aaronhume

Hi, so my car was not being used over the last four months while I was away at school, however my parents ran the engine for 10-15 minutes 2 or 3 times in this 4 month period.

I started it up okay and it ran for maybe 10 minutes and just shut off.

since then I have checked lots of things, and one thing that happens sometimes is sortof a back firing though the intake manifold and it blows a vacuum hose off sometimes (a medium sized one that connects to the bottom connection on the "air valve" on the #1 cylinder intake port.

I am curious what would make the engine not even try to start once it is warmed up... it turns over and then will backfire through the intake.

I am not excited about all the vacuum systems in place on this engine and am tempted to get a weber conversion kit but do not really want to spend that kind of money on this car.

Any help would be amazing! thanks!

cbstd

Backfiring is a timing issue.

On these old cars, it is possible for the timing belt to slip a tooth when the belt gets old. Specially if someone "revved up" the engine. I would start by checking your cam timing and then checking your ignition timing.

Scott

aaronhume

ahh... I'll look into that. thanks

aaronhume

Well, I reset the timing all to TDC but it looks like that did not fix the problem. it did, however cease backfiring. I did notice some oil buildup under the distributor so I checked for spark and its there... and I can't start the engine cold now for some reason.

I did not adjust the Ignition timing, it is set approximately mid way between both extremes though.

I don't understand what else would keep it from starting... possibly some of the vacuum controls? any suggestions there?

1grex

water in the fuel/old fuel? does it run if you spray fuel to the carb?
I wonder what those spark plugs look like...

ian1006

Go Weber, I went Weber and loved it. It was only 300 bucks too!

aaronhume

the fuel is a little old, but I have gotten the car to start 3 or 4 times total since I got home. I replaced the spark plugs over the summer, and I had taken them out to do a compression test and they looked fine. I am pretty sure that it is getting fuel because i can smell it after trying to start the car. I had also sprayed some carb cleaner in there and it still didn't start, but it could have been a bit too much.

the cheapest price I have seen on the weber complete kit is $340 on ebay, if you have links to places that sell it elsewhere that might be helpful.

are there any sensors or specific vacuum switches/valves I should check?

ian1006

Redlineweber.com is the website. You need to talk to the guys over there to get the pricing for your specific kit. I got a discount since I will be competing in the SCCA this coming year but was able to get there 38 "outlaw" carb with everything except throttle linkage shipped for 300. Great guys over there though and can help you pick the perfect kit for your needs.

aaronhume

hmm sounds cool.

anyway I did manage to get the car working. as I mentioned earlier I noticed the distributor looked a bit oily, and I opened it up and it had a little bit of oil in the cap so I sprayed the whole thing down with carb cleaner and let it try and the next time I tried starting it, it worked!

I'm guessing that the mechanism for advancing the timing was possibly a little stuck or the sensor inside was not sensing anything... but carb cleaner worked I guess.

I still don't like these carbs... uglyness and overlycomplicatedness

ian1006

The stock carbs are so complicated in my opinion. I know here is another plug for Weber but oh well...It has one fuel line in, one vacuum line out for the distributor, and one power wire for the choke. Super basic and easy to tune. Everything else gets ripped out from under the hood since its not needed with the Weber, they even send you block off plates! Glad you got the car running but how did oil get inside the distributor? I also dont understand how it worked fine then just didnt, and the timing was messed up?

aaronhume

the o-ring on the distributor was bad, and it could have leaked in some oil from the distributor shaft. plus, its a pretty old distributor I think.
I'm pretty sure the timing got off by a bit, and it could very well have happened when I used the starter to move the car a bit in gear to get it under a covered area. XD

Hondasalesman

I'm going threw a simular problom, only mine isn't back fireing. Once it gets warm, ( and say i'm sitting in a drive threw it just cut off) than it wont start.... now after I go in and eat I'll come out and it will start right up like nothing ever happend.. my first thought was the ignition relay but its only 50 degress outside so I dont know... so far I've put new Cap, rotor, pugs and wires, and I orderd an Ignition coil. any thoughts

aaronhume

double check vacuum lines especially larger ones - and check for oil buildup inside the distributor - not just cap and rotor

Hondasalesman

sweet, thanks