1981 Buick Regal -Starts but majorly misfiring-

[lilbowtie]

I kinda hate giving advice anymore because there are few that really take it and then there are those you don't hear from again (must of fixed it) Just listening to the engine you can determine if you have a dead cylinder or you have mis-firing. Members answered right off the bat w/ firing order and compression check - this would give much needed guidance and direction.

 

[drew_5150]

back in 2005 didn't the insurance company pay you for the stolen car?

I had insurance on my license, not in the car..

 

[drew_5150]

I kinda hate giving advice anymore because there are few that really take it and then there are those you don't hear from again (must of fixed it) Just listening to the engine you can determine if you have a dead cylinder or you have mis-firing. Members answered right of the bat w/ firing order and compression check - this would give much needed guidance and direction.

I'm still here lol
I work too..
Thankyou for your decision to comment its much appreciated..

 

[drew_5150]

Does it pop thru the carb when you have it in park and rev it up?
Can you isolate a particular cylinder that is not firing>
Disable the ignition and spin the engine over while listening to the speed of the engine turning over. Is it consistant or does it speed up at times. If it speeds up a compression test is next
A compressor test does not always tell the whole story. You could have a broken valve spring or a worn cam.

Yes it pops and spits gas out the carb. I'm going to do a compression test today.

 

[Max Headroom]

My 1981 Regal 3.8L was stolen from me in 2005, 15 year's later (November) I found it and brought it home. At first when I tried to start it it was plopping in misfiring and I thought it was due to bad gas and/or a dirty carburetor so we rebuilt the carburetor and got it bolted back on yesterday. Still having the same symptoms so I went to the parts store and bought a new cap, rotor, spark plugs and its still missing, now I'm waiting on spark plug wires (they had to be ordered in). I'm writing this to ask if anyone else has dealt with Something simular minus the car being stolen at one point.. lol
Any common issues I might be overlooking?
Anyone have a good vacuum diagram for that year?
Any help is much appreciated! View attachment 141163

All advice so far are things you should do. They will eliminate most of the issues that might be causing this. There is one other thing you might check. It goes along with what ck80 said. If the distributor was pulled and put back in, one tooth off it would make the car misfire and stumble very badly (maybe start but not keep running). Check how far the distributor is twisted in the hole. If it is all the way to one side or the other, it is a good sign that the distributor is off by a tooth. When installed off by a tooth, they will sometimes hit and stumble when either retarded a or advanced all the way. I for one would love to hear the story. Especially if the low life who stole it ends up in the hospital or jail.

 

[airboatgreg]

Yes it pops and spits gas out the carb. I'm going to do a compression test today.

If the compression is good pin point a cylinder that is not firing, remove the valve cover and look for a broken valve spring or the lift of the cam not being like the exhaust ones. Should be an exhaust valve issue

 

[fleming442]

Are these common problems? I thought those things were almost bulletproof. Anemic, but bulletproof. Hooptiewagon's in the Skyhawk runs fine; it just uses a quart of oil every 100 miles.

 

[CopperNick]

Does it happen to have that first generation computer?? that was supposed to govern advance/retard to the distributor and was plugged into a sensor on the carb for throttle location? It is not really a computer in the true sense of the word, more like a solid state governor of some kind. The power wire for it is attached to the battery stud on the starter solenoid. Could be old age and corrosion have crippled it. They did come in aluminum cases which were prone to corrode given their location--behind the passengers kick panel ahead of the front door.

 

[airboatgreg]

Are these common problems? I thought those things were almost bulletproof. Anemic, but bulletproof. Hooptiewagon's in the Skyhawk runs fine; it just uses a quart of oil every 100 miles.

Uncommon for sure
I am not there listening to it and that leads to a disconnect for sure. The old adage is garbage in and garbage out. Tough to diagnose without being there sometimes

 

[MrSony]

Look at the bright side... we've made it a few days without the usual "just ls swap it" or "put a buick 350 in, it's a direct drop in" comments a couple members are known for.

pssst

hey


op



350 buick swap it