My 350 is angry at me/why wont it stay running?

[ibinazbass]

Just replaced the heads and added a edelbrock performer intake on the ol 40 and it starts but wont idle at all. I have to keep it in high rpms to keep her running. HELP!!!

rockers to tight?
vaccum leak?
gasket leak?

WAT IS WRONG WITH MY BABY!!!!!!!?????????

[yzftaco]

Did you put the distributor back in.....backwards?

Guess I shouldn't say backwards, but at 180 degrees

[nspctr1]

fuel filter or pump? could be a number of things. Id start with the pump tho...

[inkpot]

Howdy! What carb are you running? Is it the one you had on it before the manifold swap? Check your timing, as you must of had the dizzy out to pull the intake. Vaacum leak is a good bet, or you whacked the throttle linkage/idle mix screws. John

[ibinazbass]

first of all, would it even run at 180 degrees?

2nd, new fuel filter, no issues with pump before tear down

3rd, Howdy back at cha, running a 4bbl quadrajet, same ol carb from before, only moved the idle screw to get the thing to idle. (note: that still didn't work)

how would you fix a vaccum leak? and where is the most likely spot to have one

[ontherox]

how would you fix a vaccum leak? and where is the most likely spot to have one

Perhaps between your new manifold and the head or heads?? ie gasket or not installed right.After that i would probably blame the carb - time for FI!!

[iaintscared1969]

Spray your vacuum lines and base of the carb and the intake. Also did you use a GM seal with the intake. If you did you should have used a good bead of silicone as the GM seals don't work with intake, with carb and choke cleaner while it is running. You in your case will need 2 people to do it since it won't idle. When you spray the cleaner and the engine smooths out that's the leak. Also on some of the edelbrock manifolds you would require an adapter plate to run the Q-jet.

[ibinazbass]

would wd-40 work if i dont have any cleaner? my carb hookup fine so i dont think it needs an adapter.

for gaskets i bought a fel-pro kit off of jegs and did put silicone on both sides

[rchandler]

I did something stupid.... The Holley carb coverd the vacuume
port - hole on the back of the manafold after a hour of trouble shooting and a 18 pack found it... Da.....

[NeverSummer]

Do you have an HEI distributor? Throw away that quadrajet and get an edelbrock or holley carb. If you do any offroading buy the offroad kit for the floats. Start with checking for vacum leak (shoud be about 35psi at intake), then make sure that you have enough fuel pressure (4.5-6psi), then check your timing and advance curve(if using a vacume advance). Still no luck...curse at it for about ten minutes very loudly (trust me it makes you feel better)...then push it off a cliff.

[cruiserbrett]

I would guess the timing was off about 30 degrees as the first issue, second would be rocker arms were too tight...

What is the vacuum when it is running at the lowest speed you can get it to stay running?

Also, check and make sure the new intake manifold is compatible with the q-jet and q-jet thick base gasket.

Q-jets are great carbs, when tuned correctly.

[NeverSummer]

Originally Posted by cruiserbrett

I would guess the timing was off about 30 degrees as the first issue

I agree completly, did the same with mine when I changed the intake.

[ibinazbass]

I posted this on multiple forums today and was told by many different sources that the rocker arms were to tight. I backed them off to a quarter turn after the push rod stops spinning between my fingers. This worked!!! Well almost, it is not as rough as it was before and i'm almost able to idle it.

Do you think that tightening them just an 1/8th of a turn or so will do the trick?

[Brian in Oregon]

Originally Posted by NeverSummer

Do you have an HEI distributor? Throw away that quadrajet and get an edelbrock or holley carb. If you do any offroading buy the offroad kit for the floats. Start with checking for vacum leak (shoud be about 35psi at intake), then make sure that you have enough fuel pressure (4.5-6psi), then check your timing and advance curve(if using a vacume advance). Still no luck...curse at it for about ten minutes very loudly (trust me it makes you feel better)...then push it off a cliff.

Whoa there, pardner. Many of us running 350's have done just the opposite. Taken off our gas guzzling Holleys and Edelbrocks and put on a Quadrajet.

My Holley Truck Avenger gave me a lot more raw power. But it really burned the fuel to do it. And it would not lug down. Constantly had to put it into lower gears or it bucked and stumbled.

With a Quadrajet my 350 lugs down like a six banger. Yeah, it loses the acceleration contest with the Holley. But that's not worth the difference of 2 to 4 mpg.

As far as offroading, the Holley Truck Avenger performed on angles as advertised. But the stock Quadrajet already does that. And, I seldom cracked the secondaries on the Holley on the trail. When I did, I often got a big bog, because the gas boiled away in the secondary bowl and stuck the needle shut. That doesn't happen with the Quadrajet (or the Edelbrock either, for that matter).

For a hot rod or race car, I'll run a Holley. For all around use, especially for an off road vehicle that's street and highway driven, I'll run a Quadrajet.

[bigassbike]

Originally Posted by NeverSummer

I agree completly, did the same with mine when I changed the intake.

x3 Timing!

YouTube - Engine Ignition: Wiring Distributor & Spark Plugs Video- DVD

[ibinazbass]

I have no plans on chnaging the carb so all i want to here is if tightening the rockers another 1/8th of an inch will get her to idle. Sorry to sound like an arse but I want my truck back

[phrogg4evr]

What does it do at low RPMs? Does it sputter, does it backfire thru the carb, do you get a fuel vapor misting around the carb inlet? Does it run well with the choke on?

