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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 69
E
Wrench Fetcher
Wrench Fetcher
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 69
My 216 on my 49 Fleetline suddenly will only run at higher rpm and just dies at idle.(Choke must be on also)
I think I have done it all.
Changed carb,points, plugs, wires, coil, fuel pump, gas is good, head gasket changed last year. Valves not sticking. Plugged vacuum from manifold to wipermotor (no change).
Only thing I have noticed is that it is easy to turn over by hand (springs weak?)
Will this cause this?
Gonna check the vacuum at plugs and manifold but cant think of anything else. Any help is appreciated. I work on these 216's all the time but this has me stumped.
Eric


Joined: Feb 2003
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H
Shop Shark
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If it's easy to turn by hand with the plugs in, I'd guess compression problems. Weak springs should be okay with low rpm's and worse as it speeds up (valve float), unless they are so weak the valves don't close at all.


Current fleet (subject to change w/o notice)
\'49 GMC 3/4-Ton , 60 Austin Healey Frog-eye Sprite (some assembly required), 2011 Dodge Avenger, 2015 Jeep Cherokee. No, they don't all run.
My other ride is a (B737)no, (B767)no, A320.... Update... was Embraer E190, now Boeing B787.

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Wrench Fetcher
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Im thinking the springs are weak, so the valves are not closing completely. I just dont know.

Joined: Dec 2004
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B
Shop Shark
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I didn't see where you adjusted the valves. That would be my first place to look.

However, the not running at idle really sounds like a leaking intake/exhaust manifold gasket. It is not uncommon for the head or the intake and exhaust to warp, causing this problem.

Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 29,270
Bubba - Curmudgeon
Bubba - Curmudgeon
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 29,270
I vote with bbsd.

A quick, dirty, and just a little dangerous diagnostic technique is to look for manifold leaks: with the engine running at the lowest idle you can manage, open (just a little) an unlit propane torch and direct the torch-end around the intake and exhaust gaskets (and maybe the carburetor lower-body). If the idle speed picks up, you have a vacuum leak due to a bad gasket/fitting/etc.

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Wrench Fetcher
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Ya I checked the gaskets but they are sealed and new when I did the head last year. I readjusted the valves also but gonna go thru them again. Any other things I can check?

Joined: Apr 2005
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Bolter
Bolter
Joined: Apr 2005
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Compression check?


Martin
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Bolter
Bolter
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set the idle up


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Wrench Fetcher
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Did the idle but compression b next.

Joined: Jun 2004
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Riding in the Passing Lane
Riding in the Passing Lane
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It sounds like a carb problem but you said you tried another carb. Have you set the idle speed up like Cletis says. Try turning the idle jet richer. Put your hand or a rag over part of the carb neck & see if the speed picks up. If so you hbave a vacuum leak or plugged idle passages.
What part of Ks. are you in?


They say money can't buy happiness. It can buy old Chevy trucks though. Same thing.
1972 Chevy c10 Cheyenne Super
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Bolter
Bolter
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Cletis an't here George...lol


Redryder pix
My Hotrod
A veteran - whether active duty, retired, national guard, or reserve - is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check made payable to The 'United States of America', for an amount of "up to and including my life."
I am fighting cancer and I am winning the fight | Pain is part of life; misery is an option.

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Wrench Fetcher
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Yes I had the exact problem with the other carb. They are both new rebuilts. Just havent had time for the compression check yet. I am gonna get new springs and seals on the way though (cant hurt). Im in Gardner KS, freezin!

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Riding in the Passing Lane
Riding in the Passing Lane
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Originally Posted by joker
Cletis an't here George...lol
Don't laugh. I'm an old man. I just know you 2 come from the Lone Star state.
Edub, do you have the old carb or did you turn it in?


They say money can't buy happiness. It can buy old Chevy trucks though. Same thing.
1972 Chevy c10 Cheyenne Super
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Wrench Fetcher
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No I keep em all original, carb. was fine and put it on another car.

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yar Offline
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edub10068, I have had this happen to the carter W1 on my '36 Chevy pickup occasionally over the years. In each case a tiny obsruction found its way into the idle circuit. The solution that worked for me every time was to remove the idle air screw, squirt in a little carb cleaner and then blow compressed air through it.

That also worked on the Solex carb I had on a VW Bug decades ago.


Ray

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