Hey guys. Lately the 350 hasnt been running very strong. Ive got an evil oil leak and it keeps getting on my spark plug wires and plugs, it didnt start because of it! Im going to clean everything thoroughly tonight, I think It needs cleaning and tuning, adjusting. I wish I had the proper tool to set the rockers/ push rods correctly. I feel nothing is set right, runs great, idles great... most the time, but again, missing power lately. It used to jump and get up real nice. Any ideas?

OK, the new paint is on and now it's time to tune. Post everything you know about the engine, is it stock? what cam? compression? etc. If you have all of the info needed and describe what the problems are then I'm sure some people will jump in and help you sort things out.

Ok, lets look aside performance. On my way to work just minutes ago it died, second time this week! Always coming to a stop it dies, and now it idles kind of chunky, around 850RPM, instead of 1k which is usually what it RPMs. I cleaned off the spark plugs they were scummed a little bit, just the outside, havent taken them out yet. I have an oil leak and they got scummy. Im thinking maybe my fuel filter is no good? Its about 1 1/2 yr old, maybe its been through alot though.

350
Standard Bore
268 Comp Cam
Edelbrock Air Gap Manifold
ACCEL HEI Distributor
Stock pistons no work done on them known
New fuel pump, waterpump, covers, gaskets, head gaskets, all that was stock replacement.

Just lately, loss of power. And now its died twice. Im thinking a plug change and new fuel filter, even though there somewhat new. Its been through alot with this horrible oil leak! Damn small blocks :eek:

are your valve covers leaking?

also.. dont overlook the plugwires if its misfiring

Mine was doing that do to a vacuum problem with the brakes and bad plugs/ cap/ rotor

Replaced the master cylinder with the right one, got MSD wires, and a summit hi perf HEI kit and it came alive

PS: these are also symptoms i had when 2 rings burned out last fall...

Your "damn small block" responds in the same way as any other inanimate object, just basics at work, no secrets.

When anything does not work well one of the first things to do is replace/repair any obvious issues. You may as well start with what you know, rather than jumping all around searching for the blame. If having an oil leak allowed hot oil to bath the ignition wires and degrade them - then start there!

Some of the best advice I received when working on cars was all new to me was to look carefully at whatever was last worked on.

On a hydraulic cammed engine you need little beyond a cheap vacumn guage to do a running valve adjustment. As you loosen/tighten the rocker nut with the engine idling just look for quieter and smoother operation with good vacumn readings. Try to give each rocker nut the same amount of turns after it gets quieter/smoother.

There are a lot of reasons why a car's performance can be low - not all of which is from any engine problem, a weak auto trans will hold you back as well. Often when a situation is perplexing the answer is simple. Also, do not shy away from having a local trusted shop look it over - sometimes paying for a little shop labor leads more directly to a fix.

One small idea: remove the distributor rotor and turn it upside down. If you see ANY dark/black/carbon spot in the center, then replace it. Common issue with HEI is that they can litterally burn a hole right through the rotor.

Thomas

Thanks guys. I'll pull the plugs for starters, Doesnt sound like a bad or clogged up fuel filter, it was a cheapie? It feels like it spits weird when driving, hard to explain. RPMS dont really drop, it just feels like it goes into nuetral for 2 seconds (but it isnt), like it isnt spraying fuel.

When you say it was 2 rings, you mean piston rings? God I hope not! I cant tear into this block right now.

I'll start with the plugs, and fuel filter. Easy stuff, then go into the distributor, if not then we're talkin' the fun stuff graemlins/sad.gif

Thanks so far guys...

id say coming to a stop if it dies you floats are adjusted to high or possibly sticking for sure

Idle is down 150rpm and it stalls at a light (idle mode) but it ran good enough to get to the light...

...I saw an engine once with a broken crank. Replaced it and the damn thing ran a lot better. Good grief...

First, do what Thomas said. Fix the obvious stuff. It's almost always something minor. Every mechanic reading this is nodding in ageement because they all know they've spent hours searching for a problem and wondering if it was broken rings when the problem was right there in front of their face all along.

Loose vacuum hoses and wires are the first thing to look for. It just got painted. Did something get knocked loose or cut etc? Is the distributor clamp tight? I once had a car towed to the shop and we spent 30 minutes looking at it until I checked the fuel gauge. It was out of gas.

If the oil leak has saturated the plug wires you may have weak spark, fouled plugs or both. Eliminate that as a potential problem. How do the plugs look? If they're good, you have spark and the oil is just a mess but not the cause of your stall.

While you're at it, remove the fuel filter and try to blow thru it. Also, test your new fuel pump into a can. If the pump and filter are ok then you've got fuel to the carb.

I'm with Superwrench after that. Sounds like you are running out of fuel at idle. Check your float level and needle/seat for free movement. Since you had all that stuff apart recently, you may have gotten something into the idle circuit in the carb.

Since you had the heads off to replace the gaskets it's POSSIBLE you have a lifter/valve adjustment problem BUT, only if you did something like not tighten up. If it ran OK before, I doubt that is your problem. If you did it wrong to begin with, it would run crappy from the get-go.

Eliminate the Mickey Mouse stuff first.

Besides, you've been talking about Big Blocks so much that your Small Block is jealous and is making you pay. Talk nice to it. I've seen Small Block Chevy's run for years without so much as a tune-up. Besides, it's not the engine, it's the pnut working on it!

Haha... thanks. Mistangkiller, your in sac? Have we met before? The name escapes me. Very true though about everything. Im about to go out and do all the simple stuff, got some new plugs and a good little fuel filter, and I'll readjust the carb, then check the distributor, I think things should be ok then. It's a healthy carb a tad fussy lately. An Edelbrock #1405. We'll see!!