Hey listers,
I replaced the fuel pump earlier today. It wasn't in bad shape actually,
looked good enough to use. The diaphragm had some cracks in it but nothing
horrible. Overall the car does drive better now with the new pump. It
starts up easier which is probably due to better fuel at low RPM's.
The problem with the engine stalling still persists.
Dick Taylor suggested checking if water is properly flowing through the
manifold and I am pretty sure it is. The only thing I can think of (which
Joseph off this list suggested) is to use a thinner oil in the dashpots.
Right now I'm using the recommended 20W-50. I've searched all through the
archives, manuals, and books and have found no definitive answer as to what
is the best to use - it seems to be something along the lines of "whatever
works." It looks like I'm going to try 5W-30 in the dashpots after I clean
out the old oil tomorrow morning.
Any other ideas?
Thanks,
Steven
(original message attached in case you need to reread what I've done)
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> Ok, I've been having this problem for months now and still haven't figured
> it out. After taking a high speed run for an extended period of time
> (doesn't have to be very long, just a few minutes really) my engine
> doesn't want to idle when I pull to a stop. I have my idle speed set
> around 1000. What happens is the rev's come down to about 1000, it quickly
> drops to about 400, putters a little bit, then dies. I can immediately
> restart the engine and everything is fine. This will happen for a few
> minutes after pulling off the interstate then it drives perfectly normal
> again.
>
> This occurrence is very reproducible and is just about guaranteed to
> happen. Sometimes the engine does stall on occasion without a highway run,
> but it doesn't happen often and I can't purposefully reproduce it - it
> just kind of happens.
>
> I found some vacuum ports on the carbs that were capped but the caps were
> falling apart. I replaced these caps and the situation has improved a
> lot. If I'm watching the tach I can save the engine by giving it a little
> gas, unlike before I replaced the caps where nothing could save it. I'm
> using just standard engine oil in the dashpots which are filled to the
> appropriate level.
>
> I'm pretty sure the mixture is set OK as the spark plug color is about
> what is should be. If anything I'm a little on the rich side.
>
> I am unsure if this is causing or adding to my problems, but when I
> replaced the caps on the carbs I also rerouted a few hoses. Instead of
> having the breather lines go straight in the carbs (getting them dirty
> inside) I routed the line instead going into that center port on the
> intake manifold going through an off the shelf PCV valve. Most of my
> effort up to this point has been trying to eliminate vacuum leaks in the
> part of the system.
>
> Finally, the car is 1974.5 with the good ol' Zenith Strombergs so nothing
> has really been modified in the intake system.
>
> Anyone have any ideas on what to do? Thanks for the suggestions!
>
> Steven Altomare
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