zeitgeist57 Posted June 21, 2004 Report Share Posted June 21, 2004 No spark! On ANY plug! Replaced wires, coil/cap/rotor (HEI distributor, and plugs. Checked connections, fuel, timing...very confused. Yesterday it ran on two cylinders (1 and 6) and seemed to pick up a couple more when I held the gas pedal down (high revs) but would quickly sputter and die without being able to idle. Dave, seriously...if you can't help, the truck is going bye-bye! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurkvinny Posted June 21, 2004 Report Share Posted June 21, 2004 Sounds like maybe you've slipped timing man. If so, then the spark is always firing somewhere other than on the wire you're checking. EDIT - have you had the dist. and/or timing chain out of the engine recently? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted June 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2004 Dist out on Sunday, but I THOUGHT I did a good job of marking timing marks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
still2hi Posted June 21, 2004 Report Share Posted June 21, 2004 i had almost the same problem with the monte. mine would only fire on one or two cylinders. i went and bought a hole new distributor/cap/coil wires and still wouldn't fire. it was not showing any spark through the timing gun. i then put brand new spark plugs in and put a new ground to the block and it ran perfect after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted June 22, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2004 So...could my problem be the carb? I've replaced 3 sets of Autolites in the past year because they get REALLY fouled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blazen Posted June 22, 2004 Report Share Posted June 22, 2004 Have you been to s-series.org? I know thare are a lot of 4.3 guys on there who might be able to give advice.I did the same as you minus the coil. It turned out that I had a crossed wire.I douno, sorry Im not much help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
still2hi Posted June 22, 2004 Report Share Posted June 22, 2004 Originally posted by zeitgeist57: So...could my problem be the carb? I've replaced 3 sets of Autolites in the past year because they get REALLY fouled. if your fauling three sets of plugs a year then there is def. something wrong with your carb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desperado Posted June 22, 2004 Report Share Posted June 22, 2004 Either that or it needs valve seals or rings because it's burning oil. It's the 86 C10 I assume. So it's got a Quadrajet on it. And the factory HEI ignition. Yes, if the carb needs rebuilt, it would foul plugs, but they would be dry with black soot, and to soot up the plugs, you would see black smoke if the cat con is not in place, and you would see it before it warmed up either way. As far as the HEI. There is little to fail with one of those, and the normal culprit is the module. If you are not getting any spark , and had the dist out, make sure that you have 12 volt at the red wire going into the B+ terminal on the cap when the key is on. Other than that the thing is self contained, so if you are feeding it power, and you have no fire, the problem is under the dist cap. I would test the pickup, should measure about 5K to 10 K ohms. If it shows open then it's probably bad. There is really not alot to these things. Hell if nothing else call me and I will swing by. It's probably something that just got overlooked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurkvinny Posted June 22, 2004 Report Share Posted June 22, 2004 Originally posted by still2high: if your fauling three sets of plugs a year then there is def. something wrong with your carb.Don't be so fast to say that. Desp already pointed out the seals/rings (which this truck did have bad valve seals). But, on top of that, a faulty ignition system can also destroy plugs very quickly. Didn't this whole mess start after you had the engine partially apart to replace valve seals? If so, why did you have the dist. out to replace seals? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
still2hi Posted June 22, 2004 Report Share Posted June 22, 2004 i didnt think about the valve seals being bad. i just figured they were good. that could be why the plugs fouled. thanks desp and nurk for pointing that out to me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted June 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 (Point of clarification...I replaced all valve seals, but never pulled the distributor til now) UPDATE! I pulled the dist and took it to Jono at Advance Auto...he gave me a new cap and coil, and after putting the distributor back in I had spark! I tried to align the rotor with TDC on cyl#1, and I got PRETTY close smile.gif It did run after much labor (see below), but so much black smoke came out (thru catalytic converter, too!) that it alarmed the neighbors. The carb is running rediculously rich. The plugs were black and WET. On top of that, instead of the engine turning over like "aahrararrarararr" it has these dead spots when starting that almost kill the starter and battery, like it's fighting hydrolock or the timing is WAAAY off. It goes "ahh-rarr-ruh.....RArrrrr-arr-arr-arr-ah...ruh...ruh...rarrararararra". The battery and starter are almost dead from fighting this. I suck at working at this old shit (first timer at 26yrs of age working on a carbureated engine like this) but I've got the truck to learn from. Please let me know why the starting sequence is so labored and how I can be sure it's timed properly. It CERTAINLY wouldn't be 180deg off timing wise, but might be 15deg off. Would this affect an HEI dist? The cap electrode pickups are huge. Timing almost looks unnecessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurkvinny Posted June 23, 2004 Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 Very classic sound descriptions smile.gif Forget about the carb for now. First thing's first, get the timing set. With a light smile.gif . Hard starting like you described can be the timing way too advanced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
still2hi Posted June 23, 2004 Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 you may be a tooth off with the distributor. i believe it can still run if its like that, but it will run like shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tractor Posted June 23, 2004 Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 Yes the engine will still run if the distributor is 1 tooth off in either direction. If you need the distributor all the way to one side to get it to start at all then rotate the gear one tooth and put the dist back. It should start and run fine that way. Your right timing is almost not important to get it to run. I always get the engine to start run and idle good and then I dial in the timing by trying it and then driving and readjusting until I get a good pull all the way through the engines RPM range. I've found a timing light to be completely useless for everything except checking the fuel spray in my TBI model GMC. My toyota pickup has a nice carbed 350 in it so its easy. Evan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted June 24, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2004 UPDATE! It RUNS! smile.gifsmile.gifsmile.gif After pulling all sparkplugs and finding TDC on cyl#1, I realized that I was about 30-40deg. (1 cylinder) off on the base timing. Dist. reset, and a noisy rocker arm adjustment later, she's running but rough. Idles well after engine warms up. THANKS TO ALL FOR YOUR HELP!!! Problem now is the Q-jet is DUMPING fuel into the engine. At temperature the cats pop from all of the unburnt fuel getting into the exhuast. I need a rebuild, used (operating) Q-jet, or a Holley carb/intake manifold for a 4.3L Chevy V6. Any assistance here? smile.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave1647545494 Posted June 24, 2004 Report Share Posted June 24, 2004 I'll bring you over another carb. if it still runs bad we are going to look for vacum leaks. if it fixes it then I will have to take yours apart again and find whatever I fucked up. will you be around this sunday?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted June 25, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2004 I'm going to Mid-Ohio on Sunday morning...not sure when I'll be back in the afternoon. Thanks for the help offering. When else do you have time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desperado Posted June 25, 2004 Report Share Posted June 25, 2004 Hey, I have an Edelbrock carb that would work well on that motor. It's about a year old, I pulled it and the intake that it was on to go back to a holley. $100 and I will tune it to your motor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted June 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2004 PM sent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted July 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2004 DAMMIT!!! It will turn over now but WON'T RUN! Sounds like a spark problem. I lowered the steering column and pulled out the ignition module operated by the rod attached to the keyed ignition cylinder on the steering column. Bought a new module, thinking that power was making it to the car and starter, but for some reason there is no spark, like the distributor isn't getting any signal from the ignition. I've replaced almost everything, and had the distributor tested as well. Now, I replaced all the spark plugs, and the ignition switch. Still no spark...engine not catching. What am I missing? If the ignition module in the HEI distrbutor tested out ok, can it still be bad? Does it have a condenser? GRRRRRR!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.