ukcats07 Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 I posted a while back when I started the motor for the first time and broke the cam in. I had an exhaust leak where I forgot to put thermactor plugs in the heads. My motor sits too close to the firewall to install them with the motor in the car, so around thanksgiving the motor came back out of the car. The Air Force has been kicking my ass for the last six months and I finally got some time to put the motor back in and fire it back up. She fired up on the first half crank! Unfortunately the motor was overheating and starting to really tick me off. After running through all the normal (read: cheap) steps for overheating I happened to stumble upon someones suggestion that the intake manifold bolts might not be completely torqued. Sure as **** my intake manifold bolts were about a full turn loose! I torqued and re-torqued them about five times and fired the motor back up...no more overheating!! Now this is all at idle in my driveway, as I don't feel comfortable with the brakes to take it down the street. I'm guessing though that if it stopped overheating in the driveway then it's most likely not going to overheat on the road. Took a small video today...don't mind the rat's nest around the battery, that will be taken care of pretty soon, also the tach is temporary. Just need to get new brakes, re-bleed the system and then I'm taking it around the block. Any comments on the vacuum I'm getting? Looks about right according to the research I've done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike kZ Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Very nice! Is the fast idle still on, or do you have to adjust it, it's very high. Vacuum looks very good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emeraldlion Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Congrats! I can't wait for this moment with mine. Probably not for a long while still. Keep us updated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukcats07 Posted May 7, 2011 Author Share Posted May 7, 2011 Very nice! Is the fast idle still on, or do you have to adjust it, it's very high. Vacuum looks very good This is one thing I need to figure out. I don't have the electric choke connected and I'm not sure if this is the issue. I just started it up a few minutes ago and it was idling pretty high again. I've got the slow idle screw completely backed out. Does the fast idle screw do anything if I have the choke disconnected? I also have the timing set to 12* initial with vacuum advance disconnected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowoctupus Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 This is one thing I need to figure out. I don't have the electric choke connected and I'm not sure if this is the issue. I just started it up a few minutes ago and it was idling pretty high again. I've got the slow idle screw completely backed out. Does the fast idle screw do anything if I have the choke disconnected? I also have the timing set to 12* initial with vacuum advance disconnected. Yeah, even if you don't have the 'electric' part of the chokes hooked up, your choke butterflies will stay closed (and then your high idle screw will still be up on the 'full choke' part of the throttle cam). There is a thermostat coil inside a black housing that will keep the chokes open if the engine is already hot, otherwise it would flood whenever you fired the car up after momentarily shutting it off. If your air cleaner is not already off, take it off and make sure the chokes are actually open. If you want to 'trick' the chokes, you may be able to adjust the thermostat housing the choke theromostat is in (black housing held on with two/three screws. Gently turn it in the direction that makes the chokes open up. I'm guessing you can do this, that's how my 65 econoline is hooked up right now. I just manually hit the chokes, then they snap wide open once I release the throttle from the fast idle cam position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukcats07 Posted May 9, 2011 Author Share Posted May 9, 2011 Yeah, even if you don't have the 'electric' part of the chokes hooked up, your choke butterflies will stay closed (and then your high idle screw will still be up on the 'full choke' part of the throttle cam). There is a thermostat coil inside a black housing that will keep the chokes open if the engine is already hot, otherwise it would flood whenever you fired the car up after momentarily shutting it off. If your air cleaner is not already off, take it off and make sure the chokes are actually open. If you want to 'trick' the chokes, you may be able to adjust the thermostat housing the choke theromostat is in (black housing held on with two/three screws. Gently turn it in the direction that makes the chokes open up. I'm guessing you can do this, that's how my 65 econoline is hooked up right now. I just manually hit the chokes, then they snap wide open once I release the throttle from the fast idle cam position. Awesome. Thanks for the good info, I'll take the air cleaner off and give it a look-see tomorrow. I might take another video and post it for scrutinizing if I can't get it to come down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike kZ Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Another thing to check is for a vacuum leak somewhere, that would also have a fast idle effect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 another thing is set it to 15 degrees, with no more than a total of 30(after the advance) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukcats07 Posted May 10, 2011 Author Share Posted May 10, 2011 Connected the electric choke today and the motor settled down considerably. Seemed to idle around 850-900. I didn't have the aftermarket tach hooked up (my tach setup is unreliable at the moment), but it was definitely below 1000. The only thing is, my vacuum dropped from around 18" at idle to about 13". It was steady and behaved the same way as you see in the video, it was just below 15". Could this be an indication that my timing is a little retarded? I know it could potentially be a vacuum leak, but everything I've read on vacuum gauges shows that I would see a clear indication on the gauge if I had a significant vacuum leak. I also have no idea what type of cam is in this motor as it had absolutely no markings on it when I got the whole setup. I also noticed that I keep getting a small drop of oil at the very bottom of the transmission bellhousing. I had this same issue when I broke the motor in, however when I took it all out I put teflon tape on the flywheel bolts and the rear main seal area was PRISTINE. Could I have filled the oil pan with too much oil? I really hope it's not a rear main seal... another thing is set it to 15 degrees, with no more than a total of 30(after the advance) I'll up the timing and see how it runs tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowoctupus Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 If you do go to check for vacuum leaks, the tried and true method is to see if the idle changes when a *unlit* propane torch is passed around the base of the carburetor/intake manifold. Starter fluid is sometimes recommended, but DO NOT use this approach, as even the smallest spark will send your engine up in flames if it's covered in ether. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukcats07 Posted May 10, 2011 Author Share Posted May 10, 2011 If you do go to check for vacuum leaks, the tried and true method is to see if the idle changes when a *unlit* propane torch is passed around the base of the carburetor/intake manifold. Starter fluid is sometimes recommended, but DO NOT use this approach, as even the smallest spark will send your engine up in flames if it's covered in ether. I used WD-40 and had no increase or change in idle. I might try again with the *unlit* propane torch. Any guesses on the drip of oil at the bottom of the bellhousing? Could it be because this motor has not really been broken in (driven on the road)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
izulatr3 Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 my 302 is running just fine, although i had to add an aftermarket electric booster in order to maintain 22psi constant on the brakes, brakes fine now, i found that my manifold vacuum was not enough to provide the booster, this is all based on what cam is in the motor?????choppy cam equals low vacuum to the booster...........also had the same problem with my intake mani,,seating to the heads good and tight b-cause the heads had been shaved just a bit..... lots of goop and shes good and tight runs like a charm, hauls azzzzzzz! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukcats07 Posted April 7, 2012 Author Share Posted April 7, 2012 Throwing these in here because I know I had them on the site at one time. Google Sketchup drawings of the mount I made for this car. Thanks to Brian Lane for the inspiration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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