zeeboost Posted December 7, 2003 Share Posted December 7, 2003 What would cause a 350 to lose most of it's torque? bad rings, head gaskets, carb? All I can say is that this 350 is mated with a t56 and 3:9 rear end -- I should be able to waste the rubber in first if I floor it with the gearing, but I don't even get so much as a chirp. Even if I pop the clutch at 4000 rpm I'll get a half-second chirp. If this was a completely stock 350 under the hood I'd be able to lay down some mad marks What are some possible causes of this? I'm going to do a compression test soon, when I have some time, and whatever else you suggest. It really stinks when you have a car that's 50 times slower than it sounds. Thanks in advance for any help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A. G. Olphart Posted December 7, 2003 Share Posted December 7, 2003 Are your throttle plates opening fully? Not enough compression for the cam? Timing is a more likely culprit, hopefully ignition, possibly cam. Is your mechanical advance working right? First I'd verify TDC to be certain the damper ring hasn't slipped, then I'd check for full advance with a degree tape on the vibration damper (or use a protractor to mark the damper). Smoke should be available at 4000 RPM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-Gad Posted December 7, 2003 Share Posted December 7, 2003 I second the timing remark. That is usually the culprit in those situations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nic-Rebel450CA Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 I say timing or a slipping clutch. Do the RPMs climb even though the car doesnt move? I agree that timing is probably the most likely cause. Power can disappear drastically if the timing is off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staledale Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 A good old fart hit an easy one with his first idea. I've seen many engine swaps where the guy hooks up the linkage from under the hood and hand operates it and stops there. Get some one to mash the gas from inside with the pedal. Look inside the carb and check to see if the plates are fully open. Just because you can open them from under the hood dosn't mean the complete linkage is working. Sorry, I meant A. G. Olphart. ( Warning: do not do this with engine running! Mike kZ ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl327 Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 hope you get that one settled out, if the clutch isnt slipping, i would look and see about the throttle plates and the linkage, and possibly the timing. I remember my old v8z, one thing it could do that my turbo car has trouble with was burning rubber, oh lord was it awesome. A nice high rev shot and a sidestep, and it was sideways with billows and billows and smoke from both tires, as long as I could hold the gas down, the smoke would keep pouring, after a few seconds, I couldnt even see behind me, man it was great!!!!! with the turbo car, i do the same thing and get some rubber, then the car just hooks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpyvette Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 go through your standard check list, check that theres spark at all the plugs and the plugs are burning cleanly check that your getting the correct voltage at the coil/ignition and plugs are not loose and gapped correctly, check that the wires and coil are not arcing or shorting out check that the throttle linkage opens fully look for coolent on the plugs or coolent leaks under the car look for loose vacume hoses, crimped lines, ETC, check your oil level is correct do a compression test if anything looks bad on the plugs or engines seems to not be running on all 8 cylinders look for rocker arms that are not moveing correctly,bent push rods, loose rocker arm studs, broken valve retainers, or valve springs check that your getting good oil pressure at idle(pressure switch can turn off ignition) check that cam and ignition timeing is ok/not changed (timeing light, loose timeing chain on cam drive, check that the distributor has not moved, check with a timing light)check that the rotors not loose under the distrib. cap and the distrib. cap itself is not loose or cracked check that you have not wiped a cam lobe, broken a valve spring or valve spring damper. look for loose rocker arm adjustment look for vacuum leaks look for loose electrical connections, fan belts or accesories that might be having a bearing or electrical failure putting excessive drag on the engine look for low fuel pressure/clogged fuel filter, bad fuel, water in gas, rust in the gas or just low on fuel. look for plugged up air filter/bad pvc/egr check catalitic converters not plugged/restricting the exhaust flow check for moisture in distributor cap. check that the damper on the crank has not come loose and moved the timeing marks on the outer ring by having the elastic break loose between the rings on a stock style damper or that the key in the crank has not sheared allowing the damper to move possition do a CYLINDER LEAK DOWN test make sure the fuel pressure is correct and the fuel supply system is working at 6psi-8psi before the pressure regulator and about 5psi-6psi at the carb http://www.centuryperformance.com/timing.htm http://www.centuryperformance.com/vacuum.htm http://www.boyleworks.com/ta400/psp/distcurve.html (pontiac but info the same for chevy) http://www.73-87.com/garage/101s.htm http://www.73-87.com/garage/hei.htm look for spark plug wires that are loose or not correctly connected Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyro Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 One more thing.... Make sure the ignition advance is working. No advance = no power. Distributors will lock-up sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeeboost Posted December 9, 2003 Author Share Posted December 9, 2003 Thanks everybody -- I'm relatively confident that timing is the culprit. I'll be out there with a timing light this weekend. I've checked the throttle plates -- they're opening fully when the pedal is floored. The clutch is not slipping (yet), and I will need to check my timing advance, as that is another good possibility. Thanks for the reply grumpy, I was waiting for you to send me that 500 point checklist . I've checked most of those things on your list, but there are a few I can run back by again. By the way, those centuryperformance.com links didn't work for me, but the rest did. One other thing I've noticed is that my passenger side is running hotter than the driver side (exhaust from passenger side is hotter than driver side) -- what's a common cause of this? One other question, my aluminum heads have seen about 245 degrees and I'm afraid that they may be warped. Does anybody know how much aluminum heads can usually take? Once again, thank you all for the help. Hybridz kicks azz!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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