Convertible65

Ok, so I got the vette out tonight to give her a good cleaning, but she was running really rough. After washing it I decided to take a little spin around the block. However, as I proceeded down the road the idle and sound of the car really started sounding different. I decided to go back home and did not think I was going to make it. I noticed a light blue smoke coming not only from the exhaust but from underneath the car as if I had a major exhaust leak.

I know its hard to determine the cause over the net, but any ideas on where to start. I know the exhaust needs to be replaced for sure. Could that cause rough idles and hesitation?

vettefred

Sounds like maybe you fouled a couple of plugs. Raw fuel in those cylinders will smoke and the sound of the engine will change. Maybe when you washed the car water got onto distributor or into the air cleaner? Did the car ever get up to operating temp? I would say start by taking plugs out and inspect. Good luck.

Regards,

Fred

LB66383

Pull the distributor cap and make sure it's dry inside as well. It could also be a sinking carburetor float causing it to run too rich. With it idling, see if it's dumping gas into the engine.

Convertible65

Thanks for the tips. I sat around last night trying to think of what the issue might be and the distributor/timing thing kept coming to mind. i went out and checked the distributor and noticed that it is not tight and can be turned by hand.

I am getting ready to run through the tips you guys told me about and see if that could be the issue if not I might slightly move the distributor to see if that helps at all.

Convertible65

Pulled the plugs, they were a little black but nothing that would lead me to believe that they are fouled. I cleaned them with a soft wire brush rechecked the gap (35*) and put them back in. As far as getting up to operating temp, I'm not sure that it had time to get that warm as we started it up, worked our way out of the drive and went about a qtr of a mile and turned around and came home. distributor appeared dry.

Convertible65

I did not see any gas going into the carb at idle and it was a fight to get her to idle at all. Most of the time it would just die when I tried to operate the throttle from under the hood. Maybe I just need to get the carb rebuilt?

67L36Driver

See how it dos after you get the dwell and timing set properly. Most likely you'll find there is nothing wrong with the carb.

stingrayl76

Check all your vacuum lines for a leak and also check the PCV valve and make sure it is closed at idle.

vettes1st

95% of all carb problems are actually ignition problems. As suggested, set the dwell and timing before wasting your time on all that other stuff.

62Jeff

If fuel isn't squirting into the engine when you operate the throttle (check it with the engine off) then your accelerator pump circuit is blocked. If your carb is a typical Holley, there's a needle valve in the throttle circuit that can get stuck. Guess how I learned about that?

Jeff

67vetteal

Don't be afraid to take the plastic handle end of a good size screw driver and tap the fuel bowl or bowls as may be the case. You could have a stuck float after a long winters sleep. Al W.

Trophy Blue

. It happened to me last year.

stingrayl76

OK Jeff, I'll guess how you learned about that!

Dave

62Jeff

No fair, you already know the answer!
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...6&postcount=10

JohnZ

You can't just "move the distributor" and accomplish anything; you need to set the dwell (with a dwell meter) and timing (with a timing light), in that order, then adjust the idle mixture screws and idle rpm. Do that before you do anything else.

capevettes

My Holley acts up a couple of times a year. I pull out the primary and secondary needle valves, blow them out, reset the floats and it clears right out. Maybe you will get lucky and that's all it is. If it was running OK when you put it away I would suspect this.

Convertible65

Great stuff guys. Thanks for all the replies. I'm getting ready to head out on a little vacation, but I will use the advice here to hopefully rectify my issue when I get back.

Thanks Again!!!!

Convertible65

Alright, I finally had time to get back on this. My father-in-law came over this morning and we were going to set the dwell and timing, however we could not get the car to run. We noticed that the carb was not spitting any fuel at all. We pulled the carb and took the top plate off to find what looked like mud caked up all around the pump. We then shined a flash light into the gas tank and could see some residue laying in the bottom of the tank.

We are going to rebuild the carb and drop the tank and clean it and the fule lines. Hopefully this will cure my problem.

Thanks for the all the info and tips.