i placed the cover over them. I've since re-adjusted and re-adjusted the floats. Now the car starts fine, does not stumble and seems very responsive. I currently have the choke in a permanently open position until i can get a new thermostat cover. ------- The bad: There still is a noticeable shake in the engine. No mater how much i adjust the Air-fuel needles, there still is some sort of tick to it. No vacuum leaks on the manifold. I tried the wd-40 test and also used a hose to my ear method and could not find any spot where air may be entering the engine. There is a noise near the 2 or 4 cylinder. Almost like a "horse-shoe gallop sound" some kind of knock. I think it my be time for a compression test. Im praying that it's just a lash in a push rod and not a whole valve job :rant:
if there is a "noise near the #2-4 cylinder " lets not jump to conclusions..... we can do a cylinder pressure test very easily and rule out any single cylinder problems. I will be more than happy to help. I have the testers needed if you can wait till me little golf time is over ( monday next week ? ).
