Did you replace all the spark plugs? You may just have a bad plug or two or maybe a cracked dist. cap... It might be a good idea to have good plugs, wires, cap and rotor when you take it to the shop so he can check other things instead of spending time replacing plugs etc. :TU:
I went to the auto parts store and bought plugs, a rotor and cap. I replaced the rotor but am stuck now because I can't get this heavy round thing out of the old cap to put into the new cap. What is it and how do I remove it? Please reply ASAP because I need to get the car put back together tonight. Thanks....
There is a small self tapping screw at each corner of the coil. remove them with a nut driver. Then lift the coil out. Be careful of the wires and the blades that push into the cap. Under the coil is a rubber washer and the center contact of the distributor cap. You get new ones with the new cap. You should have gotten some silicone gel also. Smear that on both sides of the rubber washer, drop in the new center contact into the new cap. There should also be a ground connection for the coil on one of the screws. Put the coil into the new cap and tighten the screws at each corner. Just pay attention to how everything comes apart, so you can put it back together.
http://www.partsgeek.com/assets/perf/full/2615-03180849-1408891.pdf http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siguER1hdp4
Try putting it back together without replacing the cap or the coil, first. Failure of the rotor by shorting to ground is the #1 failure mode for the HEI system.
I did remove the 4 screws but the coil didn't want to come out. I'll try prying it out with a screwdriver tomorrow. I put the old cap back on and will try driving it tomorrow with the new rotor in and see if that makes any difference. Thanks for the video, Larry....
Is that a Buick engine in the video? I don't think the plug wires on my car are in the same order on the distributor as the one in the video. Should I change the wires on my distributor so they're the same as in the video? Would that cause the backfiring?
Yes, having the plugs in the wrong order could cause a backfire. So can incorrect timing. Lets start with the plug wires and get them in the right spot first if they are off. What I would do is first check this diagram and if they are in the right order then I would leave them alone for now. If they are in the wrong order then try to correct the order. If the car runs decent at all then the wires are likely in the correct position. If the car runs ok but backfires you could just have two wires in the wrong order. In order to correct the plug wires do this: Remove the number one spark plug and put a wine cork in the plug hole, rotate the engine over with the starter till the wine cork pops out. Then line up the timing mark on the harmonic balancer with the DTC degree mark on the timing tab. When you are at this point the engine is at top dead center on the compression stroke of the number 1 piston. This means that the dist. rotor should be directly under the number one plug wire in the cap... If not then the firing order is off. This is best way to confirm the wires are placed correctly. This is the order the plugs should be in: 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2 The attached pic shows the rotation of the dist so you know how the wires go on the cap.
Here is what the harmonic balancer looks like and you can see the little slot which is the timing notch... This notch must line up with the TDC mark on the timing tab that the balancer rotates around... This little tab is only about 1" in size and may be dirty so clean it up so you can read it. http://cmebrakes.en.alibaba.com/pro...2_8L_173_JEEP_WAGONEER_CHEROKEE_1987_82_.html
I dropped off the car and the mechanic said it might be the timing chain which would cost around $600 to replace. That surprised me since nobody here mentioned that. Is that a realistic possibility? He also said it may be as simple as adjusting the timing so that's what I'm hoping for....
Sure, it could be the timing chain, but that isn't the first thing to check. There are lots of things that could be causing your symptoms. I always like to start with the simple things first and eliminate them, and move up to the more complex causes in order. It's cheaper that way because you don't end up replacing parts unnecessarily.
Mixture control solenoids were a common problem back then. How many miles/years on the O2 sensor? First Guess: You need a REAL scan tool, an ignition oscilloscope, a compression test and a leakdown test. Anything else is just slapping parts on and hoping for the best.
Good news. The timing was "way off" and the EGR valve was full of carbon and stuck open which caused a vacuum leak. He set the timing and cleaned the EGR valve and also fixed a gas leak from the gas line that I had installed because he said the clamp was too tight. He said the bill was $90 for that which seems pretty reasonable to me. I told him that I had three new belts in the trunk for the alternator, power steering and A/C and he said he could install them in an hour which would be another $60 so for $150 the car is running good again with all new belts. He said it was a "night and day" difference the way it runs now. I'm going to pick it up in a couple of hours when my wife gets home from work and return the distributor cap and spark plugs that I didn't use to Advance Auto. Thanks to those who offered advice and hopefully the car will be problem free for a while now.... :TU:
You might want to bring a friend to help you with the return at autozone, as I like to say: Uh. Yeah, uh. Me and, uh, the driver. I'm not handling the money, driving the car and talking on the phone all at the same time!:Smarty:
