engine problems, again.

[David Williamson]

and let them know what you have already replaced...

We are for sure.
Thanks

 

[David Williamson]

I think they are trying to cover as many bases as possible, because they don't know what has been done to this car, or if it was done right. For example, a new module, cap, rotor, wires and plugs pretty much eliminates anything ignition related from the situation. A carb rebuild takes care of any fuel issues. That leaves mechanical things like valve adjustments and cam timing. I would suggest the same course on an unknown car, BUT, I would also expect a compression test first just to be sure the motor was healthy before anything else was ever considered.

When they do a compression test what exactly do they do.
Because my wife want's to know exactly what to say to them.

Thank you.

 

[David Williamson]

Your choke is hooked up properly, that is how they state to do it in the manual. If your getting power than it needs adjusted or your choke is junk. A bad ignition module in my experience will not allow the car to start. I have replaced about 3 of them over the last 10 years. Every time they went bad the car simply would not start. So I dunno if that would be something you want to drop the cash for. If they are good mechanics they should be able to at least trouble shoot some stuff. I see no reason they need to rebuild everything and replace everything. I understand they want to eliminate those things as a problem but hey you could eliminate it all and buy a brand new engine. So personally I wouldn't just let them replace everything and go hog wild. 9 times out of 10 your gonna pay more than what they quoted you anyway. You know they are gonna need something once they get to digging, then it snowballs from there. Good Luck.

That's exactly what I was thinking, I don't want them to justy assume its this and its not even bad.
I want them to actually get down into it and see exactly what the problems are.

But yeah we already thought that if they do it right and do everything they will find some other parts.

Thanks.

 

[David Williamson]

I would also expect a compression test first just to be sure the motor was healthy before anything else was ever considered.

Absolutely. Do this or have this done before you do anything else David.

Thank you so much we will certainly do this.

 

[CHRIS.O]

They unplug the coil wire from your distributor so it does not start. Then they remove a spark plug on the cylinder they want to check and insert a hose with threaded end on it. They roll the engine over to check and see what the compression is. If it is too low or not within a range of all the other cylinders then you have a problem internally.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/access ... 87835_0_0_

 

[David Williamson]

They unplug the coil wire from your distributor so it does not start. Then they remove a spark plug on the cylinder they want to check and insert a hose with threaded end on it. They roll the engine over to check and see what the compression is. If it is too low or not within a range of all the other cylinders then you have a problem internally.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/access ... 87835_0_0_

Thank you and yeah we watched a video about it a couple times to get a glimpse of how its done.
Wasn't as hard as I assumes it was going to be.
Me and my wife could do this before they come pick it up, So I guess that's what were doing tomorrow.

One question he listened to the air noise for five counts, is that how many times I should listen for as well?

 

[CHRIS.O]

Post the video you watched so I understand what your asking.

 

[CHRIS.O]

Don't worry about posting the vid. I think I know what your talking about. Take all the spark plugs out of the engine, all 8. Unhook the power wire to your distributor. If your not sure which one that is then ask I will show you. Your gonna need a charged battery for this so plan on having a good and charged battery. The process is simple. screw the gauge into the cylinder you want to test and have someone put their foot to the floor on the gas pedal and roll the engine over for about 4 seconds or until you notice the gauge not climbing anymore. Record your results, move on to the next cylinder. Now I know some people are going to tell you to warm the car up first and that is fine but I am betting your gonna find your problem on the passenger side pretty easily and it isn't gonna matter if the car is warm or cold if you have a bad head gasket. If you have a bad head gasket the gauge will read much lower than the rest of the cylinders but it is also possible to have two cylinders next to each other with a low number because the gasket is bad between the two. This is all a guess anyway on what could be wrong. I just see a lot of white smoke and that typically spells bad head gasket in my experience. It seriously could be something as simple as a poorly adjusted valve, bad valves, or worn rings but usually worn rings just smoke a lot. The engine is going to roll over a lot quicker than normal so be warned about that. No spark plugs equals no compression so its just free rolling. There are different types of compression test as well but what I described there is pretty basic and in my opinion the first step to take. Good luck.

 

[David Williamson]

Don't worry about posting the vid. I think I know what your talking about. Take all the spark plugs out of the engine, all 8. Unhook the power wire to your distributor. If your not sure which one that is then ask I will show you. Your gonna need a charged battery for this so plan on having a good and charged battery. The process is simple. screw the gauge into the cylinder you want to test and have someone put their foot to the floor on the gas pedal and roll the engine over for about 4 seconds or until you notice the gauge not climbing anymore. Record your results, move on to the next cylinder. Now I know some people are going to tell you to warm the car up first and that is fine but I am betting your gonna find your problem on the passenger side pretty easily and it isn't gonna matter if the car is warm or cold if you have a bad head gasket. If you have a bad head gasket the gauge will read much lower than the rest of the cylinders but it is also possible to have two cylinders next to each other with a low number because the gasket is bad between the two. This is all a guess anyway on what could be wrong. I just see a lot of white smoke and that typically spells bad head gasket in my experience. It seriously could be something as simple as a poorly adjusted valve, bad valves, or worn rings but usually worn rings just smoke a lot. The engine is going to roll over a lot quicker than normal so be warned about that. No spark plugs equals no compression so its just free rolling. There are different types of compression test as well but what I described there is pretty basic and in my opinion the first step to take. Good luck.

Thank you so much for this Chris, I understand and It isn't sounding very hard at all.
But i will for sure do this before they pick it up.
I will tell you all how it goes.

 

[Bonnewagon]

David, write down all the readings for each cylinder, then post them here and we can evaluate your motor's health.