sluggish, misfiring, NOT timing, then what?

71L7 · Post by **71L7** » Sun Mar 23, 2003 1:14 pm

71 squareback, dual carbs, 1800cc, 009 distr., timing is on (2 1/3 or so 'humps' past the first mark on the generator pulley).. is where im at.

also: my '1' mark on my distr. as at about 3 o'clock or so, is this correct, as long as my plugs are in order according to this? muir book has it at around 11.

Bobnotch · Post by **Bobnotch** » Mon Mar 24, 2003 3:57 am

I probably should have asked this the first time around, but didn't, so here goes, have you checked the valve settings? Are you running stock pushrods or chromolly pushrods? It does make a difference in the settings is why I ask. Is it an off idle miss, or is it at high speed ? Or is it at idle that it misses? Have you replaced the fuel filter lately? I'm asking these questions because we need more info.

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Bob 65 Notch S
69 Square AT-the baby suburban

Give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

[This message has been edited by Bobnotch (edited 03-24-2003).]

71L7 · Post by **71L7** » Mon Mar 24, 2003 11:39 pm

ok, pulled my plugs. black, baked-on looking. cant be good. what does this tell me? (other than 'replace plugs')

idle seems fine. misfiring in first, second, and sluggish as hell. valve settings, i havent checked (nor do i know how to yet. im sure its in all 3 manuals) fuel filter, have not changed. simple enough. pushrods? no idea..

how often should i reset valves? adjust carbs? where is my fuel pump?

thanks so much..

Bobnotch · Post by **Bobnotch** » Tue Mar 25, 2003 8:20 am

Ok,plugs that are black and sooty looking are either from running rich or oil deposits.Yes replace them as it will only help it run better. The Muir book shows very well how to adjust the valves. They should get checked every 3000 miles, but I check mine every 2000, when I change the oil. As for push rods if a magnet sticks to them ,then they are chromoly, and get a different setting then whats listed in the Muir book. I normally set a day aside and do all the maintence on that day, checking/adjusting valves, oil change and screen cleaning, checking/adjusting carbs, checking/adjusting point gap,greasing the front end, adjusting the rear brakes, etc... just checking the whole car over for things. I hope this helps.

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Bob 65 Notch S
69 Square AT-the baby suburban

Give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

PerL · Post by **PerL** » Tue Mar 25, 2003 2:43 pm

I'm having some similar problems with my 64 type 1 (73 1600 engine). I have not yet been able to find out what the problem is, but it hardly runs on any cylinder.

One thing I suggest you do is to check your fuel for water/condensation. This will make the car run poorly, and could also make the plugs go black. This, in addition to the tips Bob gave you, of course.

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64 Bug - lowered, 1584 cc, 12 volts
68 Bug - under a very sloooow restoration
73 Variant L - My baby! To be restored soon
87 Audi Coupe quattro - daily driver/ rally wannabe.

71L7 · Post by **71L7** » Tue Mar 25, 2003 7:23 pm

replaced plugs, no more misfiring. if im running too rich might i replace air cleaners?

chromoly pushrods (a magnet stuck), so my settings should be..?

'dry gas' you think next time i refuel perl?

next ill replace fuel filter.. just one right, in the front? ive heard some people use additional ones at their carbs.

also: 3 quarts oil added (my first oil change) seemed like too much? im leaking and its reading too high on the dipstick. ?

big help, thanks guys..

Bobnotch · Post by **Bobnotch** » Tue Mar 25, 2003 7:43 pm

Glad to hear that plugs cleared up the miss fire. See if you can clean the filters first, if not then replace them.
You want 0 (zero) lash, meaning when you adjust it, the push rod should just rotate with slight drag when cold, or I think its .001 to .003 when hot.
Definitely use some gas treatment, theres no telling how old the stuff in your tank is, and it doesn't get better with age. As for fuel filter, most are upfront, however there might be one in the rear too.
Thats the cause of your oil leak, its only supposed to have 2.5 qts of oil added. You might try and drain some out, but you'll probably take too much out and have to top it back up. You want to correct this because if you don't it will cause a seal to go, then you'll be pulling the motor out to fix it.

Per, I read you post on the type1 forum, and it got me to thinking, do you have a coil going bad? I think I remember reading about this on the list about a year ago to someone in California. They had a bad miss that got worse, changed plugs, points, checked the valves, set and set the FI cleaned the trigger points, and still nothing until the coil finally gave out. Once it was replaced it worked like new, just something to think about, if you have a spare coil laying around. I hope this helps.

------------------
Bob 65 Notch S
69 Square AT-the baby suburban

Give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

71L7 · Post by **71L7** » Tue Mar 25, 2003 8:51 pm

too much oil, damn. talk about negligence. fuel treatment, should that be a regular thing? after so many miles or whatever? speaking of which,

fuel gauge seems to be going. tap tapping on it seems to 'wake up' the needle but..

and any common solutions for my only sometimes-working odometer?

and im sure 'zero lash' will make more sense when i get under there.

thanks again..

Wally · Post by **Wally** » Thu Mar 27, 2003 5:10 am

Hi,
If all of the above doesn't help and the car is still sluggish, check your compression. If its too low, you may have to disassemble the engine because of a expensive repair, otherwise the carb settings may be wrong.
Let us know how it goes!
Walter

71L7 · Post by **71L7** » Thu Mar 27, 2003 10:39 am

walter, things were fine till i pulled my cap and plugs off, screwed up the firing order. im not really sure 'what causes what'.. or if valve settings change themselves. hopefully resetting those and replacing my fuel filter remedies this situation. its a recently rebuilt engine so hopefully things arent too far off. thanks for your support.