what to do?

So, I'm still tweaking it. After getting the #2 plug cleaned up and adjusting the valves it wouldn't want to go over 3000 without missing, or maybe it was knocking. I ran some seafoam into the vacuum line and it seemed to help a tad, I think the carbon built up in there causing it to burn the fuel at the wrong time. On Friday I adjusted it so that the idle mixture screw is way in and readjusted the timing by ear. It is still off, but it runs. But the clutch is getting worse I think and don't have the time or money to do anything about it right now. Of course I do have a spare clutch and pressure plate, problem is I need the car to get to work and my wife needs the Trailblazer. The summer is already busy enough. Not only does the clutch plate need replaced, but so does the shifter linkage, the seal for the shifter and possibly the main rear seal.

Sometimes I wish I had a new car that didn't have problems and I didn't have to worry about this. AC would be nice too. But, I don't and it will be at least 3 years before we buy another one. So the 02 will have to make it and I'll have to find the time to tear it apart again.

Tuning Update

Over last weekend I tore into the car a bit. I was tired of the rough running, wobbly engine and the sucky 19 mpg that I had been getting. First step was to see if I could get the car to start easier and take care of the surging problem when I know the timing is right. So off comes the top of the carb (Weber 32/36 DGAV) and I get down to the float, apparently this thing can cause all sorts of issues if it isn't set right. Well, mine was set around 30mm, should be 41mm. So I got that set correctly. Just had to bend the floats down a bit. I put the top piece back in place and then went for the choke. I'm pretty sure it had never worked properly. I started by lining up the marks on the choke and the carb and then tweaking it to where it actually closed the flaps at the right spot. Then I adjusted the screw to stop the linkage at the right spot for high idle, it was backed out to where it wasn't even touching before.

The next day after letting the engine cool over night I pulled the plugs and the valve cover. #2 plug was fouled, that explained the rough running miss firing engine. But why? I put the car in fifth gear and starting rolling it to adjust each of the valves to .006. When I got to #2 intake, there was no gap, when I loosened the nut it actually came up some. I think it was too tight, not letting it close all the way. With all of them set, I cleaned up the plugs, put them back in and went for the timing.

First I put the carb to the proper setting than got the timing set to the "dot" on the flywheel. My car is one of those that doesn't have the marks on the pulley. Then I set the carb to where it was running smooth and sounded good. Took it out for a drive and was very pleased by how much smoother it was. Lacked power though.

On Monday I tweaked the timing a little to bring the power up and haven't touch anything sense. It has been great. My biggest issue with it now is getting the high idle to set when it is cold.

The next thing I need to work on is the transmission. It still leaks, hopefully a seal for the shifter will fix that. Also the clutch is slipping, luckily I have a new one, just need the time to tear it apart. Also the right front brake is squeaking. Probably need better pads up there.

Even more tweaking

Yesterday I messed with the timing and the idle mixture to try to smooth out the engine. After trying one way after lunch and it running worse on the way back to work,  I decided to go even farther clockwise on the distributor when I was almost to work. I also put the idle mixture screw farther in. The result is a smoother running engine, nice power, and higher revving (got it over 5000 RPM this morning). Plus no bucking when not on the gas. It still likes to back fire out the carb before it is warmed up. Before adjusting the idle speed screw this morning on the way to work, it was idling around 400 RPM, now I have it around 900 RPM. The next thing to see with these settings is what will the MPG be.

A few things that I know need to be fixed are an oil leak near the oil filter (but not the oil filter gasket), a coolant leak, probably from the intake manifold to water pump hose and a leaky transmission, hopefully from the selector shaft seal.

New wheels and more tweaking

I had to rotate the tires on the 02 today and while I was at it I decided to try on the wheels my older brother gave me. Well, they fit and I think the ride is actually better with them. They definitely look better than the stock ones.

I've also done some more tweaking on the engine. I backed out the idle mixture screw some because it was still running a tad rough. I tried about 1/4 turn at first which improved it, but I did another 1/2 the next day just to see and it was a ton better. Surprisingly the idle speed lowered to about 400 RPM. I didn't think that was possible in an 02. There was some jerking though when lifting off the gas so I tweaked the timing a little clockwise (I can't remember if that is advance or retard). This smoothed out the engine more and then I brought the idle speed up to about 700. Can't wait to see how it goes tomorrow.

20 mpg

I've finally got the 02 up to 20 miles per gallon. I think that having to idle less because of the cold is helping, but also I believe it is just running better. I'll be putting in a new cap and rotor today to try to smooth it out some more and that will hopefully improve the mileage even more.

Dirty plug

So my 02 has been running a little rough for the past few weeks. At low RPMs the engine would wobble and shake the whole car. Last night I took out the spark plugs to inspect them and regap them to a small gap. I did have them at about .035 and regapped them to .028. Also most of the plugs looked fine, but #2 had a bunch of carbon build up that I had to clean off. These were new plugs, less than 500 miles. It seems odd that it would do that.

Anyway, after taking care of that and adjusting the timing at lunch today it is running so much better and much less engine wobble.

I'm thinking about connecting the breather hose to the carb. The fumes that it lets off are dizzying at times. Plus when I am stopped sometimes it looks like the 02 has a major issue with smoke coming out of the hood vents. The good thing is that it really isn't loosing much oil anymore with the longer hose.

Engine wobble

So my 02 developed an engine shake or wobble that was getting really annoying. I wasn't sure what it was. I thought maybe timing, maybe a misfire. Someone else had the problem and it turned out to be low voltage and a better alternator fixed it. I'd like a new one, but there are things that are more important now. I adjusting the timing and it fixed it somewhat, but it really helped with the jerking feeling when cruising along. But what I think really helped it was oil. I was dangerously low because it was all blowing out the breather filter, making a mess too. I extended the hose to 2 feet and put the filter on the end. It has done so much more than reduce the engine wobble. The throttle response is better and it feels like it has more power. Picture to come later.

I need to do a front end alignment really soon. The front tires are wearing the insides down and if I don't do something soon the tires will be toast.