Trouble Shooting My L16

[521chowda]

So just the other weekend i had my truck running and drove it about 20 minutes to a friends house to have him tune the carb. We didnt have the correct timing to begin with so we figured "why not?" and took care of it by setting it at TDC and pulling the pump to set the gear and such. Once that was over with he had tuned the carb and sent me on my merry way. I drove about two minutes down the road and started over heating terribly and had a complete loss of power. We assumed it was because of what we had done with the timing so we had set it back to what it was before we messed with it. Drove a few more minutes and it kept happening. Long story short i didnt make it home, parked it and the following day limped it back home. It was acting like it had been running too lean and timing could cause this problem but even when i set the timing to where it should be it wont run correctly.

 

Also it takes about 30 minutes for my truck to fire up in the morning, im getting spark, there doesnt seem to be a problem with my ignition, is there any other thing that could cause this? bad compression maybe?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DanielC]

Ignition timing need to be around 10 degrees before TDC. If the timing is retarded, (late, around TDC) your engine does not produce as much power. But it uses even more gas than it would with correct timing, because you open the throttle more to get the same power you had as before.

The energy that is in the gasoline, instead of being used to move you, is being used to heat the water, and this is why an engine with retarded timing overheats easier.

Retarded timing also make the engine harder to start.

[datzenmike]

Very true.

 

The only reason to drop the oil pump is to move the rotor under a plug wire on the cap and get more timing range adjustment.

 

If you don't have a timing light loosen the dizzy lock down bolt and turn it (the dizzy) clockwise to advance it. Leave the bolt just snug enough so you can twist it by hand. Take for a drive. Keep advancing it until there is pinging under load. Retard by twisting counter-clockwise untill the pinging goes away, and you're good to go. Hopefully you have a muffler so you can hear the pinging.

 

Before adjusting the idle mixture, be sure the valve lash is checked and adjusted on a warm motor.

 

Now adjust the carb. Start by turning the idle speed down as advancing the timing has probably brought it up quit a bit. Turn the idle mixture screw inward until the idle quality lessens. Turn the idle mixture screw out until the idle quality lessens. Now set the mixture screw about half way between, where the idle quality is fastest and smoothest. Turn the idle speed down and repeat the mixture adjustments again to get the best quality idle. Adjust the idle speed and repeat as many times as needed until you can't improve it.

[521chowda]

I dont idle :( i cant get it to, ever since i owned the truck. Also a gnarly exhaust leak, but ill try my best! Thanks guys :D

[banzai510(hainz)]

set the mechanical timming. oil pump distributr settings.

ck the valve lash.

 

Once the timming is very close then I would look at the carb mixture and speed settings.

 

 

521 have a outside gas tank if it dont idle good be a clogged idle jet.

 

 

this is a simple fix