Distributor End Play
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 2,618
Likes: 149
From: Anaheim California
'Hi you may find this post , with a problem like yours, helpful, the forum helped me, read through all the replies and the fixes
Jack
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c1-a...my-l-79-a.html
Jack
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c1-a...my-l-79-a.html
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 26,118
Likes: 1,874
From: Greenville, Indiana
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 5,073
Likes: 414
From: Maine
Came down to wires
The fact that my distributor needed to be rebuilt, ( like about 70%) of these old things in our cars, was not the problem in itself
make sure you have a good new cap
good plugs
good Napa wires ,,,,, dark blue , fit perfectley
Car runs like a clock
But back to your problem, you need to know that each component is good
Put your timing light on #5 and see if it flashing, no flash and it may tell you no juice to plug
If you know the wire is good, the plug is good, the cap and rotor are good
the only thing is the Petronix unit, but it sounds unlikely that it would only be bad for one cylinder, possible , but not likely.
When you say dead, is there no fire at all, or is the fire being smothered by oil, excess gas (mechanical stuff)
electrical non conduct to just one cylinder is should be able to be found
I would really rebuild that distributor no matter what.....
It is not hard to do, and once done , will last your life time
Jack
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 2,618
Likes: 149
From: Anaheim California
The missing on engine was due to a general breakdown in the "more correct wires " that you get from vendors.
The fact that my distributor needed to be rebuilt, ( like about 70%) of these old things in our cars, was not the problem in itself
make sure you have a good new cap
good plugs
good Napa wires ,,,,, dark blue , fit perfectley
Car runs like a clock
But back to your problem, you need to know that each component is good
Put your timing light on #5 and see if it flashing, no flash and it may tell you no juice to plug
If you know the wire is good, the plug is good, the cap and rotor are good
the only thing is the Petronix unit, but it sounds unlikely that it would only be bad for one cylinder, possible , but not likely.
When you say dead, is there no fire at all, or is the fire being smothered by oil, excess gas (mechanical stuff)
electrical non conduct to just one cylinder is should be able to be found
I would really rebuild that distributor no matter what.....
It is not hard to do, and once done , will last your life time
Jack
The fact that my distributor needed to be rebuilt, ( like about 70%) of these old things in our cars, was not the problem in itself
make sure you have a good new cap
good plugs
good Napa wires ,,,,, dark blue , fit perfectley
Car runs like a clock
But back to your problem, you need to know that each component is good
Put your timing light on #5 and see if it flashing, no flash and it may tell you no juice to plug
If you know the wire is good, the plug is good, the cap and rotor are good
the only thing is the Petronix unit, but it sounds unlikely that it would only be bad for one cylinder, possible , but not likely.
When you say dead, is there no fire at all, or is the fire being smothered by oil, excess gas (mechanical stuff)
electrical non conduct to just one cylinder is should be able to be found
I would really rebuild that distributor no matter what.....
It is not hard to do, and once done , will last your life time
Jack
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 26,118
Likes: 1,874
From: Greenville, Indiana
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 26,118
Likes: 1,874
From: Greenville, Indiana
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 8,000
Likes: 659
From: Puget Sound
After reading all the above, I'd say that the misfiring has to be caused by one of the following: cap, #5 wire, or spark plug.
Even though a spark plug may fire ok in air, it is possible for it to misfire due to higher voltage requirements at the gap when under compression.
The cap and wire may also leak when stressed to the higher voltage required by a plug under compression.
Even though a spark plug may fire ok in air, it is possible for it to misfire due to higher voltage requirements at the gap when under compression.
The cap and wire may also leak when stressed to the higher voltage required by a plug under compression.
You stated you have new plugs. Let me tell you a story. I built a nice 301 for my 56 Belair. Everything new. Cap, rotor, wires, plugs, you name it. From the initial start up it ran like **** and had a miss. I checked everything. Cap-okay, rotor-okay, wires resistance check- okay, plugs looked okay as well. Several weeks of checking everything and found nothing wrong. An old racing buddy stopped by and I told him the whole story. He said "What plugs are you running?" I said "It's not the plugs, they are brand new Champions". His reply was "Throw those POS plugs in the garbage, put in a set of AC or Autolite plugs and I'll bet you $100 it will run perfectly". He was 100% correct. From that day in the early 70's to today, I wouldn't run a Champion plug if it was free.The moral of the story is don't assume something is okay just because it's new. That applies even more today with the lack of quality control and all the Chinese crap on the market.
Jim
