- Joined
- Aug 17, 2019
- Messages
- 350
- Reaction score
- 227
- Location
- Fort McMurray, Alberta
- My Car
- '73 Vert with 4R70W
351C Ram Air 2V 441 hp @ 6000 RPM
SEFI EEC-V (2004)
9" trac-loc limited slip 3.5:1
P-Zero 265/35ZR-19's front 305/30ZR-19's rear
The guys are right, start with the balancer but before you do that just check your PCV, this would be my order of searching;
1. Check your PCV to make sure it is working fine (easiest check that could cause your symptoms). Pull the PCV out of the air cleaner and leave it attached to the hose. Start the car and let it idle. You should have vacuum through the PCV at idle. Shut the car off and take the PCV off the hose and make sure it rattles when you shake it. If it doesn't rattle then it is stuck open, replace it. Next check your PCV line hoses, a cracked or broken hose will act just like a stuck open PCV and cause fuel mixture problems which almost always result in hesitation, poor idle and rough acceleration if the hoses are 50 years old just replace them anyway, it's a miracle they haven't started leaking. A telltale sign of PCV issues is oil on your PCV line inside the air cleaner, if you have a lot of oil inside around the foam separator and the bowl of the air cleaner it's likely a bad PCV. Since your car is fine at idle but bad above idle at cruise, I would suspect it is stuck open.
2. Balancer (my money is on the balancer) TDC confirmation. It may have only moved once but if it has it will be out of balance, no amount of timing work will fix that.
3. Pull the plugs and look for evidence of fouling, bad plug, bad plug wire, fouled dizzy point. Likely time for a tune up kit anyway.
4. Doesn't sound like fuel to me but it wouldn't hurt to check the fuel filter and carb.
5. Vacuum lines, have fun!
1. Check your PCV to make sure it is working fine (easiest check that could cause your symptoms). Pull the PCV out of the air cleaner and leave it attached to the hose. Start the car and let it idle. You should have vacuum through the PCV at idle. Shut the car off and take the PCV off the hose and make sure it rattles when you shake it. If it doesn't rattle then it is stuck open, replace it. Next check your PCV line hoses, a cracked or broken hose will act just like a stuck open PCV and cause fuel mixture problems which almost always result in hesitation, poor idle and rough acceleration if the hoses are 50 years old just replace them anyway, it's a miracle they haven't started leaking. A telltale sign of PCV issues is oil on your PCV line inside the air cleaner, if you have a lot of oil inside around the foam separator and the bowl of the air cleaner it's likely a bad PCV. Since your car is fine at idle but bad above idle at cruise, I would suspect it is stuck open.
2. Balancer (my money is on the balancer) TDC confirmation. It may have only moved once but if it has it will be out of balance, no amount of timing work will fix that.
3. Pull the plugs and look for evidence of fouling, bad plug, bad plug wire, fouled dizzy point. Likely time for a tune up kit anyway.
4. Doesn't sound like fuel to me but it wouldn't hurt to check the fuel filter and carb.
5. Vacuum lines, have fun!
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