wont stay running...again

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scampy72

scampy72

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hey all its been a while since ive been here, been too busy with school for any free time. im having issues with the slant in my scamp though. it will only run in park or neutral and only with a pretty high idle. once you shift into drive or any other running gear for that matter it stalls out. if the gas is on it will stay but once it slows below about 15 mph it stalls. tried adjusting timing, that worked once before but seems to not have an effect now. msybe im timing it wrong? any help there or other ideas would be really helpful. also i dont think it is the choke because it was running in park to warm up and the choke opened up so...

please help i need this car running as its my only car now.
 
You should check for vacuum leaks sounds like that could be it, the high
idle leads me to say this
 
remove the air cleaner and grab the carb and see if its loose...

check PCV valve and hose for cracks

check the hose and brake booster for leaks

check all vacuum cams and hoses
 
It sounds like What my old 318 would do, back when I first got that motor running - Turned out to be caused by both a vacuum leak, and severely retarded timing, but you already checked timing.
 
thanks guys!! how do i go about checking for vaccuum leaks? thats one ive never done before. also i think if anything my timing is severly advanced cause du to the issue i made it run faster hoping that would work as it did the trick last time. forgot to mention btw that the car has been sitting for quite a while it was de registered cause i had no money its been sitting for about a year or more though i have been starting it and letting it run but never took it out of park so....

thanks again ill check for vaccuuum leaks once i find out how lol.
 
If you know a rodent hasn't created the problem and stale fuel isn't the problem, Remove the air cleaner and cup you hands down over the air horn. If you smother the engine, that's normal. If the idle gets better and faster, there is a vacuum leak somewhere.
In that case loose carb is a good guess.
 
I'd bet you have a problem with your fuel delivery. Pop your fuel intake tube out of the tank and have a look at it. You may find the screen on the end is not there or partially clogged. Check or change your fuel pump too, the new gas eats pumps for breakfast.
 
1 more vote for vacuum leak.

I'm having a identical problem with a rebuilt slant. I sprayed some carb cleaner around the intake, and the engine steadies out, which tells me I've got a vacuum leak. While in park or neutral, it will run decent but not great. (Idle quite a bit higher than I'd like though) But in gear, it sputters for a second or 2 and then dies unless I'm pressing down on the gas.
 
Common problem, with many posts. My 69 Dart 225 ran like that for decades until I finally got a good carburetor (~4th Holley 1920), then it ran amazingly smooth.

Also verify you measure ~8 V or more from coil+ to BATT- with the engine idling. If not, a problem with your wiring - ballast, bulkhead, ignition switch.

In my case, I had electronic ignition (Crane XR700) and had pursued the vacuum leak theory extensively (new intake, propane test, ...).
 
ok so i check for vac leaks and the carb was super loose, i tightened it but still having the problem also plugged a vac line that wasnt in use. im gonna go buy a new pcv valve on a hunch but it may not be that. the carb is getting gas fine and i can see in the filter that its not dirty. was thinking it could be the float? could the gaps on plugs or old wires cause this problem? any help appreciated.

would i use a voltmeter to check the coil?

anybody got a cheap 1920? lol

should also note that i rebuilt the carb last season and then after playong with the timing it was running fine. ive tried timing it now, that didnt help
 
Sometimes it happens that when a car is in nuetral, or park, that the rpm increases, and the advance springs in the distributor open, and the additional advance allows the engine to idle...when you put the car in gear, all of the advance drops off, and the engine stalls...check to make sure the timing isnt dropping off when you put the car in gear....the remedy is a little bit stiffer springs on the advance weights.
 
ok so bad news for me i guess.... after tinkering i ralized that the problem was beyond both my skill and tool set. i took it to a mechanic that was recommended to me. he said he has a suspicion that the timing chain is stretched. im hoping thats not the problem cause i dont have the money to fix that. i assume itll be expensive unless i can do it myself. ill keep you posted,.


right now....moral support appreciated more than anything, kinda frustrated that i just got the car on the road and now...well everything going to poop.
 
I would really like to hear the reasoning that the chain is stretched. This gut must be a genius.geru. He can hear or has xray vieion to know this.
 
first of all it was just a hunch.

second Good-ish news. i just got a call from the guy and the problem is that there is apparently a crack in the carb. he said he only saw it once he had cleaned it up. so i just need a new carb and base gasket. im gonna look around for one now.
 
scampy72 said:
... im gonna look around for one now.
Click to expand...
There are a lot of bad rebuilt carbs out there, especially Holley 1920's because they have a sealed metering block which is hard to verify. I did find a nice-looking one last January in the trunk of a Mercedes 300D (of all places), in a SoCal junkyard. I sold it to a FABO guy near me, and it seemed to cure his lean idle problem.

Maybe look for a Holley 1945 or Carter BBS. The later is a 1 bbl version of the common BBD, so many mechanics could fix and tune it. Might also be an opportune time to consider upgrading to a SuperSix or 4 bbl setup.
 
wish i had the money for the upgrade but right now about all i can afford is the carb. was wondering if any two barrels will fit the stock manifold though, any thoughts?

is the 1945 much different than the 1920 that i have, any mods needed to make it work?

was looking at the reman 1920's from summit on ebay anybody have any experience with those?
 
scampy72 said:
was wondering if any two barrels will fit the stock manifold though
Click to expand...
Ran across the following on ebay and remembered your question
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-barrel-1-...632&pid=100010&prg=1076&rk=4&sd=140970359735&

The 2 bbl would let you use the very common Carter BBD.

The ad says they have seen these on Chrysler straight sixes (slant?). It would probably require a custom air cleaner, like MeMike's to close the hood. Might use the air ducting from a Magnum engine, since cheap at the junkyard.
 
Take this for what it's worth. No offense meant. This seems to be a recurring problem. My advice to you is to get some basic troubleshooting skills yourself. Do you have a factory service manual? And I mean factory CHRYSLER, not chilton or haynes or any other wannabe. Get one if you don't. Don't say "I don't have the money". If you don't have the money for a book of instructions for your car, maybe owning an old car isn't for you.

Again, no offense, I'm just layin it out there. Asking for help everytime your car boogers up doesn't help YOU in the long run. What if the internet is down? What if you cannot get to a computer or phone? Old cars can have anything happen at anytime. Nobody can know everything, but you can certainly learn a few basic skills to discover why and how your car messed up. They don't have an on board computer. They don't have ABS brakes or any other complex systems. Everything is hot and ground electrically. Either you have fire or you don't. Either you have fuel or you don't. Either you're in time or not.

About the factory service manual. I like a good old fashioned BOOK rather than a CD. what if the CD gets a scratch? The electricity is out? Internet is down? You still have a BOOK. lol

Like I said, I mean no offense. But none of this quick fix stuff is helping you in the long run. It won't stick. If you get the book and read it you'll find out how your car is supposed to work and have instructions on how to repair it.
 
scampy72 said:
ok so bad news for me i guess.... after tinkering i ralized that the problem was beyond both my skill and tool set. i took it to a mechanic that was recommended to me. he said he has a suspicion that the timing chain is stretched.
Click to expand...

Find another mechanic. That one is full of $HIT!

1st of all chains don't "stretch", the become elongated through wear on the individual pins.

That takes a long time & the symptoms would NOT appear suddenly.
 
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