Help please! My 1982 Malibu Classic wagon suddenly runs terribly

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Luke's82

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Dec 31, 2015
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No, I did not wash my engine. It was a pretty powerful wash however, so It could be possible that some splashed passed the seal, considering the distributor is right under it. I think it would have dried out by now though?
 

Luke's82

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Dec 31, 2015
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But like I said it drove home from the wash, and didn't give me problems till the next morning.
 

ssn696

Living in the Past
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Jul 19, 2009
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Did the temperature change significantly overnight? Could the choke coil have died? If it stays closed once the engine warms up, it will run rich and die a lot.
 

HAFROD

Royal Smart Person
Jul 15, 2013
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Where's the sending unit? And after I take the distributor off, do I need to retime it?

Told you guys I'm novice.
No, don't remove distributor. Just cap and rotor. Mark your plug wires and distributor cap before removing them from the distributor cap.
 

Luke's82

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Dec 31, 2015
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Here's where were at... tried running with gas cap off. Still giving problems. Will start fine, hi idle, and idle down. It will die if I tap the gas, or put it in gear. If I slowly press the accelerator it will respond ok.
 

Luke's82

Apprentice
Dec 31, 2015
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Here's where were at... tried running with gas cap off. Still giving problems. Will start fine, hi idle, and idle down. It will die if I tap the gas, or put it in gear. If I slowly press the accelerator it will respond ok.
 

Longroof79

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Oct 14, 2008
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Hafrod brought out a good point about going over the distributor.. Sticking weights, worn bushings, bad vacuum advance canister, etc. could reek havoc on the way it runs...especially if it's not advancing.

Also a plugged catalytic convertor could also make it run alike crap. So it could be any number of things.
 

Luke's82

Apprentice
Dec 31, 2015
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OK I am going to check the distributor when it warms up a little this week. My friend is giving me a ride to school luckily. How do I check the vacuum advance? And the distributor is fairly new. Do they wear so quickly?
 

HAFROD

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Jul 15, 2013
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OK I am going to check the distributor when it warms up a little this week. My friend is giving me a ride to school luckily. How do I check the vacuum advance? And the distributor is fairly new. Do they wear so quickly?
Is this a SUMMIT brand distributor? If it is, it will be the counterweights. The Summit HEI's have really light springs. They stick out causing exactly what your describing. If you still have your old distributor, use the stock heavy springs. I just went through this with two separate Chevy Summit HEI's
 
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