The car keeps acting up after it's been running for a while, it's like you can't push too hard on the accelerator, or it stalls. You have to just ease out and then get on the gas. After a while this gets even worse, and today it stalled three times in traffic, when trying to leave from a red light. At first when you start it, it seems to be doing better, but soon this hick up starts, backfires, and sputters, and then it gets like I described above. The temperature is at 190 as long as I'm moving but if I stop for a while it creeps up towards 215. This hasn't happened since I put a thermostat in it, but maybe it is just because it is getting warmer outside. I'm not sure on that one. Does the green coolant help in this aspect, cause I've got mainly water in the radiator now. Regarding the hick ups, it is either ignition or carb, or related to both problem I guess. The car had also pushed some oil into the air box I saw today, this hadn't happened since I replaced the pcv valve about four months ago. So something isn't right and I need to figure out what, and do something about it. Preferably during this coming week since I'm off from school. Now for the ignition, I got an HEI that I want to put in there, but I'm not 100% on how to do it. I was looking for some help locally, but that hasn't worked out, so I'll do it myself. At the garage they wanted 160$ just to install the HEI, I'll rather take my chances it feels like. I've got to learn this at some point, so why not now. Last call, anyone in the L.A. area who would like to help me out with this one, that be great, lot's of beer your way... Any particular feature you should look for in a timing light or are they pretty much similar? Any particular you could recommend from here? http://www.bizrate.com/buy/products__cat_id--22000500,keyword--Timing Light.html Cheaper is better for me... sears got three different ones also..http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/sear...sults&gobutton.x=0&gobutton.y=0&gobutton=find Is there anything I could check on the carb to see if it is functioning properly? I was looking into it while the engine was running and when you press the gas pedal it squirts gas out of two squirters in the smaller holes. Then it stalled... This was when I was on my way home and the car had stalled a few times. It seems like if the car is turned off for a while, it will run a little better, then this starts all over again. There'll be a lot of questions on this on from me, I've been trying to understand the step by step procedure for installing the HEI, but since I've never done it, I'm' a little worried I'm gonna end up with something I can't restart.. :Comp:
You can surely smell alot of fuel occasionally. I don't know how much is much, but it feels like there's excessive fuel not being combusted.
After warmed up, and when you hit the accellerator, does it sound like it is reving? Does it shift right?
Reason I ask if the tranny is shifting right is this: My car sounds a lot like that, if you drive it after first starting it it is fine, but after it is warmed up, it will take a long time for my tranny to shift from 1st to second, and then long to 3rd, and it will stall at stops sometimes, sounds like im revving the engine so I have to ease up and then let it pull itself and then ease on the gas to get it goin again. If so, sounds like you have some slipping bands in the tranny. Just a thought... :Comp:
Mine was doing something similar when cold, the shop set the points and that helped a lot. But in the end, the distributor was bad (bent/loose shaft?) had it replaced, opted out of upgrading to the HEI due to the cost, and has run better since. Mine still has the fuel-related problems, because the carb needs rebuilt. The choke doesn't work, that's part of the problem. Was hoping to find a 4-barrel w/intake to put on, if I get help with it, but I'm thinking that won't happen anytime soon, so having it rebuilt will save me the trouble of changing my starter, which is getting stressed by these constant start, restart-give-it-gas mornings. And it revs in gear occasionally when it's cold, but haven't noticed it when it's warm. I'm glad I have a decent shop 2 blocks from my house, that knew it was a Buick not a Chevy engine Good luck!
Installing the HEI is really easy. Get the motor to TDC by turning the crank with a 1-1/8th inch socket (assuming you have a 455. Not sure of the size with a 350) to get the line on the ballancer lined up with the "0" line on the timing tab. Pull off the distributor cap and note which cylinder the rotor is pointing toward. Should be either 1 or 6. Pull all your plug wires and disconnect the dist from the coil. Remove the dist by losenning the hold down bolt and turning the hold down to the side. Distributor should lift right out. It could be somewhat stuck with age, just keep twisting and pulling. Drop the new HEI in. You will need to keep trying with the rotor pointed in different directions until it goes ALL OF THE WAY IN. Set the cap on and see what cylinder the rotor is pointing toward. If you happen to be in the ballpark you can line it up by turning the distributor body. If you are off, judge how far it needs to go and which direction. Pull the distributor back out and use a long screwdriver to turn the oil pump drive shaft the same direction and distance you need the rotor to move to line up with 1 or 6 (whichever it was on when you took out the original). (You'll see the oil pump driveshaft if you shine a flashlight down the distributor hole in the timing cover) Repeat through trial and error til the distributor goes all the way in and you can line up the rotor with the right terminal on the cap. Next, find a terminal in your fuse box that gets 12v when the key is on. Hook that terminal to the "Bat" terminal on the side of the HEI cap. Connect your plug wires. Set the timing with your new timing light. Drive.
