Compression test? (1 Viewer)

[Bama_B]

So after 2 years of sitting neglected (I am so ashamed) and a couple of months of tinkering, I have SUCCESS! Got the old girl fired up today and moving under her own power! In the immortal words of the Motor City Madman, "The beast lives! Long live the beast!"

Unfortunately, as good as a running 2F sounds right now, she doesnt sound that great. Little rough. I think I have a vacuum leak and need to know the best and easiest way for me to find it. Any help/tips/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[hammerhead]

If your fuel is two years old you'll never get it smooth. You're lucky it runs at all. Exactly what tinkering have you done? It will help us help you.

 

[Bama_B]

Thats what I thought but... guess its more or less indestructable. I dont think this one can be killed.

BTW, its a 78 2F in a 71'. POs did some weird stuff to it.

Heres what I did. Shortly after I parked it and started working on my house, I added some Stabil to the tank to help keep the gas from aging. Had half a tank of gas today. Figuring it was shot, I sucked out half of that (1/4 left in tank) and put in new to roughly 3/4. Added an STP fuel additive too to help get out any water and clean the carb (probably needs a rebuild) and rest of fuel system. Disconnected the fuel line from the carb and used a vac pump to suck fuel through the line until it looked clean. Swapped out the fuel filter. Changed the oil and put in a new battery. Checked and cleaned the points. Probably need new plugs but left old ones in. Hit the carb with some carb cleaner. Started fairly easily with a shot of starter fluid down the carb and half choke. I let it run at idle for about 20-30 min and it started to smooth out. Call me Mr. Lucky! Had to stop since it was gassing me out in the garage.

The PO mentioned he thought it had a vac leak but only after I had given him my hard earned cash. Also random vac lines that have been cut and hang loose. Bad desmog job as best I can tell. It ran a little rough even before it sat in the yard. Assuming it has a vac leak, how do I find it?

 

[hammerhead]

Check out the carb and fuel section in the tech links. There is a ton of good info on that topic. Your 78 carb will have things they hadn't thought of in 71.
I use spray carb cleaner. Shoot some at the suspect areas like carb and intake gaskets or throttle shaft with engine running. If RPMs change, there's the culprit. Happy hunting!