Troubleshooting my car! help make it run!

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Wally426ci

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So, once again, Im still on this great 6 month troubleshooting trail....
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which has lead to me taking the car out maybe twice on a real trip this year.

My latest issue is still pretty much the same, Ive got 34* total, 18* initial, 15psi vac. and i unhooked the vacuum advance this time to eliminate that. I put a 180 thermo in, didnt make a huge difference on the factory gauge; I take the car out yesterday afternoon and it ran fine for maybe 10 mins of burning around the neighborhood, but i get to the next redlight and it will idle normal a minute, then it will slowly drop until you can tell its stumbling more and more, each redlight getting worse. until finally i pull in the drivewawy and it dies.
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So, is it possible that when i upsized the jets that the oem fuel pump cant handle that fuel need? is there somewhere hidden that im not seeing a vacuum leak?
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Its tough b/c i cant spend a whole day on it, i get an hour here and there and my patience is low. I just dont see how it could run fine last year (with the advance hooked to the wrong vacuum port) and this year, after i got the wiring situated at the ballast resistor, and changed to electric choke, its F'd!
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oh yeah, its a stroked 360.... 750 edelbrock

No the choke isnt stuck on, i could feel that it was totally open.
 
I would put a fuel pressure gauge on it and see if it drops when it gets warm. Maybe a vapor lock problem or bad vent.

Im not a big fan of the 750 Eddy carb. They seem to have problems. The 600s dont for some reason.

What are you using for a ignition ? Orange box ? May be its heating up and loosing power ?
 
I would try a different ECU and coil to see if maybe they are heating up. Try them one at a time though.
 
AdamR said:
I would try a different ECU and coil to see if maybe they are heating up. Try them one at a time though.
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Not a bad idea, I was just thinking of trying that actually..... Thats the only thing I havent tried, and i did some soldering on the connections, so its possible maybe something heated up too much?....
 
In reference to the vacuum leak, I had one once on an old car and what I did was took a can of starting fluid and just give it a mist of spray in a few spots where you think the leak may be and if there is one the engine idle will speed faster. Not sure if you want to do it on your or not though. Just a suggestion.
 
Thanks, Ive done that in the past, i may try it again later.... I have a wedding to go to @ 2pm and i really wanted to take the car out! :munky2:
 
well, its not fresh. I mean it sat over winter, but ive filled up since then. I would think it would run this consistantly bad if it were fuel.... new filter too. I did just change out the ECU with a new cheapy one. It didnt seem to have an affect. The old one was melted a little though, I could see the 2 little red tube thingys.
 
Have you tried popping the fuel tank cap off when it starts running crappy? Maybe the tank isn't properly vented.
 
Check your voltage at the battery too, you may be over charging. OK, now I'm running out of ideas, lol!

When it starts running bad, get it in the garage and see if you're running lean or rich. An unlit propane torch works well for this, just open the valve and point it in the airhorn. If it speeds up, it's running lean, if it runs worse the mixture is OK or rich. Don't smoke and keep your face away just in case there's a back fire.

Pull out a spark plug. Is it clean, tan, or all black and sooty?
 
Did you get the carb new or has it been rebuilt? Eddys are great carbs and MOST of the time you can just take them out of the box and go but I like to take them apart and check the float levels. It might be worth checking.
 
I'll update you guys later today. I had the carb rebuilt, and come to think of it, Its been hard to start ever since I dropped the stroker in. Is there a recommended float level to go by with certain jets? I do have the Owners book so i can check there too. Thanks guys!

And, i promise I will post about my A body one of these days!
 
Eat My Dust-er said:
what I did was took a can of starting fluid and just give it a mist of spray in a few spots where you think the leak may be ..........
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I've seen several cars caught on fire using starting fuel or ether. Carb cleaner is a better choice, or map gas or propane.
 
So, I took the car out today. Man, it was awesome on the highway. Cruised @ 80 mph for a while.

But i still got off and almost stalled at red lights. Then, i thought, maybe after it sitting for so long since November with only a few trips here and there (Legendary had my seat covers for a while) I filled up with ultra 93 from Sunoco. I figured, if it were bad gas it would dilute. well, the car ran HORRIBLE!! I stepped on it and it was spitting and missing!! So, after keeping both feet on the pedals for a couple miles, I pulled in the drive and stalled. I figured while i was at it, Id throw another Coil on to see if that was getting hot. The car kept stalling as i pulled in the garage.

What are the symptoms of a fuel pump going bad? im reaching here, My uncle said he'd help me out next weekend when i go down to pull my cousins engine. But, it would feel good to figure this out myself
 
when you open the gas cap do you hear the whoosh of air movement? The next time it starts to idle poorly, quickly take the gas cap off. Drive it easily for a mile or so. If it helps, you have a fuel tank vent problem (which I think it sounds like).
 
Had the same symtoms on both my cars. small Block was the ECU. The Big Block was the vapor lock issue. Does your fuel line run close to your exhaust? When mine is running down the road at speed there is enough air keeping the line cool but when in a parking lot or signal you have no air moving. Check it out. Adam is on to it.
 
Sounds like the pickup coil in the distributor is bad. Especially when it gets "heat soak" after getting off the highway.
 
Tell me you blocked off the exhaust crossover ports on the intake manifold, please. 92 premium is packing more ethanol in it and ethanol will turn to gas and vaporlock your fuel line very quickly with a hot engine. And like deadly dart said the pickup coil (reluctor) will sometimes crap out when hot then work fine cold, ask me how I know.

Terry
 
Is there a way to change out the pickup coil? or would i need a new distibutor?

I will take a look at how close the fuel line is, and i will also try the gas cap again (it didnt help in the driveway, but maybe i needed to drive it)

could i have toasted the pickup coil when i soldered with out disconecting the wires (idiot i know)
 
when you say that you fixed the wiring at the ballast resistor, what all does that entail? give us an idea how you have the ecu wired in.
 
I'll need to take a look to post correctly, But, I went with the wiring diagram for a 4 post resistor. I did it correctly according to the diagram but maybe something is up.

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