Absolutely nothing wrong with a reminder! If anything this will give me a diagram to clean up the routing. The trick is going to be finding the timing marks. Didnt see any with a quicish look, might have to go the other route and pull plug 1 to feel it get to TDC.
Definitely appreciate the positive reinforcement haha I also assumed if it was a really big issue it wouldn't want to run at all, but thats me being optimistic. The tank is new, filter going to the carb is new, and the cap is also new. However, I have not checked the points. It was on the list but the carb rebuild was first since I knew I was getting spark, I had high hopes that was my problem. Rebuild exposed a bad fuel pump that I spent yesterday getting done. Wasn't getting fuel to the carb after the rebuild, and the line going to the pump had fuel, so I knew it was 99% a bad pump. Pretty sure it was the original one that I took off and replaced.
Tons of useful info, thank you! I know when I did the compression test I got good readings for cylinders 1-3, 4 and 5 were spotty, 6 was 30, retested, and it went to 90. Cylinder 7 gave me 151 but thats when the compression gauge started giving me some issues. In the back of my mind I was nervous to let it sit there and idle based on how bad it sounded, and from the shaking I didn't want to jeopardize a motor mount or cause damage to the engine. But then again if check out the cap/wires and those check out, and I am still not running on 8 there's already the possibility of the motor being hurt. No infrared gauge yet but seems like it would be a very useful little tool. Tapped out my tool budget for the next week or so with the floor jack/stands, but will give the water bottle a try. I know the plugs are new, but I do not believe the plug wires are. I will for sure get it to idle, and when I find a dead cylinder swap a good wire onto that and see what happens. If nothing fixes it, is my next step pulling off the valve covers to see if anything looks lout of place? I am getting some smoke, of course no smoke when I went to look at it, which maybe makes me think a stuck valve? Forgive me if I am way off. Definitely a learning experience, based on the fact the fuel pump took me a few more hours than it should have.
It's hard to predict what to do until the numbers are known. If it iis just one cyl then it could be a stuck valve, collapsed lifter, bent pushrod or.... You pull the valve cover and take a look. If it is two adjacent cyls then blown head gasket or warped head might be the issue.
That’s actually a great idea. I thought about just getting new plug wires so I know where I’m starting but would love to use that money for other parts
I actually found a small one last night. There’s so many useless vacuum trees and lines on this. The plan is to leave the essentials, like the tranny and distributor line, and eliminate the rest
I do have a timing light but not with the rpm. I was also finally able to locate the timing mark, so getting in there with a paint pen to make my life a little easier
If you come to the conclusion that you have 2 dead cylinders then I would most definitely pull the the valve covers and investigate. I doubt it is an ignition timing issue. If you what I suggested IE: stuck valves you would not have to pull the engine. It may be possible to unstick them, possibly without removing the heads. If a valve or 2 or 3 had hung up and a pushrod became displaced that is even more doable with the heads on. Years ago my neighbor who also had owned the Ford dealership that my car came from had a 30K mile 71 Grande 302 that sat for 16 years he started it with the 16 year old gas still in it and it ran for a while. Once it cooled down the varnish from the ancient fuel on the valve stems caused the majority of the valves to seize in their guides which bent pushrods and partially pulled the pressed in rocker arm studs out of the heads. Of course I had to pull the heads on that bad Larry.
Just my thought on this as it's typically the way I roll, just go buy a set of inexpensive plug wires and try them. If it fixes it, great, buy a really good set later when funds allow. If not, well at least you have a set of newer wires if ever you need them.
Awesome advice. This motor has been rebuilt, and one of the cylinders was sleeved although the PO couldn't remember which one. Odd to think a 99k mile car had that catastrophic of a failure. I definitely won't rule the varnish part out, based on what the inside of the carb looked like, and the old fuel filter that was attached. pulled it off, tapped it on the table, and started making a small pile of gunk. If everything checks out and still not running well, the valve covers will come off. Easy to check for bent push rods or maybe overtightened rockers. Obviously the less invasive the better.
Thats what I was leaning towards as well. Obviously we all hate the idea of just throwing parts at it in the hope it fixes it, but its also possible something that simple could do it. I have no clue the age of the wires, but based on the oil filter and fuel pump I pulled off, they definitely arent new.
Yeah in the video when I give it some gas it completely clears up. Sounds terrible from an exhaust leak but the shake is gone. I found one plastic tee that I need to cap. There is a ton of extra emissions parts on it that aren't being used, so I am going to eliminate those. I know I need the vacuum line from the dist. to the carb, and the line to the transmission, but the plan is to clean up the rest. Just don't want to start capping lines that I actually need. Also trying to figure out what the 4 vacuum lines go to on the back of the firewall, right in the middle.
