kemy

Hello there,

I'm trying to start a 1980 vette that has been sitting for sometime, the other day it started fine and all was good except the starter started to act up, took it out changed bushings and cleaned , it worked well on the bench, now when I put it back in the car and attempted to start, the engine spins slowly and then spins like a quarter turn in the opposite direction and the carb shoots gas out , is the engine flooded with fuel and that's what's causing the reverse spin ? if yes what caused it to get flooded ?

bashcraft

Sounds to me like the battery is dead.

SuperBuickGuy

x2

even if you reverse the terminals on the battery, it won't spin backwards (don't ask me how I know this) however it will kill the module in the HEI

oldalaskaman

hydro-lock, take the spark plugs out and try to spin it, also agree on the low battery post

kemy

Not a battery for sure, battery reads 12.5 after this attempt and it starts my Camaro just fine, hydro lock is a possibility I thought of especially with the reverse spin action at the end of the turn, but what causes hydrolock ?

SuperBuickGuy

fluid in the cylinders. Fluid doesn't compress, so it will lock up the motor - do it while the motors running and it'll break many many things

'75

Pull the plugs and turn it by hand, you don't want any sparks while its blowing raw fuel out of the cylinders.

kemy

Yeah i'll do that in the morning it 1 am here now!!
I also pulled the carburator out and it seems that the needle was literarily flat ! , with a new pump that I just installed could have been pushing too much fuel in hence the hydrolock ?

oldalaskaman

yup

kemy

OK, and is it safe to turn the engine a few times with the plugs out to get rid of all the fuel inside the chambers ?

Peterbuilt

Yes, but disconnect the distributor wire first and have a fire extinguisher handy just in case.

kemy

OK will do that and report tomorrow , thanks everyone you've been of great help

oldalaskaman

if its been sitting overnight, the gas probly evaporated by now, leave the plugs in and see if it will start...tap lightly on your carb first with something soft to unstick the floats

kemy

the carb is out and I'm checking everything now, couldn't find an extra float needle but found an extra needle valve type (the one that doesnt need a needle to be hung off of the float) don't know if I'm describing it correctly, but i never used those , are they good ?

SuperBuickGuy

a picture posted on here would get a more accurate answer

kemy

I'm not allowed to post attachements still, I was referring to the needle and seat integrated in one piece not a needle hanging off the float

'75

Only supporting paying members can attach, but the rest of us can still post pictures, here's how.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-p...tep-guide.html