Car running rough.. where to start?

[dave_s1987]

Send it back to Jegs!!!!

Well it bought it like a year and a bit ago so I'm pretty sure they wont let me return it. I may still inquire though because you never know.. I've purchased a fair amount off them in the past.

I also want to get this thing going tomorrow so I can get to driving it before it goes into storage. Jegs would probably take about a week to send me a new one and at this point every hour counts to me lol It's been a long road and I thought I would be driving this thing everyday by mid June at the latest. What a pipe dream that was lol

 

[TURNA]

Order a new one return the old one.

 

[nawlins-tim]

Hey guys, Im having some issues getting my car going. I just got the cam shaft broken in and changed the oil. I started it back up and she idles really good so I got it up to temp and then put my air filter on and decided to go for the maiden voyage.

It did not run good for very long.. after driving for about 3 minutes I came to stop and it started to stall.. I kept trying to give it some gas but it eventually did stall out and I was not able to get it started again.

I waited about 25 min and then finally got it start again but only if I'm holding the gas petal down. As soon as I slow down or stop it just stalls again and won't start for a bit.

Not sure if it's a carb adjustment or what? Just figured I would see if anyone had any ideas off the top of their head while I'm sitting at the side of road lol

Oh and it's a Holley 750 do carb and 355 sbc motor. Both fresh off rebuild

Dave

Start with the basics. A wise man once said " Check the cheapest parts first" and hope it doesn't take you long to find your problem.

 

[dave_s1987]

Start with the basics. A wise man once said " Check the cheapest parts first" and hope it doesn't take you long to find your problem.

thanks for the solid advise, I always appreciate it.

I am 99% sure I have it all figured out now and will be back on the road tomorrow. I installed the inline fuel filters and new pressure gauge and i also filled the tank with good gas to dilute any bad gas that may be in there still.

I also accidentally over tightened one of my carb studs so the threads gave in at some point and it was just sitting there loose when I checked it. I am assuming that when I tried to start it I had some air getting in there as well also causing it to not run right.

Once I get a helicoil in there tomorrow, along with a new carb gasket, I think shes going to run great!.. well I hoping anyways lol

 

[dave_s1987]

thanks for the solid advise, I always appreciate it.

I am 99% sure I have it all figured out now and will be back on the road tomorrow. I installed the inline fuel filters and new pressure gauge and i also filled the tank with good gas to dilute any bad gas that may be in there still.

I also accidentally over tightened one of my carb studs so the threads gave in at some point and it was just sitting there loose when I checked it. I am assuming that when I tried to start it I had some air getting in there as well also causing it to not run right.

Once I get a helicoil in there tomorrow, along with a new carb gasket, I think shes going to run great!.. well I hoping anyways lol

Well I got my helicoil in today and put the carb and linkages back on went tried to fire it up.. unfortunetely it ran the exact same as it did when this all started. It was hard to start and wouldn't stay running unless I really hit the gas.

I decided I would try to adjust my float bowls to less fuel and see what happens. I adjusted both the primary and secondary quite a bit and it was actually getting easier to start and required less of me ramming down on the pedal to keep it running.

At this point i finally remember to check the fuel pressure on my new gauge i just installed and it was 8.5psi. Now I'm pretty sure all this poor running was cause my too much fuel pressure flooding the float bowls. Holley recommends 6.5 I think and the maximum is 7psi.

I already have a fuel regulator (just have to get fittings for it) that I'll be installing tomorrow so I can set it to a better psi.

Although today didn't go my way I have good feeling tomorrow will finally be the day that I get this thing going good enough to take it for a good drive .

 

[dave_s1987]

So I got right back at it today hoping to install that regulator and hit the open road. Instead I installed it to find that my issue was the exact same. I will only run when I have my foot on the pedal.

I did notice that when I removed the fuel line after the filter it was still a little bit of an orange color. I dont know if that's the cause of my issues or what... but I've had to throw in the towel.

I called a performance shop not far from my house and the soonest they can get me in is 1 week from today. Very disappointing, but what can I do at this point. First thing I will get them to do is figure out where the orange is coming from. I'm assuming it has to be rust in the old fuel line because everything else for the fuel system is brand new so that will be replaced for sure. It should have been done already when i did that tank to be honest with you guys.

anyways, just giving an update/venting. Unless you guys something else I should try, I am just going to push it back into the garage and try to focus on fishing for a week or 2 while someone else takes care of my baby.

Thanks again though to anyone who tried to help with this. When its all fixed up and running I'll fill you in as to what was going on.

Dave

 

[pontiacgp]

where are you located in Ontario..

 

[dave_s1987]

where are you located in Ontario..

I'm located in Burlington. Only shop in my area that seems to know about this stuff is nortern performance. They seem pretty reputable

 

[pontiacgp]

I'm located in Burlington. Only shop in my area that seems to know about this stuff is nortern performance. They seem pretty reputable

I got my exhaust done at Budget exhaust on Harvester Road in Burlington, they sponsor circle track cars and they did a great custom job. It sounds like the problem you have with with the carb. Does your carb have any idle mixture adjustment on the side of the bowl? When you do an adjustment on the float can you get the level of fuel in the bowl below the sight glass?

 

[dave_s1987]

I got my exhaust done at Budget exhaust on Harvester Road in Burlington, they sponsor circle track cars and they did a great custom job. It sounds like the problem you have with with the carb. Does your carb have any idle mixture adjustment on the side of the bowl? When you do an adjustment on the float can you get the level of fuel in the bowl below the sight glass?

Yeah I think I have the float bows adjusted good now. At first when you took the sight screw out the leaked quite a bit. I did some research and adjusted both of them to where they would only trickle out a tiny bit of gas when the site plug is removed.

I'm starting to think I may be better off buying a brand new carburetor instead. That way I can save the cost in labor and towing my car to the shop and I can also sell my old holley 750 to make it pretty cost effective. At least when I am going to tell my girlfriend to make her feel a little better. Apparently she thinks I spend too much on my car.. shes crazy though.

Ive actually heard good things about that budget exhaust as well. I work about 2 minutes from it too. If I'm going to take my car to anywhere in this area though, northern performance is definitely the best option. I don't even think they work on newer cars there unless its one their employees from the weathertech section of business.