Idle and dying issues

[Thomas Perkins]

It's not to late to get Santa to bring you a Weber.Time for the upgrade.Bring in the new year with a Bang...

[datzenmike]

Can't hurt to try.

 

Engine must be dead cold. Loosen only one bolt at a time and immediately re-torque to 60 ft lbs. Do in any order you like.

[None_zero]

So with ambient temp of 28° on the Fahrenheit scale dead cold is reached In what like a couple hours? And Thomas Christmas is the time of year I don't buy stuff for myself so I feel better about not buying anything for anyone else 

[datzenmike]

Do it in the morning.

[None_zero]

Ok pretty sure I just got fired and if not then I think I quit so I should have plenty of time on my hands to fiddle with this truck 

[NC85ST]

If you don’t have to worry about emissions, buy a Weber.

[None_zero]

On an 84 pickup? No you don't have to worry about emissions. Unless you mean their effect on the planet and not the little government building that applies an extra road tax to drivers with nice new Cars 

[None_zero]

Ok update on this issue. I retorqued the head bolts and I noticed that the two center bolts both had a small amount of white goo on them when I got to them. Presumably water getting into the second or third cylinder? The rear most bolts smelled of burnt oil and had carbon deposits on them the forward most bolts were dry and clean. After doing this I removed the vac advance and capped it and disconnected the single white wire going to the dist. And did the tune sequence lowered idle to 650ish and and started dialing in the air mix. For the first time ever it behaved as described and I was able to get a noticeable rise and drop in the rpms. The only thing abnormal was I turned the screw out three turns from closed as my starting point and continued to turn it out and it only ever went up going that direction I backed my idle speed all the way off till it wasn't touching and was idling at 1k or just under. So I checked the timing at or near a 1k it was at 5° maybe 6° So I turned the air mix screw in until it settled down closer to 650 and set to 3-4° idle wasn't hunting much and so I decided to run it some. I put the air cleaner back on and with advance and white wire still disconnected I drove to the interstate and hopped on. On the way there I noticed the truck wasn't trying to die when I stopped anymore however it was so quiet you'd think it died  but it didn't. Under load it seemed Maybe a bit louder than before so I went down one exit and got a coffee and donuts and reconnected the vac advance and the white wire and drove back up the interstate. It was a bit more juddery on stopping after connecting those things back but still didn't die when i stopped or even come close really. I haven't done a cold start since doing all this so I'll have to check that but it seems like this issue is solved aside from the likely scenario where I need a new head gasket I'll have to also monitor my fuel consumption with the new set up. I noticed I'm hearing a chattering sound from the engine bay when going uphill not sure what it is but I'm thinking oil pump but aside from that she's running like a dream. One other issue has popped up however. With the truck idling so quietly  that edlebrock fuel pump back there is ANNOYINGLY LOUD when I say this issue is solved I'm referring to mine not the original posters

Edited December 21, 2023 by None_zero

[Thomas Perkins]

Wanna sell your truck for parts.

[datzenmike]

The white wire disconnected disables the shut off of the exhaust side plugs when under heavy load. There may be slightly more engine noise with it off, that's all.

 

You removed the bolts? when retorquing them? Only have to loosen them.

 

The bolts only go into the block so no goo or carbon there but they may pick some up when lifting them out.

[None_zero]

13 hours ago, datzenmike said:

The white wire disconnected disables the shut off of the exhaust side plugs when under heavy load. There may be slightly more engine noise with it off, that's all.

 

You removed the bolts? when retorquing them? Only have to loosen them.

 

The bolts only go into the block so no goo or carbon there but they may pick some up when lifting them out.

I did remove them and clean the threads of each one then torquing it back before moving on to the next. Everything I've read or watched said the threads need to be absolutely clean before retorquing the bolts however the residues on the rear most 6 bolts wasn't over a large area mostly just 2 threads wide and I assume it's where they intersect the gasket 

Edited December 22, 2023 by None_zero

[datzenmike]

That's fine but when the bolt is originally torqued in place how would they get dirty to need cleaning? All you have to do is loosen and immediately tighten again. Removal and cleaning is ok just not needed.

[None_zero]

On 12/22/2023 at 9:39 AM, datzenmike said:

That's fine but when the bolt is originally torqued in place how would they get dirty to need cleaning? All you have to do is loosen and immediately tighten again. Removal and cleaning is ok just not needed.

I see your point however I'd say 6 out of 10 of mine did indeed need to be cleaned. I'm with you given they are inside the engine and threading into the block it doesn't make much sense but they were definitely dirty. 

[None_zero]

One more question on the issue of idle. While everything is functioning mu h much better since the retorque and retune I am noticing that on the cold start the engine has a tendency to run up to 3k rpm during warmup if I'm not mistaken it should only be about 1500 how can I adjust this to keep it from over revving. It does idle at 650 after warmup ends so it works all the rest of the time properly only during warmup does it behave abberantly 

Edited December 25, 2023 by None_zero

[datzenmike]

The fast idle speed is set at the factory and shouldn't need adjustment. With choke on and fast idle cam engaged the fast idle should be 1,800- 2,200. 3,000 could be extra air getting in from a vacuum leak. If you have a poor idle this could be the cause. Loose carburetor bolts, torn gasket, leaky AB valve, loose brake booster hose, anything that would let air in. 

 

 

The fast idle speed is just under the fast idle cam and adjusted with this screw and held with a lock nut. Good friggin luck adjusting with the carburetor on the vehicle. The factory sets the fast idle by how much the primary throttle plate is open. On a manual engine with the fast idle cam set on the highest step, the throttle plate should be open 0.052" to 0.058". Again the setting is not going to change and likely air getting in other than by the throttle plate. 

 

 

[None_zero]

Ok you're probably right the hose going to ab valve is likely leaking and there may be other places as well I have replaced almost all the vac lines but I bought my local parts store out of the hoses for it and haven't checked back for a restock