Engine runs rough when barely touching gas

[carmangary]

My car runs OK but if I have it in gear and barely touch the gas it sounds like it is missing and close to stalling. If I give it is tad more gas it smooths out. It's pretty consistent and doesn't get better after it warms up. It idles fine. It drives fine. It's just when barely touching the gas and in gear it runs rough.

Any ideas what it might be? I think I need to check timing first but I still don't know where the timing marks are. I've gone over the vacuum lines and they seem OK but I'll recheck. Time for a carb rebuild? Seems weird that the problem only occurs when the throttle is just starting to open.

 

[Bonnewagon]

Sounds like a clogged or dry off-idle circuit or weak accellerator pump. With the motor off, air cleaner off, look down into the carb. Work the throttle and see if you get a good stong squirt of gas out the pump discharge holes. A weak or spotty discharge indicates a weak pump. Also a too-low float setting will cause the off-idle discharge ports to lack for fuel when the throttle is cracked open. Dirt can clog the ports and cause that too, but a squirt of carb cleaner should open them right up. They are the slotted ports right above the throttle plates when closed.

 

[carmangary]

I unhooked and plugged the vacuum line that goes to the EGR valve and it fixed the problem. Well, it doesn't really fix the problem but the engine runs better.

 

[Doober]

I had a similar problem with mine a couple years ago, wound up being the cover on the ported vacuum port at the base was cracked and causing a small vacuum leak. Now it's showing the same problems again, but I think it may be carb-related this time.

 

[Bonnewagon]

So are you thinking the EGR was cutting in too soon, or leaking vacuum? Without EGR you may get some pinging.

 

[carmangary]

I don't know what's up with it. One of these days I am going to rebuild the carb, check all the vacuum lines, and check the timing and see if that helps any. Until then I will run without the EGR.

Also, I finally put a pic in my Avatar.