Hard Hot Starting
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Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 95
Likes: 3
From: Alabama
Hard Hot Starting
I have a problem with a freshly built 327 with an Edlebrock carb that's hard to crank after you get it hot and after it sits for 5 or 10 minutes. I had the carb on a 350 and used a 1/2" wooden spacer which cured the problem. Now I have it on this 327 and I have the same trouble with one difference. When I had the problem on the 350 you could turn it over and pump the throttle then it would crank. I put the spacer on and fixed it. On the 327 I have to push the pedal to the floor and it will crank like it's flooded. I switched to a 1" phenolic spacer but it didn't cure it. The 350 had the pcv valve in the valve cover. The 327 is set up like an L79 with the 1" crankcase breather tube going to the air filter and the pcv valve in the oil fill tube with a twist on cap. I know this is a common problem and it seems like it's more Edelbrocks than anything else. Thinking about ditching it and going with something else. Any ideas?
Racer
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 452
Likes: 8
From: Aventura Florida
Make sure you have the timing advance curve correct first. The next thing I would check is the float level per Edelbrock's specs on their website (there are two measurements to check). I have an Edelbrock on my engine and was about to throw it in a lake until I did some further research. I finally got the timing and float level set correctly, and she now purrs like a kitten. You might also have a sticky float needle that could cause that problem, too. If you have an electric choke, make sure that it is set correctly. When set too rich, it can cause hard hot starts (flooding) as well. Been there; done that 
. I hope these ideas help!
Good luck,
Roger
. I hope these ideas help!Good luck,
Roger
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 26,118
Likes: 1,874
From: Greenville, Indiana
Your symptoms are pretty confusing to me.
Does your engine not turn over when it's hot or does it turn over and not start? Does it crank slow when hot or try to kick back on the starter?
You said the wood spacer fixed the problem but the phenolic spacer didn't. A spacer doesn't have anything to do with the engine turning over.
If your carburetor was somehow running over and flooding the engine, I could see how the wood might absord the gasoline before it ran down in the manifold whereas the phenolic spacer wouldn't do that.
Usually too much timing will cause an engine to kick back or crank slow when hot.
Does your engine not turn over when it's hot or does it turn over and not start? Does it crank slow when hot or try to kick back on the starter?
You said the wood spacer fixed the problem but the phenolic spacer didn't. A spacer doesn't have anything to do with the engine turning over.
If your carburetor was somehow running over and flooding the engine, I could see how the wood might absord the gasoline before it ran down in the manifold whereas the phenolic spacer wouldn't do that.
Usually too much timing will cause an engine to kick back or crank slow when hot.
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 95
Likes: 3
From: Alabama
It's not an issue with the starter. It turns over fine and doesn't kick back. I was running the carb on a 350 with the wooden spacer and it was fine. I put the same carb and spacer on this 327 but I swapped the 1/2" wood spacer for a 1" phenolic spacer to try and fix the problem.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 7,631
Likes: 11
From: Rocklin California
Make sure you have the timing advance curve correct first. The next thing I would check is the float level per Edelbrock's specs on their website (there are two measurements to check). I have an Edelbrock on my engine and was about to throw it in a lake until I did some further research. I finally got the timing and float level set correctly, and she now purrs like a kitten. You might also have a sticky float needle that could cause that problem, too. If you have an electric choke, make sure that it is set correctly. When set too rich, it can cause hard hot starts (flooding) as well. Been there; done that . I hope these ideas help!
Good luck,
Roger
. I hope these ideas help!Good luck,
Roger
I had an Edelbrock 600 cfm on my 32 Ford with Chevy 350 motor and it was always hard to start after sitting for awhile at car shows. I also had a spacer but that did not help. Check timing and carb settings, good chance it will fix the issue.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 26,118
Likes: 1,874
From: Greenville, Indiana
It's not an issue with the starter. It turns over fine and doesn't kick back. I was running the carb on a 350 with the wooden spacer and it was fine. I put the same carb and spacer on this 327 but I swapped the 1/2" wood spacer for a 1" phenolic spacer to try and fix the problem.
Revisit this:
"If your carburetor was somehow running over and flooding the engine, I could see how the wood might absorb the gasoline before it ran down in the manifold whereas the phenolic spacer wouldn't do that."
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