The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Engine Running Rough

About 6-12 months ago I replaced the points and plugs for my 235, set the gap on both, and had the engine running extremely smooth. A couple of weeks ago when I went home to work on the truck, the truck ran extremely rough. It's been sounding like the engine is not running on all cylinders, and at the same time the engine seems to be running extremely rich (pouring out clouds of fuel-smelling smoke) and having fuel problems. Thinking that it could still be a timing issue (since I never actually set the timing), I found that the coil was completely cracked and the wires were pretty crummy, so I replaced both. I also noticed that the #1 plug wire was on the front most side of the distributer (closest to the radiator) but was in the correct location on the cap itself in relation to the cap clips and in the correct firing order (too young, too old, just right ). I loosened the distributer and played around with the timing some, but the engine just doesn't seem to be running right. Any suggestions? What is the correct point gap for a 235? I do have a carb rebuild kit coming in a few days (the carb should be rebuilt anyways because of old gaskets and a quick-fix gasket sealing job) but does this sound more like fuel or electrical?

It sounds like you need to first properly tune up the engine. You might want to buy a shop manual for your year truck from one of the vendors to find out the required settings for dwell/point gap, timing etc and do the timing with a timing light.

Tony is, of course, right. And, if the year of your engine does not match the year of your truck, you need two year's Shop Manuals for that vehicle.

Tim

To get your points set if you have not bought a manual - set them (new .019) (used .016) Some old timers set them .014 for all 235's.
Timing - loosen bolt to the left of the dist that holds it down and set to (zero), bolt it back down, not too tight. Disconnect vac at carb and plug. Loosen the screw at the base of the dist on the right side of the dist shaft. Get a timing lite and point as best you can down near the starter , there is a hole with a pointer built into the belhousing. Start the engine, with the timing lite hooked up corrrectly, point to the hole, carefully watch for a small ball on the flywheel as you press the timing lite. If it does not quite line up, carefully turn the dist to the right and left til it does. When it lines up. Shut down the engine and without turning the dist, tighten up the screw. You should already have the points set. Adjust the carb before you start to idle slowly, before setting the timing. You also might try a search on this site under "timing" before starting. Good luck we are here for you. PS When you are done, loosen the bolt on the left of the dist at the bottom and set it (A) advanced about 4 clicks. Each mark is 2 degrees, advanced. This little adjustment is the Octane selector. It puts timing in during low rpm. Some run them 3 to 5 clicks advanced, not a exact science. Then hook up the vac adcance again. I'm tired.
T

Thanks for the specs 52PU! I will be sure to try adjusting the timing as soon as I can, and I will be sure to let you know how everything works out. I'm sure the timing is off, but I wasn't sure how to set it correctly for this engine. I did just purchase an assembly manual for my truck that has LOTS of information, but I still think I will purchase a shop manual to understand how to set everything. Thanks again for the help!

In adition to all the good info mentioned by the other bolters, re-set your points befor you set the timeing. Changing the points will change the timing but changing the timing will not change the point setting. If the timing was set and you then adjust the points, the timing will be off and need to be re-set again.
Step by step in the proper order and you will have it running smooth again in no time