Have you pulled your plugs and wires and checked for carbon tracking on the plugs? It'll look like someone drew on the porcelain with a pencil.
Here you go. The tracking does not have to be as blatant as these pics show, it can be just a little line. If you look down inside your plug wire boot, you'll usually see what looks like white or silver "dust" where the miss is, also. https://www.google.com/search?q=spa...WGr54KHbivAq0Q_AUoAXoECA4QAw&biw=1360&bih=625
Electricity if given a choice will follow the path of least resistance. You can actually have a spark plug that shorts externally to ground because of physical damage or carbon tracking. It will look like a crack, but what it is, is a small channel in the porcelain that allows a short. You can also have a damaged boot or wire that will short as well.
Pop the hood in the dark. Shut off all lights. Have someone fire up the car, let it warm up ,then rev it a little. You may actually be able to see spark jump from a bad wire to ground in the dark. Jim
Ok it really sounds like it’s falling on its face now after talking to Larry and then driving it again. Fueling is probably the issue
Just swapped fuel systems, installing one without a filter except the in-carb one, and its doing the same thing. Anyone heard of bad gas causing this?
It's possible, bad gas normally runs bad no matter where in the rpm range you're at though. How about the tension on the secondary flap on your q-jet? Is it too loose and letting it open or too tight and keeping it closed? I won't be back on the forum tonight, just something that crossed my mind.
It opens in the driveway, when I’m revving it. It also didn’t run badly until I bought a full tank of gas.
I know, I know. It just started acting up now, so it’s hard to believe it just happened with a snap of the fingers
Well that's what you get for joking about ripping it's perfectly good "heart" out and replacing it with a chevy heart, the Riv heard you you know
Also just started it at night. Got zapped by cylinder 1 when I put a screwdriver in it and grounded the sparks to my throttle linkage. Hot, fat sparks were coming out. Ignition seems good for now.
Alright, let me preface this with the fact that I must have the cranial capacity of a Stegosaurus. **** Anyways.... I had swapped fuel filters, needles and seats, and fuel filter assemblies when trying to get the most fuel to the carb possible. It all added up to this: The last work I did on the car before the issue reared its ugly head was a good deal of time ago. I had limped the car to the gas station to fill up on fuel. Put about 17 gallons in, topped the pig off. Got out of the gas station and the choke snapped on and promptly shut the car off as I went down the road. Woohoo, nearly crash and then remove the choke on the side of the road, big whoop. Get back on the road and give it the beans and it has the missing at high rpm feeling that I had been experiencing this whole time, but this was the first. (Here's a clue, it was my first time hitting the secondaries since I rebuilt the carb) So, naturally, "my engine is cutting out, it must the coil, the carb is fine and fueling is good" I replaced the cap, rotor and coil Still acted up I replaced the module Still acted up I removed the choke entirely Still acted up I shut the ball valve in the fuel line Still acted up I redid the fuel system leading to the carb with new lines and no fuel filters except the in carb one Still acted up.... I removed the carb tonight, and began disassembly. Sure that there was either something lodged in the float bowl or I had a batch of bad gas, I tore into it. Mind you, I've taken a lot of Quadrajets apart, and most of mine have been apart nearly ten times each. In my usual process, I had actually forgotten to remove the secondary rod hangar bolt, and as I lifted the hangar out, my entire 6 days came flashing back into my mind... I had never installed the bolt. So whenever I snuck up on WOT on the primaries, or welded the gas pedal to the firewall, the secondary rods sat balls deep in their respective jets. No wonder, no damn wonder. To add to the hilarity, I opened my cardboard box that I refer to as the "CARBBOX-CARBOX" (which is a box of carbs) and lo and behold found the exact little bolt that I had forgotten to reinstall. The good news? I have a very hot ignition right now, with one spare apiece. I have a better understanding of cars, I'd hope. Semi-ok news? I didn't kill my engine with being lean. If this isn't the issue, I might have to sell the car, or send myself to the Gulag. Have a better day than I did, gentlemen, or at least end as strong as I did. We will test this tomorrow and let the bitch eat
