Could be several things, but sounds like a problem with the truck
getting too rich a fuel mixture. The first things I would check
are:
1. Is the choke opening all the way. Look down the throat of the
carb. This is the butterfly valve at the top of the carburator.
It chokes off the air and makes the mixture rich for a cold start.
I would bet that your choke cable either broke or came unhooked.
2. Are the carburator floats and needle valve working OK? With
the truck shut off, disconnect the fuel line from the carb and hook
up a short hose. Blow into the hose. If the fuel bowl is full and
the floats and needle valve are working, you shouldn't be able to
blow air into the carb fuel port. BTW, do this with very low pressure
air (less than 5 PSI) like from your mouth. Don't suck unless you
want a mouth full of gas. If this test is inconclusive or negative,
it's time to dig into the carb a little deeper, which is probably
more than you want to do yourself right now.
3. It is possible that if the points are loose, they may not make
contact from time to time, screwing up the spark and making it run
rough and like it is rich,though you generally have to fire the plug
to make it sooty.
As for the screw in the distributor that holds the points in place,
that is sort of important and should get fixed. In the end, you
may have to take the distributor apart to do it right.
The first thing I would try is a new screw. The old one should be
a standard thread available from any hardware store and it may be
that the threads are worn out on the screw, but the threads in the
hole are OK (In your dreams!)
The next is re-tapping the hole for the next size bigger screw.
If you are careful with the cuttings from the tap, you should be
able to do this in place. You may also have to re-drill the hole
on the points to get the screw to fit. Remember to keep the new
screw as short as the original, There are rotating parts under it.
If that doesn't work, you need to pull the distributor and replace
the plate.
You done good. Telling us what the plugs look like was a good move
and helps a lot. It sort of scares me now days that plugs in a new
car are often good for 100,000 plus miles. They should be looked
at from time to time. They can tell us a lot.
Thanking God for every minute I spent with my Old Man working on
these things when they were "Newtrucks".
Bruce Kettunen
57 3200
Mt. Iron, MN
At Wednesday, 2 May 2001, you wrote:
>-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
>
>Once again I'm having an engine problem with the 235 I-6 in my '54
1/2-ton
>that goes beyond my limited technical expertise.
>Driving from school to work and, later, work to home, two days ago, I
>noticed some smoke coming out of the tailpipe and general rough
running.
>I took a look at the spark plugs, and they were all covered in soot,
but
>nothing seemed to be wrong with them, so I wiped off the soot and
put them
>back in. No change in how the engine ran.
>Yesterday, I took a look at the points, they looked clean, so I
re-gapped
>them to .016"...and now the engine is running even more rough, with
more
>smoke, and it won't stay running without giving it a lot of gas.
>I did notice that the screw inside the alternator that holds the
points at
>their set gap (not the one that adjusts the gap) just keeps turning; it
>doesn't tighten. I'm guessing this is not normal? Could that be the
>cause of my problems? Any other ideas?
>
>Thanks in advance,
>
>Tim Lloyd, omaha@tmbg.org
>"Power that comes from the barrel of a gun can only be effective for a
>short time." -The Dalai Lama
>"We choose to go to the moon...because that goal will serve to organize
>and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge
>is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone,
>and one which we intend to win." -John F. Kennedy
>"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it--even
if I
>have said it--unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common
>sense." -Buddha
>
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>oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
>
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