So I've been working on my 352 for about two weeks now. I put a new cam and distributor in and when I went to start it last week and I wired the cap 180 off. So I fixed that and it fired right away but started puking oil bad from the cam plug. So this weekend I pulled the engine, put a new cam plug in, and yes I put it in correctly for an FE. Then I power washed the engine bay, bucket washed the engine and dropped it back in. Hooked everything back up and now it won't start. I pulled the number one plug and I'm getting spark. The spark plug wires are wired right, I'm getting fuel, and I'm lost. It seems like I'm 180 off and is backfiring through the carb and its spitting fuel out of the top of the carb when it backfires and sneezes. I'm lost, it ran last week, this weekend I put a cam plug in and that's it. A run down on the engine. 352, edelbrock 390 performer intake manifold, 600 cfm edelbrock, napa reman distributor with petronix ignitor 1, flame thrower coil. And a new isky 262 cam. Any ideas because I'm stuffed, the only thing I touched was the cam plug and now it won't start. It seems like the timings way off but I've turned the distributor and it will not start.
Its sparking when it should be ****ing = backfire. could be the cap, or the distributor. take a breath and check it
yep. i agree. get a can of aerosol wire drier, and spray your cap and inside the dist. let it evaporate and try again! hope this helps, i know how frustrating it can be
whats aerosol wire drier? Will napa electrical parts cleaner work? It sure is frustrating, since it was running last weekend good except it was leaking oil like the Gulf did early this year.
Have you popped the distributor cap yet? Parts cleaner isn't wire dryer wire dryer will displace water, evaporation of moisture is what you need. Your distributor, unless its a marine unit, isn't moisture proof, let alone bucket and hose or pressure washing, the other electric components are not moisture proof.
Didn't you read the previous post?? electrical cleaner is not water displacer. WD40 will work (WD=water displacement) but I wouldn't go crazy with it around a pertronix unit. if it were me, I would pull the cap and hit it with a hair dryer til warm a few times. even better would be to setup a drop light near it that would keep it warm (not TOO hot) and leave it for a while.
When you said power washed i instantly thought of this. For months everytime it rained if i drove for more than 15 minutes under the rain and possibly got into large puddles the engine would die and not start up for a looooong time. It took me a long while but then i discoverd that the cap was slightly craked and since i changed it it never happened again. It could well be your problem.
He typed as I typed, so no I did not read the previous post. I popped the cap and it looked dry to me, and I only washed the back of the engine. It has to be moisture in the cap, because NOTHING changed but a cam plug and wires. I even put the old wires back on. Ill try some light WD and then a hair dryer. Maybe by the end of today it will be dry and start though?
it should be, unless getting it wet and trying to start has shorted out the pertronix and burned it up... PS... use either the WD or the hair dryer... no sense blowin WD all over hell with a hair dryer.
im not ruling it out, but its a brand new cap. Im not saying new **** cant break but I will look into it.
Ill hair dryer it, see if that does it and then if not put the points back in. Bowti Brown, ill try not to burn up the ole ladys hair dryer.
now the one thing I just thought of about pulling the petronix. I grounded the number one plug when I was checking TDC. Its getting a nice blue spark. So it is getting spark.
If you can try this: Wait till it gets dark and then try starting while observing the distributor cap. If the cap is cracked, you may see arcing going on in the dark. Hard to see in daylight. Other than that timing of some sort would be another thing to check. Valve timing should be able to check just by listening for compression while cranking. You sure you are getting fuel to the engine???
New or old, it doesn't matter. Under the right temperature and humidity conditions condensation can form inside any of them. It can also be an indication of a little water getting into the oil pan.
I was getting at I wouldnt think the cap is cracked because its new. I get off work today at 5 so hopefully it will fire up at 630. I dont want to be a work right now and get the damn thing running!
Hmmm ,could the timing chain gear have gotten loose and pushed the cam back,making the rear cam plug leak. now the cam timing is way off causing the missfires. Far fetched I know ,just a thought!!
well I was the ***** that popped the cam plug out. Last weekend it ran like a top, except for the oil leak.
If you are 180m degs out quick way to change that. take the wire across from each 180 and switch wires,or pull dist.
So you've got spark and you've got fuel now all you need is to have them come together when it's up on the compression stroke and it will run. In cases like this I always go back to the basics ***uming nothing. Forgetting everything that I've done up to that point. Just start all over. A thumb in the #1 plug hole to ***ure you that it's up on the compression stroke and then check the firing order according to the book. I fought a Pontiac for a whole weekend only to find out that the Pontiac turns in the other direction. Only one and six were getting fire at the correct time. I memorized the firing order that weekend I checked it so much. The firing order was correct the rotation was screwed up. I bet that you will find something simple that you ***umed all along was correct. It's happened to all of us.
I would verify the timing is right first. Pull #1 plug and dist cap. Turn it over with your finger in the sparkplug hole, when it starts blowing out the hole, stop. Get a breaker and a socket on the crank and put it on zero. Look at the dist and see if the rotor is pointing to #1 on the cap or close. If it isn't take the dist clamp hold down off, slowly raise the dist and line up the rotor to #1 on the cap. You may have to spin the engine to get the dist shaft lined up with the pump drive before it will completely go back down all the way. Put the clamp back on and tighten snug. Re-check to verify it's pointing to #1 on the cap when the timing pointer is at O. Now check the inside of the cap out. If all looks good, spray it with some WD and let it drain on a rag or something. Try not to get it in the dist if you can help it. Put the plug back in, cap on, And check to be sure the firing order is right and in the right direction. Use your starter ****on and give the throttle a couple squirts, leave the throttle closed and give it a try. You should be close enough so you can turn the dist if it acts a shade retarded or advanced. If it still backfires and won't start, I would guess timing chain or bad ign. Sometimes a lot of backfiring can cause these old engines to jump time if the chain is sloppy and you don't notice it. JMO. Just what I would do. Good luck, Lippy
Tommy, a friend was working on a 455 olds once and called me to ask the firing order. I told him but forgot to see if he knew the rotation. Guess I took it for granted he had looked. Small thing but major to the engine. Lippy
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