Good afternoon too all. I notice my temp gauge' was reading 210, this was sitting idleing in park for 15 minutes. I then took off for a quick run, it went down to 180-210. My question is, is this normal? 72' 350-4. Thanks!, for your help.
It's easy to check the fan clutch. If the engine is hot, and you can spin with fan with ease (engine off!) the clutch is toast. Back when I was young and immortal, and working as a mechanic, I could see that the fan was barely turning, I'd reach in and grab it, to show the owner that it wasn't pulling its weight. Kids, don't try this at home, we're what you call professionals!
I will check, the fan clutch tomorrow, SteeveeDee, thanks!!. Sean Buick 76, I thick you are on to something. Last summer, the car was down from April 19 2016, to April14th this year. The water pump went, and I broke the smaller bolts to pump. My mechanic got a hold to it. It already had new points when I bought it in January 2016. So, he put in new plugs, and timed her. The wires were bad, and I just changed them last week. But with that being said, she is hard to start, spitting and popping at the carb, during start up, also running rough to keep idle at start. When she warms up, she is alright, but not as good as she was before. I felt in my gut, that it could be timing issues.
Use a dwell meter to se the points I think it is to be set at 30. The feeler gauge used on points work but not as well. Sounds like the points are causing the popping in the carb. They may be new but they are now a year old. it takes more juice to start and keep the car running when cold so check out the points. Set the points then reset the timing to about 8-10 degrees. The curve is how much the distributor advances and how fast. That is done with changing the springs to lighter ones to make it faster. Look up Larry's timing thread to get it set correctly. The vac canister can be adjusted also if you have an adjustable one.
The stock 72 distributer only has between 12-16 mechanical advance so even at 10 your max mechanical timing might only be 26. And as low as 22. Larry has posted some of the distributer specs before. Getting up to 30-32 will improve some power and mpg . 10-12 would be good for initial. Check the power timing post by Larry.
Assuming your spark and timing are good a hard start condition is mostly caused by the choke not closing enough and or gummed up fuel passages in the Carb which can be blamed many times on how fast today's fuel goes bad when it sits. You should also check the during engine cranking the coil gets a full 12 volts and not 9 .
http://www.v8buick.com/index.php?threads/power-timing-your-buick-v8.63475/ Yes, if you still have the stock distributor (part number 1112109), and this is A BIG IF in a 45 year old car, and you are running the stock initial timing (4* BTDC), that alone will make it run hot, especially if the TCS emissions system is hooked up, and/or, your vacuum advance canister is unhooked or otherwise defective. You can make big improvements in engine power and reduce coolant temperatures by optimizing your ignition timing and getting rid of the TCS system.
The chassis manual states that the initial (idle as Larry calls it) s/b 4* for the 350 . Well, I can tell u it sucks. Mine is at 6* and it idles much better. I will attempt to make it 8* and see what happens. I do run Shell premium gas (no alcohol). My engine was rebuilt and 1970 style pistons installed. One time I set the timing at about 14* as I used the wrong timing mark on the harmonic balancer. Ran great but it would barely turn over trying to restart.
No, I called it initial timing, at least in my post above. It really matters not what it idles at except that 4* is relatively retarded timing, and that is what heats an engine up. The point I try to make over and over again is that the engine doesn't run at the initial timing except at idle. It certainly doesn't run there at WOT. Set the total timing, not the initial timing. The initial will be what it will be. BTW, if you have hot cranking problems at 14*, I would look at other things for a reason, not the timing. Undersized battery cables, bad connections, starter motor, or an engine that is running way too hot.
Most of the time they will start fine anywhere between 4 and 18 degrees initial timing i have found... 20 degrees initial is hard starting I have found.
Common, but not normal. There probably is something wrong. At idle or cruise, temperature should be very near to the thermostat rating. There are some emissions controls that increase engine temperature at idle. They would eliminate vacuum advance except in high gear. "I" would bypass that. Not sure if your vehicle is even equipped with Transmission Controlled Spark (TCS). A fan clutch that "loose" is due for replacement. Keep in mind that if the radiator doesn't heat the air flowing through it, the fan clutch will never get hot enough to engage. Lots of fan clutches have been replaced because of rotted radiators.
Years and years ago, I had overheating issues like yours. Replaced the radiator with a Modine, runs at 180 * all the time since. Still running the original clutch fan too.