Sounds like timing, or it's your cruiser trying to reject the 350 like a body trying to reject a donor organ

[Shawn Russell]

If the dizzy was off 180, it would not run. Check the timing. WD40 is NOT a good idea for finding vac leaks. Use carb cleaner or starting fluid. Make sure you have the proper carb base gasket. Some carb / intakes combos require an open gasket, others need one with 4 holes, 1 for each port. The instructions with the intake will tell you what you need.

Do not tighten the rockers, you may have them too tight now. Spin the pushrod between your fingers, and tighten the rocker until you can not spin the push rod, that's it, no more. You do this when both the intake and exhaust valves are closed. You will need to rotate the engine for each cylinder. I assume you have hyd lifters, and not solid.

Shawn

[ibinazbass]

I bought the intake used therefore it came with no directions.

On another forum a guy said to spin the push rods and once they don't spin tighten them another 1/4 turn.

WHO DO I LISTEN TO?

If I get multiple people telling me to just stop once they stop spinning then thats what i'll do. but until i hear from people one way or the other i might not do it. Not trying to be disrespectful.

[CruisinMT]

You broke it so give it to me. Adjust them using a feeler gauge. It's pretty simple. get your Factory specs and it should have an order in which you adjust each rocker arm. FSM's are nice to have.

[theo]

Originally Posted by ibinazbass

I bought the intake used therefore it came with no directions.

On another forum a guy said to spin the push rods and once they don't spin tighten them another 1/4 turn.

WHO DO I LISTEN TO?

If I get multiple people telling me to just stop once they stop spinning then thats what i'll do. but until i hear from people one way or the other i might not do it. Not trying to be disrespectful.

Small block Chevy uses hydraulic lifters. You need to add some pre-load to them; there is no "gap" to set. The guy on the other forum is right - rotate the cam until the lifter is on the heel of the lobe, bring the adjustment down until you have zero clearance, then go another 1/4 turn. Anything from 1/8 turn to 3/4 turn should be fine. My own machinist/race builder goes 1/2 turn on stock GM hyrdraulic lifters.

The tricky parts are rotating the cam to the right place and finding zero lash. Also, the lifters are collapsible, so you need a soft touch when you're spinning the pushrod. You should also be feeling for lash (up/down movement) and going slowly. HTH

[inkpot]

Originally Posted by theo

Small block Chevy uses hydraulic lifters. You need to add some pre-load to them; there is no "gap" to set. The guy on the other forum is right - rotate the cam until the lifter is on the heel of the lobe, bring the adjustment down until you have zero clearance, then go another 1/4 turn. Anything from 1/8 turn to 3/4 turn should be fine. My own machinist/race builder goes 1/2 turn on stock GM hyrdraulic lifters.

The tricky parts are rotating the cam to the right place and finding zero lash. Also, the lifters are collapsible, so you need a soft touch when you're spinning the pushrod. You should also be feeling for lash (up/down movement) and going slowly. HTH

Howdy! I agree there is no gap on hydralics. There IS a gap on solid lifters, as that is what creates the rattling sound on them. Still sounds like a vacuum leak. Did you use the 4 piece gasket set for the intake manifold? If so, the small section on the front and rear are a royal pain to get on just right. BTDT, x3. Also, as mentioned, there are different intakes for different carbs. Are the throttle plates hitting the manifold on the primaries? You may need an adapter plate to mate these up. John

[cruiserbrett]

Originally Posted by CruisinMT

Adjust them using a feeler gauge. It's pretty simple. get your Factory specs and it should have an order in which you adjust each rocker arm. FSM's are nice to have.

He's got a 350 chevy which likely has hydraulic lifters, so no feeler gauge.

I almost always tighten to the rocker nut until the pushrod doesnt spin, then go 1/4 - -1/2 turn more. you have to do with like a normal valve adjust, so it has to be in the right spot: TDC 1 or rotated 360 degrees.

Since yours was a running motor, thats about all you need to do, if you put a new cam and lifters in I would remove the valve covers, and tighten down when running, until the clacking goes away, then 1/4 turn more.

[peesalot]

just because no one else said it ...
Are you sure it was a spread bore manifold ????

[inkpot]

Originally Posted by peesalot

just because no one else said it ...
Are you sure it was a spread bore manifold ????

Howdy! I think that's what I said in post #22. John

[theo]

Originally Posted by inkpot

. . . Did you use the 4 piece gasket set for the intake manifold? If so, the small section on the front and rear are a royal pain to get on just right. BTDT, x3. . . . John

x2. Easy to mess up the gasket install and create a vacuum leak.

[pb4ugo]

Originally Posted by Shawn Russell

If the dizzy was off 180, it would not run. Check the timing. WD40 is NOT a good idea for finding vac leaks. Use carb cleaner or starting fluid. Make sure you have the proper carb base gasket. Some carb / intakes combos require an open gasket, others need one with 4 holes, 1 for each port. The instructions with the intake will tell you what you need.

Do not tighten the rockers, you may have them too tight now. Spin the pushrod between your fingers, and tighten the rocker until you can not spin the push rod, that's it, no more. You do this when both the intake and exhaust valves are closed. You will need to rotate the engine for each cylinder. I assume you have hyd lifters, and not solid.

Shawn

The engine will run if you install the distributor 180*, you just have to put the timing light on #6 cylinder to time it. #6 cylinder is #1's companion cyldr. When #1s at TDC on the compression stroke, #6 is at TDC on the exhaust stoke.

Adjusting the valves after you can't spin the push rod, IMO is wrong. The adjustment should be made after the push rod has no up and down movement then tighten 1/4 turn or whatever, up to 1 turn. They all need to be adjusted the same amount.

You can adjust as stated above w/it running. Back off the rocker nut until it starts clapping. Then tighten until the clapping just goes away then make your 1/4 turn ad