jwilliams905

I think I'll just pull the cover back off. I didn't use any gasket cement to begin with, and it's starting to sound like a necessary precaution.

Thanks a lot. Is it possible to remove the seal without damaging it? I replaced the old one in the process, so I don't want to wait another 2 days for again for yet another new one.

Nevermind. Looked it up, found out the purpose, and that would seem to be the issue, haha. I appreciate your reply. =D

Hmm. . . I thought that was just a washer. . . What exactly does that do?

Hi guys, So I had to change out my timing chain and tensioner. The tensioner went bad and the chain stretched. I've gotten it all installed and am now to the point of installing the Oil Pump and Distributor, along with the Drive Spindle. The problem is, I can't seem to get the spindle to go in all the way, not even far enough to run the oil pump bolts. Shouldn't be that hard, I would think. The engine is in TDC, and I'm installing the spindle short side out, 5 degrees clockwise from the distributor bolt holes. It wasn't this hard to pull it, I know for sure. Any help could be greatly appreciated!

Hmm. . . I believe the fan clutch could make a whining sound if it went bad. I know the whining sound from a limited-slip differential comes from clutches and plates slipping, so I assume it could possibly be that. Not sure if a tiny clutch could make a dominant sound, but if a cricket can be so loud, you never know.

Okay guys, I've got a question. . . or two. My engine's running kinda weird. The timing is sporadic and it keeps back firing, etc... After eliminating electrical issues, I decided to pull the valve cover and tug on the timing chain. It's got between a quarter and a half of an inch of play. It's also making a minor knocking sound when I drive it. Does that sound like the timing chain is bad? Do I have to pull the engine to change out the chain, gears, and tensioners?

I have already blown the rail through from both the fuel line and the return line end and it blew through fine (according to my innexperienced perspective). Somebody mentioned that there could be a pin hole or something in the diaphragm of the fuel pump. Now that they mention it, I recall when I pulled it apart that there was fuel under the diaphragm. By my understanding, that should not be.

Yeah man, that sounds like a plan. Sadly, it'll be friday before I can touch the car again, so I'll get a few parts ordered and perhaps an electric fuel pump just in case. Does anybody have a reccomendation for an electric fuel pump? There's a lot to choose from, but I wanna go ahead and get the best one I can get.

I agree about the oil actually being fuel. I know the rear three were running at that point because I used a wet rag to compare the temperatures at the header, and I also pulled the 6 and 5 plug wires and it quit running. Before then, I had it running with all three of the rear plug wires unplugged. I haven't got the tools and means at the moment to run a fuel pressure test, so tomorrow, I'll get the proper equipment. Is that fuel pump in the picture I posted the stock fuel pump? It looked that clean when I bought the car, so I don't know if the original owner put some crappy aftermarket pump in.

Yeah, it didn't take long to give up on that idea. I'm assuming banjo bolts are the two nozzles on the sides of my fuel pump? (circled here in faint red)

I've just managed to get it to hold at idle off of only 3 cylinders (I unplugged the rear three plug wires and it didn't affect the way the engine was running). I put brand new NGK Plugs in before I even tried to start it (they're just nickel). I ran it choked for about 10 minutes and still when un-choked it, it sputtered out. I think resetting the float level is what caused it to finally hold at idle. I'll look into running a fuel pressure and delivery rate test, like you said, before doing anything else.

Doesn't make too much sense to me either, but If the rear three cylinders aren't firing while the front three are, and I can unplug and block the fuel line to the first carb and all of the sudden the rear three are firing up just fine, then that's the only explanation. I figured the tank was probably in need of cleaning anyway, but it seems I'd have to cut the thing open just to clean it and then get it re-welded when I'm done, so I don't know what I'll do there. I'm afraid if I just blow out the fuel line, and it clears the blockage into the fuel tank, then it'll just get clogged again. I'm assuming that the reason why there's a delay in it reving up when I open the throttle is because it's taking longer for that float bowl to fill up. the float level is to spec, and it runs fine if it's the only carb that's hooked up, so I'm assuming there is either a blockage or just not enough fuel pressure. Could it be something to do with the return line?

So I spent about ten hours on trial and error. I first found a friend who'd let me borrow his compression tester. So I tested each cylinder and found that all were running (dry) about 165 psi except for the rearmost which was at 175. Didn't make much sense to me, but I don't think it's a major issue. So I pulled the valve cover and adjusted my valve gaps again, hoping that might even out each cylinder, but it didn't change much. Still wouldn't crank and hold unless I was choking it, and every time I'd hit the throttle, there'd be a delay in it revving up. Spent a lot of time pondering, tinkering with my air flow and mixture nuts, and finally decided I might have adjusted the floats wrong. I originally adjusted them according to the Ztherapy video which was .55 inches (approximately 13.97 mm), but I've seen some say between 12 and 13 millimeters. So I re-adjusted them to 12.5 mm (float to float bowl lid). It made a slight difference, but not enough. Still the same issues, still pretty sure those three cylinders weren't firing. I knew fuel was pumping, I just didn't know how to measure the fuel quantity, and how much I should be getting, so my brother recommended pulling and plugging the fuel line to the front carb to see if the vehicle would start and run off of the rear (the cylinders that aren't firing up). Sure enough, fired right up, ran the same way just different cylinders. I'm pretty sure there must be a blockage in the fuel line, because I'm getting fuel, it's just going to the first carb. The filter is still good (by visual inspection), and the fuel pump is brand new (installed by the previous owner maybe 4 months ago). Tomorrow, I'm going to blow the fuel back into the fuel tank from the filter, hopefully clearing the blockage, and then I'll just drop the fuel tank and clean it. Feels like I wasted a lot of time, but I learned every damn inch of my carburetors, and much more. Thank you all for your help! I wouldn't have known where to start without your advice!

Haha, it's a learning experience, and I'm eager to work out the kinks, so I'm pretty thankful to even have a forum to post questions on! Before this, I was pretty well capable of figuring out the minor problems, but this one's had me baffled. I'll see if I can't get a hold of a compression tester from somebody. And I never thought of checking the fuel pump that way. I'll get back to you with the results and hopefully a conclusion! Thanks a lot, Jim!