The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop My 52 has me befuddled again... Please help!

Okay, here's the deal... My 52, 3100 has a mid 70's 250 cid and stock 4-speed. I've tuned and retuned, replaced the fuel pump, added a clear fuel filter (so I can see what's going through the line) and am continuing to have a problem.

The truck starts pretty easily cold, and runs like the dickens when cool. However, after a drive, it's sometimes (key word here is sometimes) hard to start and then wont idle worth a darn. It even will sometimes just stop running. At other times, it starts and runs fine.

When it stops, it doesn't sputter or anything to make me believe it's a fuel issue. It just simply stops running. Most of the time, it will continue to run with pressure on the pedal.

I haven't replaced the distributor (HEI) cap and/or rotor.

I'll probably start there, but I'm curious if any of you thought it might be carb settings, or does anyone out there have any other thoughts.

Jed

It seems like its the 52 chevies from hell night.
Wish I knew the solution for either one of ours, but I sure don't. Somebody here will though I bet. Good luck.
harry

Wild guess #1 .

Is the fuel cap properly vented ?

Dusty, I can't say that I would have even looked in that direction. Guess I'll check that out today. Thanks for the pointer. Anyone Else?????

Another thought would be to check the vacumn advance on the distridbutor to see if it is functioning properly. I had one once that was stuck and had the timining fully advanced right from idle! Not knowing this I retarded the initial timing. This made the thing run somewhat in the same way you described that yours does. Take a timing light to it and see if the timing advances when you rev it up. If it doesn't, then what I described is the problem! This one had me scratching my head for several days! :confused:

Replace the module in the HEI.

Thanks for the suggestions COE Junkie, and Wrenchbender. I'll have to track down the timing light and see what happens. I'm somewhat naive, so pardon the ignorance... If the scenario you described is the cause, what's the cure. Also, Wrenchbender, if you don't mind. How would temperature affect the engines running in this manner?

Electronic components are very heat sensitive.
In fact there is a small amount of silicone
compound under the module to transfer heat.
If this is not put on the new part will fail
in short time. The way your engine dies without
sputtering makes me believe it is ignition
related. The module is generally the culprate
in this case. Unless you have elaborate test
equipment you should try another one.

Wrenchbender. Thanks for the lesson. I'll go that route and see what happens. Appreciate the help.