timing...

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pinkfuzzibunnies

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so the mechanic I went to took the hoses for the timing off the radiator and plugged them up, he said it would give me the most advanced timing since it goes off temperature. I would just like to know where these hoses go normally. One comes from the area above where the pistons are (i'm sorry I don't know the terms) and the other comes from somewhere around the carb. They plug into a little piece connected to the radiator, does it matter which one goes where...here's a pic that might help

022.jpg


now the reason I ask...In other posts I have stated about me having a hard time cold starting, could these timing hoses have anything at all to do with it or is this strictly a carb issue (to let you know what it does, we go to start it and it immidiatly stalls...does this a couple times and then finally gets running, sometimes need to give gas to keep from stalling. once hot it runs like a champ...we've replaced the thermostate and from everything I've read I need to adjust the u bend attached to the vacuume pull off open a little to keep my choke on longer....right??? just trying to get all my ducklings in a row)

Thank you all so much for any advice.
 
You can run a line directly to the vacuum advance on the distributor from the timed spark port on the carburetor, and bypass 2/3 of all that leaky old plumbing. (add a "T" fitting inline to connect the line to the charcoal canister purge valve).

As for the hard cold starting, every slant I've ever known was a little cold blooded. In your case, I would bet you may have a vacuum leak. Look for a vacuum line that is leaking when the engine is started cold, one of the thermo switches may stop the leak as the engine warms. One sure fire way to confirm this is to disconnect all the lines at the carb and cap their ports. Start the engine from cold and see if there is an improvement. Then, one by one hook things back up until it gets worse. Also make sure the choke is setting all the way, sometimes the thermostat gets crudded up and sticky.
 
Vacuum timing control is out of the picture when starting or idle. I agree with C130 Chief it is vacuum related.

If the car has EGR, exhaust gas recirculation, make sure it is not stuck and recirculating at idle, or when engine is cold. A temperature control is used on the EGR control, if it is connected to manifold source, that could be the problem.
 
When you say you replaced the thermostat, do you mean the "coolant thermostat" that is on the upper radiator hose, or do you mean the "choke thermostat" that is a bi-metal spring in the exhaust manifold with a rod to the top of the carburetor? That later would affect your cold starting. You mentioned in another post that the choke plate just flopped open and I suggested changing the choke thermostat since sounds like its spring was broken.

I think what your mechanic did in bypassing the vacuum thermal switch in the radiator is fairly common. That is an emissions device that fails and I think is hard to get replacements and is not essential. I have never had a newer slant with that part.

The term for the "top of the engine" is the "valve cover" (blue in photo).
 
For sure. Your engine compartment is intimidating to us early slant owners. I can't imagine the confusion for you and your husband as a newbies. Still, it is much easier to work on than most fwd cars.

The AC compressor and smog pump in the front make it very crowded. My 64 slant doesn't have that, or power steering, so can easily reach your hands all around the engine and swing wrenches.
 
Yeah, I wish mine was an older slant...I've seen pictures and they are so much simpler...I have hoses and wires coming and going out of everywhere LOL.

Bill, yes we did replace the choke therm. we adjusted the U I was talking about and now I'm starting good..but it wouldn't surprise me if I have a vacuume leak somewhere, me and my dad are going to do an oil change on it this weekend and check the floats, so we will check for that as well. Thank you all!
 
well...there is this one hose just coming off and going to nothing...you can see it in the picture up to the left of the air filter with a yellow stripe on it....should it be plugged or go somewhere? been like that since I bought it...
 
It looks like a vacuum hose. Definitely plug it since it could be the source of a vacuum leak. Do you hear it hissing with the engine running? As far as where it goes, you need a vacuum wiring diagram. There was probably one under the hood when new, at least for the emission controls tubing. If gone, you can find them on-line.

By the early 1980's, engines were almost impossible, with many poorly documented vacuum hoses and devices, carburetors with kludged-on electronic controls, etc. My 1985 Mercedes is the worst I have had, with even vacuum-controlled transmission shifting. If the trunk lock gets a vacuum leak, the engine won't shut off. It makes your few vacuum lines look like a baby step. The internet is great, since people figure out the controls and post photos and schematics. You can probably find similar for your 1975 Dart.
 
thank you bill, I will look for a diagram or at least plug it if I can't find one.....that fickin funny about the engine not starting because of the trunk...that's why I kinda hate modern cars and decided to get a dart
 
The 300D has a vacuum pump on the front of the engine, driven by an axial cam on the injector pump gear. A replacement costs ~$300. Most everything is vacuum operated, including the door locks. Kind of stupid since diesel don't have manifold vacuum, as C130 Chief knows. To shut-off the engine, vacuum is applied to the "stop valve" on the injection pump (similar to vacuum solenoids for climate doors on Darts. The key switch actuates both electric and a bolt-on vacuum switch for the stop valve. If you have a vacuum leak, the stop valve doesn't work, so there is a manual lever at the top of the pump labeled "stop". When the stop valve diaphragm fails, oil is sucked past into the vacuum system, which the driver realizes when oil starts dripping on the right foot from the key switch, and diesel oil is the blackest you ever saw. Exquisite German engineering. I plan to get rid of the 300D's in the future. I only have 2 because I bought one for its engine and ended up fixing it, then finding another engine for the first. They don't go a million miles. At 330K mi the pistons failed, which is typical for the turbo-diesels.
 
Do you live in an emssions testing area/state? Having unhooked vacuum ports sounds like an instant fail on visual to me.

I would like to disagree with the statement about fwd cars being hard to work on. Some of the newer stuff is a walk in the park compared to some carb equipped cars. From about 1980 and newer carbs were a nightmare of pollution controls and vacuum hoses going in all directions. Many newer car have easy to access parts that are designed to last longer. I bet I could have my injectors off my accord just as fast as I could pull the carb on my valiant. 105k mile plug intervals and plug wires that don't go bad. I think my accord has 5 vacuum hoses and they are all short and easy to trace. This is what the engine looks like in it and as you can see it is nowhere near as busy you might expect.http://images.gtcarlot.com/pictures/40737434.jpg
 
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