now it runs like crap

[usetaboost]

well not total crap, but it ain't better. replaced everything and it seemed like it had LESS power. Yes I did check the gaps, all 60. All of the old plug wires had cracks or gouges. Don't understand why it would have less power. I decided to check the timing after it warmed up. for some reason it was 3 degrees advanced so I dropped it down to 15. seemed to miss a little. unhooked the battery, plugged the connector back in, hooked up battery. I noticed it seems to kind of fall on its face when it shift gears if I granny it. Could there be a carb problem? Why would it run worse with the correct timing? I'll double check the firing order and vacuum hoses but I'm sure its all right.

 

[usetaboost]

runs rough at idle too. double checked firing order and its ok. pulled the air cleaner off and checked to see if I pulled a vac line off the carb or something. The only thing I can think of that I might have messed up if it matters are the 2 vac lines going to the air cleaner, but I wouldn't think it would matter which goes to which beings I have the thermac valve plugged off cause it stays shut? The carb is very dirty, could that cause any of these problems? just for reference the car has 123k on it. this car is now my official DD

 

[TURBOELKY]

lol

now were both screwed I know my carb. needs work, but was ok before I took it off, and the distributor worked ok too, but something gave up on me too, same symptoms, but mine are a little worst good luck and keep me informed....

 

[usetaboost]

crawled underneath to find try to find exhaust leak. Can't see anything rusted or cracked, converter maybe? Friends dad said that his neighbors firebird sat for about 6 months and started driving it and converter slowly plugged. Said he seen it happen more than once. Worth a shot, either way I need a little exhaust work . Gonna try cleaning the carb too. Don't know where else to go:frown:

 

[TURBOELKY]

well, my cat. has about 500 miles on it, and a new exhaust to boot so I know its not my issue. if you messed with the timing, your probably having the exact same issue as me, the dist. going bad.

 

[eastwoodad]

Did you replace your distributor cap? This may sound stupid, but make sure you got a cap for an even fire (78 and up) and not an odd fire. The car will still run, however poorly though if an odd fire cap is used. The difference in the caps are easy to spot. An odd fire cap is acutally a v8 cap with two terminals removed so the spacing between terminals is uneven. The even fire cap will have all the terminals evenly spaced. Hope this helps you.

Aaron

 

[usetaboost]

yeah its the right cap. One question though. I didn't follow the timing instructions exactly, could that be why? It says unplug, set timing, plug in, unhook battery, then set idle at highest step at 2200-something like that. I did it like this: Unhooked plug, set timing, unhooked battery, hooked up plug, hooked up battery, and that was it. I set it at operating temp at normal idle. I don't think my problem likes there though. Almost seems like I might have a bad plug or something???

 

[eastwoodad]

What did you set the gap to?

 

[usetaboost]

60 thousandths

 

[Ttype83]

regag to .35, check to make sure the dis cap is seated good (they don't always)

 

[eastwoodad]

Yeah, .060 is too much and will probably cause issues like you mentioned. Even if you had an MSD or any other high powered ignition .060 would still probably be too much. And yes, check the cap to make sure it is seated correctly. I had a cap not seat correctly and it bent the metal tab on the rotor and caused some really erratic ignition issues. Hope this helps.

Aaron

 

[Freddie's Buick]

Disconnect the battery. Remove spark plug one. Turn the crankshaft manually till piston one is TDC, (insert a screwdriver to make sure it is). Remove Dist cap.

See if if rotor tip is pointing to spark plug wire one. If not, turn crankshaft manually again till piston is TDC and re-check. If it is'nt you either screwed up the order or you dropped the distributer in the wrong place.

Or worst case scenario, the OEM nylon toothed camshaft pully is toast. Time for a new chain.

 

[Freddie's Buick]

..... seemed like it had LESS power..... I decided to check the timing after it warmed up. for some reason it was 3 degrees advanced so I dropped it down to 15. seemed to miss a little. unhooked the battery, plugged the connector back in, hooked up battery. I noticed it seems to kind of fall on its face when it shift gears if I granny it. Could there be a carb problem? Why would it run worse with the correct timing? I'll double check the firing order....

The timing is checked by removing the four prong distributer connector. It should be 15-BTDC. Once you hook up the connector again and run the engine disregard the timing light because the ECM will control timing, (which means you won't get a proper read).

If any of the teeth on the timing sprocket break off, (most do they're nylon), you'll never get it right. If you did'nt mess with the carb leave it alone that won't be the problem. Vac lines, plug gap and all that other stuff won't be the cause of the problem either they're just minor issues.

I'd deal strictly with timing. Check by what I previously wrote. Make triple sure of the timing order and take your time. (No pun intended).

Almost everyone gets it wrong, (even hard core greasers like me).

Once you're sure it is'nt timing related or a cracked dist cap, go on to the carb or vac lines.
With the carb I'd start with the fuel filter first. Get a filter that does not have the check valve or break off the check valve from your old fuel filter for troubleshooting the carb.

 

[usetaboost]

Dumb, Da Dumb, Dumb Dumb

Somehow I managed to crack one of the new plugs on #2. Threw one of the old ones in and fired it up, runs good. Still not as smooth as my old 79 but pretty good. Gonna go get a new plug saturday when I get time. I still got that funny sounding exhaust leak. Sounds like its coming from around the cat but not sure so I'm gonna take it in. Still seems a tad slow though. Before the turbo ever thought about working in my old one it still had more balls than this one overall, maybe it was because it was a four barrel? It will power brake in the garage real good though:biggrin: Still gonna recheck the timing just in case and clean the nasty black carb. As far as my exhaust goes, should I go with a single replacement or use my old flowmaster catback of my We4?

 

[TURBOELKY]

cool at least it was an easy fix for you buddy. wish I had a broken plug:biggrin:

 

[usetaboost]

yeah its ok. still don't seem up to par yet. its still got that slight bog after it shifts on light throttle. maybe after i get the exhaust done I'll try retiming it maybe bump it up to 17 degrees. Seemed to pull a little harder in passing gear there. Still feels slower than my old one though. Maybe its the cheapie muffler on there, put one of those on my Jeep and seemed to kill the low end torque. I think I might go with a magnaflow muffler. Less restriction on a very restrictive exhaust