Engine won't idle - What else to try?

[bobcity]

So these little gems are found at an auto parts store?

I guess you buy a kit that has the spark plugs sizes and tap and drill?

Anything else, I should know about them?

[So Cal Mark]

yes, the kit will contain inserts, tap and drill. Make sure you put the helicoil in straight, that's very important (duh)

[mdrburchette]

man, I should be selling these tips!

1-900-ASK-MARK

You can charge $1.50 for the first minute and $3.00 for every minute after. Stupid questions will even be answered in a timely manner.

[bobcity]

Repair of the spark plug thread went very well. In case anyone has a similar problem, the helicoils are sold as a kit based on spark plug size, like 14mm. It comes with 4 inserts of different lengths. The kit cost $42. It also contains the tap. No drilling is necessary. They recommend you use a spark plug wrench to help keep tap aligned with hole. The grease trick worked great, as there was a large amount of aluminum shaving coming off. I also used a small shop vac attachment that could fit into the hole and vacuum the top of the piston.

[So Cal Mark]

thanks for the update, does the car run any better?

[bobcity]

You would think so, but ... I'm completely flummoxed by this car.

Quite honestly it has run worse every time I started it.

It will no longer even run long enough to warm up. (we're talking original carb now)

It runs for about 10 seconds and gets up to 1000 RPM and the belches twice out of carb and dies. Doesn't seem to be missing on any cylinder any more, just runs very weak and dies.

I've checked the carb and it gets fuel when I pull the accelerator, but I can't keep it running.

I've removed the distributor cap to check for cracks and tried to remove the pickup, but looks like I must remove the dissy first. The bolt on the dissy, looks like a challenge, crows foot too big so I'm going to have to get a bent open end wrench on it I think. Then I can go through the tests from the shop manual on ignition system.

Oh and I tried to check the timing back when it was idling at 2000, it was advanced of course but seemed to get close as it passed down to 1000.

Any thoughts appreciated.

[Jim DeShon]

Of course you have us all at a great disadvantage here because we can neither see or hear what is going on. If I had to lay money down I would say a secondary ignition [high voltage side] problem. The reason I say so is that the three other plugs were clean. That would tell me the carburetor cannot be too bad ! My second guess would be primary ignition. Look at the coil, plug wires -- and plugs of course. Don't run this too long this way though. These kind of problems can be death to the catalitic converter and oxygen sensor if it has them. ...J.D.

[mdrburchette]

Since we're all grasping at straws, have you eliminated a fuel pump problem? With it running worse every time you try, you may have a weak pump diaphragm. Also, test each plug wire to make sure they all have the same strong spark. As for loosening the dist nut, I bent a cheap open end wrench just for the occasion.

[Jim DeShon]

I would rule out a fuel pump or filter problem for the following reason. These problems show up when the engine is under load. This is because very little fuel is required to make an engine idle. Under load a weak fuel pump or plugged fuel filter will show up because it cannot supply the volume of fuel to sustain combustion at a higher engine speed. That has been my experience over the years. ...J.D.

[mdrburchette]

Jim, that sounds logical, I agree, but when my mechanical pump started acting up, it was hard to start and didn't want to idle but ran decent when I dogged it. Of course, eventually it just didn't work any more.

[Tappy]

...If I had to lay money down I would say a secondary ignition [high voltage side] problem. ...

Maybe a stupid remark , on my previous engine i've had some ignition problems also, I've replaced nearly everything from coil , leads , rotor , cap , points and sparkplugs and still dindt have a strong spark While mounting out the engine we discovered there was no seperated ground wire from the engine to chassis , this resulted probably in a weak ground and weak spark Mightbe a simple solution if this would cousing your problem ....

[bobcity]

I would rule out a fuel pump or filter problem for the following reason.

I have a clear fuel filter which is full of fuel. However, when trying to start I get the impression that it's starving.

Since I can see fuel entering the carb when I yank on the linkage, I'm leaning toward the electrical now.

I did do resistance on the wires. Need to do inspection of spark at the plug. Check coil, etc.

Will try all of the recent suggestions.
Thanks, Bob

[So Cal Mark]

starting to sound like incorrect cam timing

[bobcity]

starting to sound like incorrect cam timing

How does that happen? Belt slips?

[Jim DeShon]

I was under the impression that he had already checked the timing . It could very well be timing ! If he has not checked it, he should before going any further. I don't think it is a fuel system problem though. ...J.D.