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So frustrating.
I attempted to plug off all the vacuum lines. I did the best I could, but I wish you guys could see how much of a mess this engine design is. There are some that I can barely see, let alone reach, let alone unhook with any hopes of ever hooking it back up. LOL. Some of them are little 1-2″ jumpers from one port to another. My theory is that they’ve been on there the whole time, so it should run without altering them.
I believe I plugged off all others. There has got to be 20+ vacuum lines and ports on this thing. I went to start it and the engine cranked, gave it gas, it started to catch, then just died no matter if I gave it gas or not. I was at this point a few months ago – same exact thing. Crank, it catches, then dies out almost immediately.
My friend and I had it in better shape than this before. It would run, but only if you kept giving it gas. I decided to try one more thing. I hooked up what I believe is the distributor advance (?) to a port directly on the engine (on the intake? right below the valve cover). Now it cranks, catches, runs REALLY smooth and strong for about 2-3 seconds, then dies out. LOL. That’s actually an improvement.
Any idea what my next plan of attack should be? What would make the engine catch, but then die? It seems like it’s either immediately losing fuel or air intake. That’s my guess…but I don’t know where to go. (note – while working on it I’m running it with the air cleaner housing completely removed, so it’s just the carb sitting in the open. not sure if that makes a difference.)
What amazes me is how strong the engine feels in that short time when it’s running. Kinda gives me renewed interest in fixing this thing instead of throwing it in the trash. 😛
[quote=”cap269″ post=134452]Plug off all vacuum lines at the intake and carburetor so that there are no vacuum ports in use, except PCV. The engine only needs air, fuel, and spark to run. You may get a check engine light come on, but ignore that for now. It should run and idle with all the vac lines plugged. Then, double-check that your spark plug wires are in the correct firing order, and check your base timing to make sure it is in spec. That is where I would start. Also, make sure the battery is fully charged. Side note: I have seen cases where a faulty alternator would actually cause the motor to stall. You may want to take the alternator to a parts store to have the free test done, just to see how bad it truly is. You might find out it may not be bad at all.[/quote]
Interesting. I will definitely check that out. Actually as I was working my way through the old vacuum hoses, I was finding a TON of them were plugged with wire nuts or a bolt or I guess whatever the guy had lying around. A lot of them I didn’t even notice they were plugged because the hose was connected and routed but ended behind something blocking my view. It probably was almost all plugged off.
Do you think it would be worth it to go ahead and spend $100 on the alternator? The guy we got it from was convinced it needed a new one. He put a brand new battery in it (about 1 year old now) just so he could get away without replacing the alternator. He actually drove this car to work from time to time and it was fine, but he said you had to be careful driving it at night because of the draw from the lights.
I supposed I should pull the alternator and have it tested either way. The problem is no one stocks this model, so it would have to be ordered a few days in advance, so I couldn’t take a day to pull the old one, take it to have it tested, and come back with a new one.
Fun times. Thanks for the ideas!
[quote=”79chevy” post=134402]I’m no expert, but you said you replaced the rotor and cap. did you have it running after that but before you started on the vacuum lines?[/quote]
No, doing the plugs, wires, cap, and rotor was so basic I didn’t bother to test anything after doing it. When my friend came over to help, he pulled one of the plugs while we were cranking it and grounded it to the engine block and we saw a spark. I believe he said it was yellowish and should have been brighter white. I do know the guy we bought it from said it needs a new alternator, but again, it was running fine with the existing alternator before we started rerouting things.
I’m lost. 🙂