Are you certain the the HEI is right for your engine. Before you go to install it, count the teeth on the gear. 13--455, 14--350. My guess is that your timing chain is bad. Before you start tearing things apart try two things. 1) Remove the dist cap and turn the crank a 1/8 turn or so each direction. See how much you have to turn the crank before the dist moves. (May need two set of eyes to do this.) A really big lag when you change directions on the crank is a sign of a bad timing chain. 2) Hook up the timing light (vacuum hose disconected) and watch the timing mark on the balancer as you rev up the motor. If the timing mark goes down at first, then back up, or just bounces all over the place, bad timing chain.
Thanks for the help guys.. First, the car is responsive to the accelerator, and it shifts good. But if you floor it, it will rarely have a good all out acceleration, it will start off and then start bogging down. It has also had problems starting before, but this has kind of come and gone every now and then. Right now it starts fine, but after driving it a while this "giving it gas" problem starts happening. "But in the end, the distributor was bad (bent/loose shaft?) " - I've had someone mention this to me, but then someone said that you can't really tell cause it isn't spinning fast enouh. o No: "to get the line on the ballancer lined up with the "0" line on the timing tab." - Here is hen it starts getting tricky for me. I don't know what the timing tab is, or the ballancer is. I've just never had my nose down that alley yet. I think I know where it is located, but since I'm not sure I'll have to take a picture of the area and confirm it. I've never used a timing light either, so I'll need to test run it to understand it, and to see it working before I start taking stuff out. The HEI is from a 350, and I'll have to exchange the gear with the other one coming out. Regarding the timing chain, I'll do the test you recommended, just a quick question first, do you need to take out the plugs to get rid of the compression, so you can move it, or can you leave them in? :TU: :Comp:
The balancer is a iron "wheel" on the front of the motor. It's about 6" in diameter and about 1" thick. The lower pulley for the belts is bolted to it. There should be a groove, about 1/16" wide, machined into it, front to back in its outer perimeter. THhs is the timing mark. At about 2 o'clock relative to the balancer is a tab with marks on it, like a ruler. It shuold say 0,2,4,8,12. This is the timing tab. When you hook up the light, you point it at the timing tab and it will flash in time with the motor, "freezing" the timing mark next to the tab. Read what number on the tab the timing mark lines up with. That is your timing at that rpm. The points gear will not work on the HEI distributor--they use a different size roll pin to attach them to the distributor shaft. Just how bad is this problem? At first it sounded like the car was barely drivible, but now it soulds like it's only a problem when you floor it. If it is only a full throtle (or close to it) problem, it is probably the spring adjustment on the secondary air valve of the carb, or the choke pull-off. I know these terms may not mean anything to you, but check out the Venerable Q-jet forum in The Mixing Shop. Like half of the threads in there deal with this problem, with pictures in some of them
Thanks for clearing that up regarding what part is what and how it works, I'll be looking into the timing light situation during the day. I thought you could use the gear from the original distributor if you drilled out the hole for the pin so it would fit the pin that comes with the HEI. That's what someone describes in here: http://www.rowand.net/Shop/Tech/BuickHeiConversions.htm The car was barely driveable yesterday, it stalled three times on the way back, and I had to be really careful with the accelerator not to stall it again. If you just tapped the gas, the car died, and then you let off, and it came alive again. It would idle fine, but under any load, it would just go out. There's always been like a little rough bump in the idle evey now and then, but lately this has evolved into what I've described. I just have this week off, and it would be perfect to make the HEI swap. I just feel that the HEI would take out a lot of possible problems in the ignition system. No points, no ballast resistor, no external coil. etc.. Then I could focus on the carb if the problem is still there. Thanks for the help :Comp: much appreciated.
Youcan get by changing the points, cap and rotor. I had the same problem when i first got my car with the 350 in it. I'm still running points because i can't afford HEI. Once you get it set right it works pretty darn good. Either get HEI or check out the points and cap.
I've changed plugs, wires, cap, rotor, points, I just feel that since I have the HEI, new 45 plugs, new 8mm wires and the new wire from the fuse box to the HEI sitting in a bag, it's just a matter of getting it over with. I've now invested in a timing light also. I'll go out and get a feel or it, should have gotten some chalk too. Then if this doesn't make any difference I'll lean towards the carb, but by then the HEI is already in place.
