Car running rough.. where to start?

[dave_s1987]

Would a blown head gasket cause a car to stall on have a lot of trouble starting back up? Or is that another issues all together?

 

[pontiacgp]

People keep asking me that but I have a terrible sense of smell. I'm always working alone so I have no one to ask.

Does it smell sweet people ask? Well it definitely doesn't smell like candy is shooting out if my exhaust lol if I had to put money on thiugh I would say it does smell a little sweet.. doesn't quite smell like normal gasses fumes at least

if it's coolant that's burning it has a distinctive sweet smell. What transmission do you have, I have seen the transmission fluid get sucked into the carb from a th350, transmission fluid will also give off white smoke

 

[dave_s1987]

if it's coolant that's burning it has a distinctive sweet smell. What transmission do you have, I have seen the transmission fluid get sucked into the carb from a th350, transmission fluid will also give off white smoke

I have a 200r4. I did slightly over fill the trans when I topped it up..

 

[pontiacgp]

pull the plugs to see if they are white and take a look at the dipstick to see if there is coolant in the oil and under the oil filler cap to see if there is any residue from coolant and oil mixing. I don't see how the head gaskets blew when you really have no miles on the engine and you have not mentioned it has ever seriously overheated.

 

[dave_s1987]

pull the plugs to see if they are white and take a look at the dipstick to see if there is coolant in the oil and under the oil filler cap to see if there is any residue from coolant and oil mixing. I don't see how the head gaskets blew when you really have no miles on the engine and you have not mentioned it has ever seriously overheated.

I ended up rolling my car into the garage and I'm getting ready to head off to work. I'll check the dipstick and plugs tomorrow. I'm hoping you're right about the gaskets and it's just something else. I have only gotten about .5 km driving since it was broken in and it has only really ever gotten up to good operating temp twice and never came close to overheating.

its strange that it was fine when my water neck was leaking a decent amount of coolant and then the second I fixed it is when it starts smoking. Maybe just coincidence? Is it just my bad luck that when one thing gets fixed another instantly goes wrong? Lol

 

[pontiacgp]

I don't think it would be the head gasket, by the sounds of it the smoke came on too quickly to be a head gasket and even with a bad senses of smell you would have noticed it if it was coolant burning.

 

[TURNA]

Just look in the radiator and see if your coolant is low

 

[dave_s1987]

pull the plugs to see if they are white and take a look at the dipstick to see if there is coolant in the oil and under the oil filler cap to see if there is any residue from coolant and oil mixing. I don't see how the head gaskets blew when you really have no miles on the engine and you have not mentioned it has ever seriously overheated.

I ended up rolling my car into the garage and I'm getting ready to head off to work. I'll check the dipstick and plugs tomorrow. I'm hoping you're right about the gaskets and it's just something else. I have only gotten about .5 km driving since it was broken in and it has only really ever gotten up to good operating temp twice and never came close to overheating.

its strange that it was fine when my water neck was leaking a decent amount of coolant and then the second I fixed it is when it starts smoking. Maybe just coincidence? Is it just my bad luck that when one thing gets fixed another instantly goes wrong? Lol

Just look in the radiator and see if your coolant is low

well that not as easy as it sounds lol I mentioned earlier that I had a leaky thermostat housing and just got it fixed when these problems started happening. I only got it top to run for a minute before it stalled and wouldn't start.

if the head gasket was bad how much fluid would 1 minute of idling take up? a noticeable amount or would it have to run for a bit before a significant amount was gone?

I will say that it didn't seem any lower after it idled for a bit though..

 

[somaphox]

a few things,you mention you have a 200-4r in the car so im assuming it once had the computer controlled setup via the electronic quadrajet and distributor.did you reuse the original distributor?if you took it off the computer yet are still using it it will run like crap possibly to the point of stalling out if the internals got too heat soaked and ruined but i think in that case you would smell the lovely sulphury bad egg smell.the 200-4r requires correct tv geometry to not basically eat itself,did you get the tv cable bracket for your holley?it doesnt take long at all and would make it stall pretty quickly id imagine once detrimental damage has been done.also on that note do you have the converter lock up on a switch or not used at all?if its on a switch and engaged i know coming to a stop and forgetting to turn it off makes it buck like a mule before stalling out.as for the smoke if it was burning coolant youd most definitely smell it through the exhaust its not candy like but more of a sickly sweet smell,you can pull all the plugs and bump it over to see if any if caught in the cylinders but if it were to the point of smelling it through the exhaust you should be able to see milkshake on the dipstick or in the radiator depending on where the head gasket blew(oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil)

 

[dave_s1987]

a few things,you mention you have a 200-4r in the car so im assuming it once had the computer controlled setup via the electronic quadrajet and distributor.did you reuse the original distributor?if you took it off the computer yet are still using it it will run like crap possibly to the point of stalling out if the internals got too heat soaked and ruined but i think in that case you would smell the lovely sulphury bad egg smell.the 200-4r requires correct tv geometry to not basically eat itself,did you get the tv cable bracket for your holley?it doesnt take long at all and would make it stall pretty quickly id imagine once detrimental damage has been done.also on that note do you have the converter lock up on a switch or not used at all?if its on a switch and engaged i know coming to a stop and forgetting to turn it off makes it buck like a mule before stalling out.as for the smoke if it was burning coolant youd most definitely smell it through the exhaust its not candy like but more of a sickly sweet smell,you can pull all the plugs and bump it over to see if any if caught in the cylinders but if it were to the point of smelling it through the exhaust you should be able to see milkshake on the dipstick or in the radiator depending on where the head gasket blew(oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil)

thanks for the advice. I don't remember removing any computer when I removed the old setup and installed the new drive line. I never worked on cars or knew anything before I started this project so I basically just ripped everything out and replaced it.. i'm thinking there was never a computer in there though.

I do have the correct holley geometry corrector for my carb and I did adjust the tv cable to where i think it needs to be (waiting to road test to see where the shift points on it)

It does have a lockup converter but I have not wired it in at all yet..

I am going to take your guys advice and check the plugs and dip stick tomorrow. I already have a batch of oil ready for my next oil change so I may just change it so I can take a look and see if it looks contaminated.

thanks again!

Dave