ok heres what happened... I just finished my car this last winter. It started great ran awesome the first time I drove it. Well after driving it the first time I noticed that I had a small leak at the intake manifold. So i pulled it and fixed it. When I pulled my distributor I made damn sure to mark the rotor and the housing to the block so I could put it in exactly how it came out.
So I put it all back together and started it up and its popping in the exhaust (never did that before) and idling super high about 1700 RPM and getting hot very fast. So I checked my timing and it was off. I have no vacuum ports on the carburetor to check as someone I know mentioned a vacuum leak.
Im getting very frustrated because it ran so so good, now I cant seem to get it right. I reset the timing, and got it to 32 right where it was. But it still idles about the same 1500-1700 and I can smell the headers now again ( must be running rich, or advanced) I dont know what to do, there for I call on you guys! I was supposed to have it in a car show next weekend and today and sunday are my only two days to get her back to golden!!! Thanks everyone!
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Cody
69 Bronco, 351W, Edelbrock performer, Holley 670 T/A 35'S 5.5'' Wildhorses lift, Locker rear, F-100 power steering and a slight rear main leak
Sounds like you still have an intake leak or the engines pulling air from somewhere other than through the carb bores.
If all the gaskets are sealing from the carb base to the heads & the engines only pulling air through the carb, idle can be controled. You backing the idle screw off completely on the carb, & what kind of carb you got that has no vacumm ports on it.
its a holley 1050 race version, no choke or vacuum ports. I dont have the part number close to me but i got it from summit. I am going to re-do the intake again today sometime. I never have good luck with intakes. I did my 69 bronco with an edelbrock and it leaked a little oil from the front. then i sold that manifold and used a factory cast iron one for a while and it went on perfect.
I do have one intake bolt in the middle that stripped a little when i was tightening it. I got it close to 25 ft lbs and I felt it give a little. Im afraid to touch it. Thats probobly where my leak is...... damn
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Cody
69 Bronco, 351W, Edelbrock performer, Holley 670 T/A 35'S 5.5'' Wildhorses lift, Locker rear, F-100 power steering and a slight rear main leak
You have several choises for sealant to put on that engine. Theres the Permatex brand of high temp silicone in either gold, red or black colors. Either of those will work well.
Another brand of sealant is Three Bond. They have a # 1104 & a 1211 thats the best I've ever used.
The 1104 sealant is a thin grey type, kinda runny like & real simular to the sealants called Honda bond, Yama bond used for bikes & atv gasket surfaces.
The 1211 is a more thicker paste type, white in color & more resistant to heat, oils & such. The 1211 is what I normally use when building two strokes. You got to be sure those are sealed up, because if not, an air leak will kill the engine in short order.
The key though with any silicone sealant, is allowing time for the sealant to cure out before any oils, gas, coolant are added or running the engine. Proper amount of curing time, would be like over night or a days time.
What will work real well most of the time, apply the sealant to the clean dry surfaces & just let sit say an hour or so & then put all the parts together.
Neil
This does undoubbtedly sound like a vacuum leak, bu before you tear things apart and go back together again, what kind of gaskets are you using? You are not using the turkey pan gasket right? Just a plain Fel-Pro right? Did you use the rubber seals for the "China Wall"?
I ask because these tend to cause the largest problems with the 385 series engine.
I prefer to not use any gasket at all on the front or rear sealing surface. A nice bead of sealant works wonders, but patience is the key. Permitting the sealant to set up before the intake is applied is real important to prevent leaks.
Now I have never had any luck marking a dizzy and geting the timming right again, so a proper timing method will be in order. That being said, be sure that once the engine is being "called" that it does not backfire, or your power valve(s) will be shot and your problems will be compounded.
Remove that intake, verify that you have corrected the leaks, and fix that stripped fastener. Proper clamping force is madatory to prevent leaks. Failure to maintian proper clamping force can be the difference between a reliable running engine and one that leaks. Vacuum leaks can be the end in a hurry.....Instant melt down........
Thanks for the advice, does a heli-coil work the same on a aluminum head as it does steel?? I think thats what ill need to do. Since we have the water pump hose thats about 2'' long between the intake and the water pump, is the best way to wiggle the hose in with the front of the manifold facing down then lay it in place?
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Cody
69 Bronco, 351W, Edelbrock performer, Holley 670 T/A 35'S 5.5'' Wildhorses lift, Locker rear, F-100 power steering and a slight rear main leak
The thread repair kit will work for aluminum as well.
As far as that small piece of heater hose, I always try to remove the water pump as well. This way, I can make sure that the gaskets are not disturbed when I am banging that intake around. Once I have the intake in, and I am confident that I have the correct squish on the China walls, I can install the water pump and little hose without fear of a gasket moving.
As a note, I also try to leave the dizzy installed. I can change my intake without removing the dizzy. I run an MSD Pro Billet. I have done this with plain old Duraspark II's as well.
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