Check This First! Before you get all carried away, I would check\replace the fuel filter. Your problem seems like it could be caused by a partially stopped up filter. Have you replaced it recently? It is located in the carburetor, behind the fuel nut. Remove the line(hold the nut and loosen the line nut) then remove the filter nut. You should find a filter and spring. Also there is a gasket on the nut. Be careful when you replace the nut that you don't cross thread it or strip it out. Check for a fuel leak at the nut when you have it running again. Might be what you need. Jim n.
Hmm... Make sure your ignition is dead on, before looking at the carb. Generally, ignition problems can often make you think carb, and you start chasing your tail around in circles. You've either got too much gas, which should also make for hard starting, or your ignition is breaking down and can't ignite the extra gas under load. I'd recommend checking your ignition timing, points gap and dwell, cap, rotor, vacuum canister, wires, and plugs before looking at the carb. If you find anything out of sorts, fix that before moving on. Hate to say it, but you may need to get a new set of cheap points or something. Once you've verified a good ignition, then look at the carb. Things to check, in order from easy to harder: any sticking linkages, choke not opening, leaking vacuum lines, gas dripping into primary venturis at idle (nozzle drip), [open up the carb for these next ones] dirt in float bowl, float height, sticking primary rod hanger, trash in carb internal passages. Once you get it running ok, then switch to the HEI, otherwise, you might be chasing down two problems at the same time, which is a sure way to end up hairless like me. :Brow:
I thought so too, so it was replaced a couple of months ago. I had the points replaced by a shop to make sure it was done correctly, then I had some memebers of the local Buick club test it with a timing light and "dwell meter"? This was around Christmas, so not too long ago. They said everything looked fine, then someone suggested getting the HEI. I've tested the coil, and it has been within specifcations. I've also replaced the ballast resistor, someone took out the ignition resistor wire before I got hold of the car. So everything about the ignition has been checked or replaced to my knowledge, except the actual ditributor casing itself. Someone "an onlooker expert" when I had the points changed at the shop said that the shaft in the ignition was wobbling, I'm not sure if I'll buy into that, but I guess that's a possibilty??? If the ignition doesn't fire properly, you'd have gas going in and out of the cylinder compartment unburned I suppose. So you could have backfires and a rough idle, you would also smell gas, since my mufflers are blown, it would leak out under the car kind of underneath where you're sitting so you'd smell it pretty good. This is what seems to be happening , it just seems logical to me, but then the problem could also be in the carb if there's some kind of blockage and the fuel doesn't enter the cylinders when it's supposed to, or the right amount, or something.. You'd also smell gas, rough idle, backfires etc. Since I've done everything to my knowledge what I can with the ignition system, except changing the casing, it's time to move on and replace that with the HEI, then move on to the carb. Then the ignition system should be ok, and the carb would be the next logical step. All suggestions are much appreciated, since it offers new possibilities and new knowledge to what's causing this.. :Comp:
Other Ideas! Glad to hear you have checked and replaced the fuel filter. If you had a problem with the distributor shaft, that should have been picked up when the points were dwelled and the timing was set if they knew what they were doing. If you could get it on a scope you could check and rule out the ignition system in just a few minutes. A couple of other possiblities. One you could still have a fuel delivery problem, bad pump, leaking line on the intake side of pump or a stopped up "sock" in the tank. All very possible on an old car. This can be checked quickly by checking fuel pump volume. Do this by removing fuel line and insert into a container. It should pump over 1 pint in 30 seconds. Next, if you think it is rich-too much fuel-remove a couple of spark plugs and see what they look like. If they are black or wet, then you have too much fuel and can address the carburetor. Also, what carburetor do you have? Good luck; Jim N. P.S. Not againist going with the HEI, always better than points. Just be sure you have 12 volts to the Bat. terminal.
Back to base, went and got a rear bumper + extras today. Even reeled in two ralley wheels that I thought could be my track wheels, once I get the car running properly. I changed the fuel pump about two months ago, and it pumps a lot of fuel it looks like. Regarding the plugs, they all seem to look a little different every time I take one out. I'll go through them all to see what the status is. The car was running fine today, going out there, about 40 mins on the freeway. Then on the way in, I start hearing this thump thump every now and then, like it's missing a heartbeat that you hear through the mufflers. I come back to almost home and while driving on smaller streets, the problem with getting it to move is starting again. I stopped at home depot got some stuff, and then it was fine to drive home again. It seems to drink an awful lot of' gas too, but maybe that's just life, I'm not sure.. If the car isn't running properly, maybe it can't use all the fuel it's pumping through. I don't know which carb it has, I'll get a picture of it..
