I'm at my wit's end with this sbc. Its hard to start but when it starts,it runs pretty good,idles well etc... When i go to restart a while later,its a bitch to start. I changed the oil 4 times in a day last summer because of gas in oil,I bought new spark plugs...etc....its just a bitch to pull in and out of the garage... I enjoy the build,the fabrication but I hate chasing problems like these with these fucking things.. Almost ready to go buy a crate engine and stop fucking around with this pos..its infurating... I try to understand setting timing and all that but it is all chinese to me...
I have a problem with fuel percolation after I shut off the hot engine in my COE. Heat gets trapped under the engine cover and boils the fuel. I even put a wood spacer under the carb that only helped some....Not sure if this is your problem though. Check fuel pressure? Float levels? Anybody local that could help you troubleshoot?
I havent checked pressure or float levels... Im thinking it must be the dist, when i got it running i didnt have it tight down with the hold down clamp... The screw wasnt long enough and i kinda stripped the threads on the manifold.... I moved the clamp to the other hole and my problems got worse... Im thinking of doing a swap... I have a good rinning goorwrench/400 combo in a van that i drove to cali
Seems like way more work to swap the engine to solve a carburetor/ignition problem that hasn’t had any trouble shooting done. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
So..took the distributor out and everything seems fine with it... When I pulled it out it dripped this very liquified substance that smelled a lot like fuel... Gas in the oil... I flood it when I adjusted the carb by opening the injector valves(?) And the idle too....pressed too many times on acc pump so it didnt die on me... I think the engine might be happier with a new carburetor... Im working on a deal for a 80457-2 holley carb that was supposed to be rebuilt recently its a 600 cfm.. With electric choke and level adjustment on the outside unlike this pos... Is this a good carb to use?
wasn't the carb on there a new one? I never had any luck with Holley carbs, but I know lots of guys that do. it has to be a pretty big leak, to flood it that bad, in your [sweaty] neck of the woods.
Ha!! I dont thint it was a leak...must be operators error...the carb was new 9 years ago...im going to to slap tat other carb this weekend and see what happens
Seth, The symptoms sound like the fuel pump could be a problem.....sometimes the diaphragm in the pump leaks and fuel enters directly into the engine block/pan. It is difficult to imagine you can get as much fuel in the oil as you describe through just the carb in such a short time. Ray
Ray, I had problems with the fuel pump(yes electric),having too much pressure so I installed a regulator ,seems to work now but I still wasnt sure so I took the carb apart and I set the floats to a lower ratio by bending the float tab down.... Theres no flat adjustment on these carbs....theres no checkhole either... I think the bowls were too empty to start the truck So i would prime the intake with a couple pumps of the pedal... I think i went too far... I bought a new to me holley cwrb today....we gonna give it a try
Happy thanksgiving friends. My engine is a centerbolt (vortec) chevy and i just got thinking that it has a roller cam...maybe i need a different distributor gear?? Maybe this is the cause to all my problems? Hard start,dying mid running,distributor shaft shaking inside cover??? I took the dustributor apart and its a bit rough...im trying to deal for a better condition dist....and will order a mellonized gear for the distributor
Been working on this POS for a couple of weeks.. New dist Rebuilt carb Changed the fuel soaked oil New fuel presure gauge.. Fought the electric pump/fuel pressure regulator so i can actually read it. Working on the floor undreath the cab and fenders,hard to access sparkplugs Everythings under the cab. Emergency brake cable,exhaust pipe,cab subframe..everything is in the fucking way I still battled all that and when I was ready to start it... Wont start... Im thinking just buy a crate engine and swap it out or use my other sbc...its the part of the hobby i dont enjoy
I think it is timing related. The flash is spark when the intake is open. May not be 180 out may just be a position or two a head or behind on the cap. You have spark and gas and air. Now just fine t7ne it to get it all to happen at the right time.
