Annoying issue
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Annoying issue
I've been tinkering with the timing on my truck to see where it feels best to me, and @ 12 degrees seems to be it. When it is set at 12, the motor sputters on occasion at highway speeds. Nothing serious, just enough that its noticeable.
Its not a problem, I can move the timing back to factory specs and it goes away. Just curious about what could be causing it more than anything. I have changed the fuel filter, distributor cap and rotor, plugs and wires.
Its not a problem, I can move the timing back to factory specs and it goes away. Just curious about what could be causing it more than anything. I have changed the fuel filter, distributor cap and rotor, plugs and wires.
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Sorry about that, its the 4.9. I don't really know which way would describe it best. It feels like it stops firing for a fraction of a second. Nothing else cuts out, no other issues. Only occurs at highway speeds, never at low rpm.
Last edited by White Mountain Goat; Apr 22, 2014 at 07:37 PM. Reason: more info
Laughing Gas
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 959
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From: Imperial, MO
If you're not hearing an accompanied "rattle", then I'd look toward the ignition system. Advancing the ignition timing and driving in higher transmission gears will both increase cylinder pressure right at the time of ignition, which places a higher load on the entire ignition system in order to arc across the plug gap. In other words, something in your ignition system, be it the plugs, wires, coil, cap, or rotor is contributing to a "weak" spark. A cracked plug insulator or plug wire crossfire are common culprits here.
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I don't know why it never occurred to me, getting old I guess, but the problem feels exactly like it is jumping fire between older plug wires.
On a side note, I bumped the timing to @14 before leaving home yesterday just to see what happened. The problem was still there, but nowhere near as often. It happened maybe three times in a 50 mile trip. I will go check everything out tomorrow and make sure the wires are properly separated, as well as check for the other things you mentioned. Thanks.
On a side note, I bumped the timing to @14 before leaving home yesterday just to see what happened. The problem was still there, but nowhere near as often. It happened maybe three times in a 50 mile trip. I will go check everything out tomorrow and make sure the wires are properly separated, as well as check for the other things you mentioned. Thanks.
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My problem got a little worse as the week went on, overtime at work kept me from addressing it as quickly as I wanted. Yesterday I started by pulling the plug wires one at a time off the distributor, two of them were discolored from the golden color they were new to a dull gray. Everything else looked good. I replaced the cap, the one on the truck was less than two months old, and reset the timing. So far so good, maybe that fixed it. It is getting really frustrating having to switch out new parts for more new parts, but we don't have a real parts store in town anymore.
Tuned
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 368
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From: Virginia Beach/Wisconsin
Been there. I wont even go to the most chains for ignition components anymore, junk. NAPA still has mostly good ignition parts. God I miss the good old days of Standard and Blue Streak ignition parts. Progress. 
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Senior User
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 431
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From: Colorado
I hear ya there brother. I recently went through 4 alternators, 2 voltage regulators and a plug from orilleys within a week. All bad out of the box. It's gettin crazy trying to find quality parts anywhere but online and even then its still hard. I would go with NAPA along with what others have suggested.
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Still trying to chase this issue down. I found two broken vacuum lines thus morning behind the head, whoever decided hard plastic vacuum lines were a good idea needs a thrashing. Got those repaired and hope it helps.
I read something the other day about the EGR affecting the motor causing hesitation and stumbling. Looking over my EGR system, I see that there is a hose missing. It is about the size of a heater hose, there are two others coming off the valve, one going to the intake and the other coming from the smog pump. I assume the missing hose would have been connected to the exhaust? The exhaust was replaced by the PO, and there is no cat it any plumbing coming to the engine bay. Would plugging the open port cause any problems?
I read something the other day about the EGR affecting the motor causing hesitation and stumbling. Looking over my EGR system, I see that there is a hose missing. It is about the size of a heater hose, there are two others coming off the valve, one going to the intake and the other coming from the smog pump. I assume the missing hose would have been connected to the exhaust? The exhaust was replaced by the PO, and there is no cat it any plumbing coming to the engine bay. Would plugging the open port cause any problems?
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Still trying to chase this issue down. I found two broken vacuum lines thus morning behind the head, whoever decided hard plastic vacuum lines were a good idea needs a thrashing. Got those repaired and hope it helps.
I read something the other day about the EGR affecting the motor causing hesitation and stumbling. Looking over my EGR system, I see that there is a hose missing. It is about the size of a heater hose, there are two others coming off the valve, one going to the intake and the other coming from the smog pump. I assume the missing hose would have been connected to the exhaust? The exhaust was replaced by the PO, and there is no cat it any plumbing coming to the engine bay. Would plugging the open port cause any problems?
I read something the other day about the EGR affecting the motor causing hesitation and stumbling. Looking over my EGR system, I see that there is a hose missing. It is about the size of a heater hose, there are two others coming off the valve, one going to the intake and the other coming from the smog pump. I assume the missing hose would have been connected to the exhaust? The exhaust was replaced by the PO, and there is no cat it any plumbing coming to the engine bay. Would plugging the open port cause any problems?
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Hope this works, using the new pic uploader. You can see the port pointing to the left of the page. It looks to me like it had a hose on it not long ago, there is a definite dust line around it and it is barbed on the end. The barb is what had me thinking it was supposed to have a hose on it.
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