Hey guys, my car has had some trouble recently. It starts up but it doesn't idle, you have to keep your foot on the gas and even then it misses. I know the carb needs adjustment, it runs a little rich, but it was driving fine before. I thought maybe it had something to do with bad spark plugs or timing or something, any ideas?
Timing usually doesn't change all by itself. Spark plugs will get fouled all by themselves, though. Also, points wear out, condensers go bad, carbs have screws get loose, they get dirt in them, etc. If you want to pull the spark plugs, you can see if any of them are fouled. You can also remove the distributor cap, and watch the points as you turn the engine over by hand, see if the points open and close, and look to see how pitted they are. Look at the carb, wiggle it to see if it's loose. In other words, look at stuff, and see if you notice anything amiss. Don't go wild though, do one thing at a time, learn about it before you start working on it.
Sounds like you've sucked some crud into the carb. Get it running, crank it up and choke it with your hand, see if it pulls it through and clears it up. What engine/ carburetor are you dealing with?
Get a vacuum gauge , cheapest and one of the easiest tools you can use to diagnose running conditions. with it running rich I would be looking at: Fouled plugs Vacuum leak Dirty/plugged carb or air filter Plugged fuel filter Points Condenser as these are things that can just “crap out” on there own. if these simple things don’t fix it, you will need to dig deeper. Usually it’s a simple fix don’t over think it. KISS Keep It Simple Stupid As squirrel said, do one thing at a time and check to see if it fixed it, or possibly made your situation worse. Nothing can get you ass over tea kettle faster then farting around with a bunch of things all at once , now you have an issue and no clue what caused it. Good luck , keep us posted.
Alright, well it's a 8ba flathead, stock carb, a little leaky though. Smoke comes out the oil filler tube when it's running, the thing shakes like hell, it can't have sucked anything in there, the carb works fine, gets gas in there good, if you choke it too much it makes a grinding noise and dies, no real rhythm to the misses, just randomly popping and missing, it's got premium in it if that helps, the spark plugs are pretty much new, so are all the plug wires and distributor.
8ba flathead, stock everything. I probably could check it out. Was fine until a few days ago when it stalled out and now it's a mess
How old is the fuel?! (I use the term 'fuel' looselly....its mostly water with just-a-hint of gasoline!) Car been sitting up a while? (Why do you make us GUESS what the problem is?) Please give us ALL the information you possibly can so we can maybe get it right and get you back on the road! 6sally6
The gas is a week old. Exxon premium. Mixed with the 14 year old crap that was in it when I got it. Half tank full. I think it might be a vaccum leak or a spark plugs bad or something, it was fine when I looked at it, and when we got it it drove home fine, then I started it one day and it was all sputtery so I looked under the hood and I think it's a leak of some sort or a spark issue.
Sooooooooooo......ummmmmmmmm.......hmmmmmmm old gas Leaky carb Lots of what sounds like blow by Car that sat for 14 years Been driving it without any inspecting if anything ?? Son, I need the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. right now your story is going from bad to worse, sounds like me when I was 14 getting home after stealing my dads home made wine and getting drunk n stoned in the park !! Ya dad I was doing home work at jennys house, ya ya I was a joes playing basketball ,...... well ... first I ate a sandwich, then I smoked a joint .... I mean ummm home work yeah So please, why don’t we start at the beginning. Cause right now I think what will fix your issue is a ham on rye and a Budweiser.
Well, if the dist. was ''new'', it likely had no cam lube ... you've run it just long enough for the points to close up from lack of lube ..
The thing drove fine, it was driven 432 miles over the 14 years, but yeah it was fine until all of a sudden it just won't idle and misses. But dad's coming over Sunday and we'll work it out
Time to clean the gas tank and fuel line with new filter. Put fresh gas in it. Rebuild the carb . Tune up.
Everything works fine until it doesn’t. That’s the nature of almost every problem. But to get good help or advice, you have to give good information. So far, not much to go by on your end. Old, bad gas causes all kinds of problems, not the least of which is sticking valves in the guides. And diluting old gas with new does not cure the problem. But that information maybe totally useless if your points are bad, condenser is bad, plugs are bad, rings are bad, head gasket is bad, etc etc etc. You need a methodical inspection. “Carb is fine, gas gets in there good” is the opposite of a methodical inspection. Good luck.
I would pull the carb an clean it, Put a clear filter in an observe the fuel, Also on anything sitting 14 yrs. You should change the fuel pump, check your dip stick to make sure gas isn't being pumped into crankcase...
Hey @Rex Jolles , stick with it. Most of the guys replying probably don't even know that you are only 15 years old. All of us started somewhere. Try and find someone close that can help you out. What about it guys, anyone in Philly with some spare time to get a keen kid on the right track ???
i have this place I hang out at, i would ask them but they don't have a real schedule so they've been closed for a while
Didn’t realize you where 15, good on ya for wanting to try and learn. it can be very difficult to diagnose something over the internet. the more you can tell us, and the more details the better, pic or a video can help as well. go back to my first post and start checking things off the list. loose carb Vacuum lines of or damaged Fuel line off or damaged Distributor loose Junk in the fuel Plugged filters Excessive gas ( bad fuel pump) Not enough gas Bad ignition parts Bad cool Bad wiring Could be internal in the engine Tight valves Stuck valves Valve springs Timing gears Etc etc I had an old Buick that ran like a champ and all of a sudden developed a miss, after checking it was either a cracked piston or ring causing low compression in one cylinder. Not saying this is what your issue is, but you got to start knocking stuff one by one off the list. buy a vacuum gauge! It will help you for the whopping $9.99 one costs !
The Jalopy Journal