180 degrees out or firing order scrambled is my guess. Start with the basics for your engine - which engine? For instance a Ford 351 Windsor (distributor in the front) has it's cylinders numbered: F 1 2 3 4 R O N T 5 6 7 8 And a Chevy 350 small block (distributor in the back) is numbered: F 2 4 6 8 R O N T 1 3 5 7 Google the firing order for your engine. The pictures that come up should help. Does your engine time on #1 cylinder or something different? (IH SV series engines time on #8 cylinder) To find the compression stroke, I stick a compression gauge in the timing cylinder (#1 in most instances). I hear your pain. I wired an IH SV engine 180 degrees out. I got a brand new set of spark plugs so gas soaked that it would not fire when I corrected the problem - Had to walk away for a week. Screwed in 8 new plugs and it fired right off. Good luck
timing definitely off. take the cap off and rotate the motor to top dead center of number one and see if it lines up with the number one spark plug. check you firing order 18436572 clockwise.
Thanks guys! Ted,does that apply to vortec(center bolt) engine? I did have a hell of a time stabbing the new dizzy.. I already left the cap off before comin to dinner... You guys should see this place,its like a legless women center... Its crawlin with pussy
yep. check it and report back. I like to drop the distributor in so it puts number one where the factory manual shows but it doesn't matter as long as the rotor at top dead center number 1compression stroke points to number one spark plug wire.
Success.. I did have it 180 out...tomorrow i will mess with the holley bowl level adjustment... I have to watch a few videos about it
Thank you guys so much.... Ted that was a good suggestion. To check if the rotor wa pointing to 1... All this freezing my ass off and not losing my cool under so much stress of dropping screws,having dust and metal shavings mixed with gas fall on my face paid off... Hopefully onto more adjustments
I may be showing up a bit late to this but I had a similar experience with and old 70 CST/10...truck was bought in FL, moved to Hawaii, to Virginia, and then back to Florida. It always ran great for me, never sputtered. Went away for 4 months, came back and was driving my dad and I to the range in it....and boom. Blew the motor. Long story short, I pulled the motor, had it rebuilt professionally to a short block. I put it back in with a new intake manifold because there was a small crack on the old one (that was also caked almost solid on the inside with carbon deposits)...new rebuild, new intake, old everything else, including the carb. Engine would NOT start. Not happy. Pulled motor again, brought it to machinist....he said I've got a TON of gas in the oil. WHAT? Is that my fault?? Well it turns out it was nobody's fault....except the previous owner. I did some research and found out that the Rochester Carb was intended for use in marine applications. I had a damn boat carburetor in my truck from Florida. Surprise. Boat carbs dump fuel, higher RPMs, higher load on motor, blah blah blah. The intake was so clogged with carbon that the old boat carb actually worked...the carbon filtered the fuel out and restricted it enough that the damn truck ran great! Anyway, I hope you don't have a marine application carburetor. I went with a 650 Holley after that and after pulling and reinstalling the motor 4 times (I got pretty good at it) the thing fired right up and ran great. I am no mechanic....but I used a "How to rebuild a small black Chevy" book and it did not steer me wrong. It was literally step by step with great pictures. Easiest thing ever. Shows complete removal, disassembly, clearances, reassembly, and fine tuning. I don't remember the exact name of the book, but it's a bible as far as I'm concerned. If you're interested, just let me know and I'll dig it out of the garage. In the meantime, enjoy that vodka.
A big issue a lot of builders make building a Chebbie engine is when the timing marks are correctly aligned on the timing gears the distributor is to point to number cyl number 6 in the firing order when installing the distributor . Seems so strange but it is what it is . Always bring number 1 up to TDC compression stroke and use that to align your distributor . I would dare say your Holley carb is in need of a power valve change now . They say the new ones are protected from backfire , but how much can it take until it pops . I don’t know , just be aware hard starting hot , as in it seems flooded the power valve went away and needs replaced .
Thank you for all pointers and ideas...ill start it today and see if it idles..i hope i don have to change anything
The Jalopy Journal
