sregor13 Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 I just put the engine back in my Wagon after replacing the Clutch for the Second time in 6 Months and I am unable to Start the Car. The Car acts like it might want to start. It will crank and even slightly backfire. But it wont start. I tried shooting a bunch of SF into the Carb to prime it but still no go. Shoots a puff of white smoke out. You can smell gas when cranking. So since there is just one of me what kind of troubleshooting can I do? I tried propping open the Carb with a wrench to make sure it was getting air. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soobme Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 Any chance U moved the dist. and knocked it out of time when U wer doing the cluch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby_boucher Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 Pull the plugs and make sure they arnt fouled. then clean them and retry. if no go check spark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sregor13 Posted October 28, 2005 Author Share Posted October 28, 2005 Well the guy who helped on this project came out and moved the Disty so that #1 was firing on 6 Degrees before TDC, I think. As far as the plugs go I will change them but I dont know how I would go about checking spark with only one person. Any suggestions? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooziewhatsit Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 did he just twist the disty to adjust it, or take it out and put it back in? At least with the SPFI EA82s to make sure the disty is in the right position... -take off the passenger side tbelt cover, -crank it around by hand until the 'dot' on the cam points north-west (straight up being north) -At this point, the disty should be pointing right at the #1 plug wire on the distributor cap. I presume this procedure is the same for a carbed EA82. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sregor13 Posted October 31, 2005 Author Share Posted October 31, 2005 I knew I should have pulled those timing belt covers off when I had a chance. Anyways, I got the car started. The timing was "180 out" I am not sure what that means but I pulled of the Disty and rotated until the Rotor was pointed right before #1. it runs but it is a little off I think. The car is running real rich. It burns my eyes and kinda runs poor. In addition it dies at every stop. I had a friend help and he says I need a timing light. Drove to the next town over to get one from Walmart. of course they dont carry them. So is there a way to get it right without a timing light? I have heard of this sort of thing but I am not sure how all that works. I know where the marks are on the Flywheel and I beleive it should be 6 Deg BTDC, but I have no idea how to do the timing with a light or otherwise. Sure I have taken of the timing belts and pointed the marks....etc to get the base timing. But is the base timing different than the Ignition timing??? I am confused on this whole timing thing. Any ideas would be helpful. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 You can do it with a timing light or a vacuum gauge. Using a vacuum gauge, adjust the timing until the gauge reads highest, then back off the timing if you experience detonation under load. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarian Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 Ignition timing and valve timing are two different things. The valve timing determines when the valves open and close, and is determined by the timing belts, and unless you really know what you're doing, you should set it to the factory specs. You can advance valve timing to pick up some power, but you also lose top end. What you're talking about is ignition timing, which determines where in a stroke the spark plug will fire. The factory specs are "optimum" for economy and reliability, but you can usually pick up a little power by advancing 2 to 4 degrees (additional) BTDC. Advancing the spark will also help compensate for altitude. If you don't have a timing light and can't get your hands on one, you can get close by timing by ear. Start with the timing mark at the specified advance (probably about 8 degrees BTDC). Note where the number one plug wire is on the distributor cap (you might make a small mark on the side of the distributor base) and remove the cap. Turn the distributor so that the rotor is pointing straight to the mark you made. You should now be close enough for the engine to run for you. If the rotor isn't pointing anywhere near #1 when you remove the cap, you're probably 180 degrees out (which means you're on the exhaust rather than the compression stroke). Just turn the engine one complete revolution (one engine revolution equals 1/2 distributor revolution). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 The timing was "180 out" I am not sure what that means but I pulled of the Disty and rotated until the Rotor was pointed right before #1. But is the base timing different than the Ignition timing??? I am confused on this whole timing thing. Any ideas would be helpful. Thanks A normal car engine has a 4 stroke cycle of the piston. The positions are intake, compression, power, and exhaust. When the disty is 180 degrees out, it is trying to fire a plug (180 degrees away) while the cylinder the rotor is pointed to, is on the exhaust stroke instead of the compression stroke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sregor13 Posted November 2, 2005 Author Share Posted November 2, 2005 Thanks guys. I got the timing light now and I want to try to get the ignition timing set. My car is running really rich. What is the procedure for timing with the light. I know that I need to clamp the Pos to #1 SP Wire, and the other end to ground. I also know where to point the light. But that is about it. My timing light has a dial on the back of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahDL88 Posted November 2, 2005 Share Posted November 2, 2005 take the vacuume line off the disty and then set the base timing for what ever the car requires. 20 for spfi 8-12 iirc for carby models Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sregor13 Posted November 2, 2005 Author Share Posted November 2, 2005 Yea I am not sure how to do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted November 2, 2005 Share Posted November 2, 2005 To set the timing you need to loosen the the distributor clamp so you can move it to the correct timing as indicated with the timing marks. The idle speed may need to be below around 800 RPM and the vacuum advance line removed from the disty. Do you know how may degrees you need to set this to? I think the dial on the rear of the light allows you to see where the mark would be when you turn the dial to your timing setting. It has been too many years to remember for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sregor13 Posted November 4, 2005 Author Share Posted November 4, 2005 Tried to set the timing. Heres the problem. The car wont stay running unless it is at about 2500 RPM's. I got the timing set just right at that RPM but as soon as you back off the throttle the timing goes out about 10 Degrees and then dies. I have the Vacuum Line of and plugged and had the timing set for 6 Degrees BTDC. Then I back of the throttle and it goes out of timing and dies. So it seems like I could get it just right but I cant twist the Disty anymore because it is at the edge of the bolt slot. So then I try to take of the Disty and restab it to give me the ability to adjust it to where it it shoudl be. As soon as I push it back in then it flips the rotor right back where it was. Do I need to reset my base timing? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted November 4, 2005 Share Posted November 4, 2005 I would just try moving the disty to a position that the engine likes to see if you can get it to idle correctly. Is there a possibility that the timing belts could be off? Did these get changed out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sregor13 Posted November 4, 2005 Author Share Posted November 4, 2005 No regretfully the timing belts werent changed. When the car starts it runs great until it idles down to normal RPM. I am not sure the timing is the issue anyways. Could be the little black plastic thing behind the air cleaner that has rubber lines running into it. The nipple on the bottom of this I discovered was broken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted November 4, 2005 Share Posted November 4, 2005 That may be a vacuum line tied to a solenoid and there may be a vacuum leak now. There are usually two of those for the emissions system and you don't want to know how expensive those are if you buy them through the dealer. Hopefully you can find a used one from someone here or the salvage yard. You can at least plug the hose up to stop the air leak if there is one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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