robaru

So if my car doesn't have an 02 sensor site on the cat, and no black or gold box under the steering column, that's one less thing to wonder about. Thanks. Could a tiring fuel pump be the cause? I put a gauge on it at the carb and got 4 psi. Coil?

Thanks for the reply. Beautiful Brat by the way.

I appreciate the response. Frankly I hope it doesn't have one. Probably expensive to replace. I have been chasing a hesitation in the accelleration since I purchased the car. Two weeks ago I completed putting a short block from a wrecked car in it, as it lost a big chunk out of one of the valves on the #1 cylinder, and it burned alot of oil. It was a smoker. I also put remanufactured heads, and all new gaskets, thermostat, ect. Needless to say, the new motor did not fix the acceleration problem. 5 months ago I put a remanufactured carb on as well, with some improvement, but not it yet. In the last couple days I've taken the distributer appart, cleaned it, even polished the bearing races till now the vacume advance is nice and smooth. I can't detect any play in the shaft, though at idle the rpm does vary some. When accelerating, the power ok until about 1/2 throttle, then it hesitates until you get to 3/4 throttle, then it takes off. It won't hold at 60 mph without constantly playing with the throttle to keep it at that speed. So today, on the way to work, at the top of the same hill that I broke my valve on, the car starts making a loud clicking coming from the front right side. I have no loss of power (yet) like I did before, but sounds similar. I checked to see if it was a leaking exhaust gasket, but no such luck. So I'm about to compression test it tonight, but I'm still wondering if I'm getting that side to hot due to misfiring and torching valves because of that. What else could be responsible for the lack of power from 1/2 to 3/4 throttle. I'm still checking and have found no vacume leaks. I did get it hot the other day setting in traffic, but to quite to the red on the dial, and it didn't boil over. Since then I hardwired the electric fan on and it runs right in the middle of the temp dial, as it was this am at the top of the hill when I noticed the noise. So could it be the coil? Sorry I'm so long winded.

Does a 1987 GL Carbed Sub have an ECU? If so, Where does it set? I've been chasing a timing problem for awhile (I think), and I'm looking for possible culprits. What are the symptoms of ECU failure, and are they common? I'm full of questions. Any advice would be great.

Bead blaster is a cool tool for cleaning aluminum stuff. Machine shop should have one. Or you could buy one and build a box for it.

Well, I think I found the problem. The vacume advance attaches to this plate that rotates with bearings. The bearings are sticky and don't advance smoothly, so I pulled it out, clearned it and relubed it. Put it back in a drove it, but it was still abit sticky, better though. A new plate costs $72. Not cheap. Thanks for the help again.

So is a new distributer in need, or can they be "rebuilt"? What do you all suggest, New? Rebuilt?

I did suck on the vacume tube, but really didn't want to admit to it. Luckily it was dark out and I doubt anyone saw. I had visions of the hood falling down on me. I didn't think to keep the suction on to see if it held. It did move but it wasn't smooth. Guess I'll do it again. Thanks for the help.

Thanks again. I'll go ahead and pull the distributer and check it out. I'll let you know what I find. Appreciate the help.

I'll try to advance it tonight. Thanks.

Thanks for the reply. The filter is new, I should have listed that as well. I put the car on a timing light last night and reved the motor, and it wasn't a very smooth increase in timing on the flywheel. It jumped around abit as I slowely reved the motor. It also didn't always come down to the same spot on idle. Do most stick with the 8 degrees BTDC, or fiddle with it abit? So just for fun I left the vacume line off and went for a drive. It seemed to run a little better. I have a distributer off a 85 gl. It looks abit different. One distributers wiring connects with a plug, the older one looks like it just hooks to the pos and neg leads on the coil. I'm starting to suspect the distributer. Thanks again for the reply. Sorry I'm so long winded. The car is in great shape, and It's so functional, I really want to get it going good.

Just found this site today, Wow, lots of info. I have been chasing a power problem in my 87 GL Carb 4x4 wagon non-turbo. I just finished putting a motor from a wrecked car in my car (I had a big chip out of the intake valve on cylinder#1.) I put 2 remanufactured heads on. Prior to this I bought a rebuilt carb and installed it with no effect as well. The problem is power form about 1/3 throttle to 3/4 throttle. It hesitates badly in that range. As soon as I get past 3\4 throttle, it suddenly regains the power I'd expect. Wires, cap, rotor, plugs, are all new. Air filter is new. The problem was unaffected by the lower end swap. I still have parts from the other car, distributer, coil, carb and intake manifold. It's a car from California, so it has all the emmision stuff. I'd be greatful for any direction.