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Old Mar 31, 2009 | 07:51 PM
  #1  
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John1979
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From: Huntingdon Pa
Default 79 need engine help

I was messing around with the emission hoses and pulled the vacuum advance hose off, the engine was running at the time. now I can hear a clicking noise from the distributor cap. I looked in the cap I could see, what looked like arcing marks, I replaced the cap and it still makes the noise. now the car runs like crap. I also need help figuring out what hoses are needed and which ones can go. the air pump and most of the emission stuff was removed by someone else.
I should of just let it alone, the car was running good.
Thanks for any help
John1979
engine is a L82 350 Rochester carb

Last edited by John1979; Mar 31, 2009 at 08:11 PM.
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Old Mar 31, 2009 | 08:42 PM
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1nicecorvette
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From: Canastota Ny
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no biggie you probably have the vac advance stuck or need to replace it now. orrrrrrrrrrrr you have the vac line connected in the wrong place.

i would also have to think that you have a plug wire that is aching too. listen at the top of the cap near the boots. dont touch em while the engine is running or youll go into coma! but you can try squirting water on the tops of the boots and if they spark thats your clicking sound.

here try this its without air pump but same thing minus those lines.
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Old Mar 31, 2009 | 09:00 PM
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John1979
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1nicecorvette,
thanks for the chart that will help. with the hose problem I created. as for the clicking noise, I did check all the wires in fact i replaced the the other day along with plugs and this just started to day after I was messing with the hosesI I can see in the distributor cap the arcing marks.
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Old Mar 31, 2009 | 09:29 PM
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1nicecorvette
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From: Canastota Ny
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is the rotor loose by any chance? the click could be caused by something hitting INSIDE the cap. make sure the cap is on straight and correct too. there is a small indent in the base that lines it up
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Old Mar 31, 2009 | 09:42 PM
  #5  
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checked both of those, took off cap and replaced with a new one I had, rotor was replaced two weeks ago and it worked great then. not hitting now, but there is that odd spark mark on the tips, I'm not sure what there called, the brass tips in the cap. I'll replace the vacuum advance tomorrow. Again it started after I disconected the hose to the vacuum advance. So I'll give that a try
thank,
1nicecorvette
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Old Apr 2, 2009 | 05:51 PM
  #6  
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turns out, when I replaced the spark plug wires I didn't run them the original way. and how I had them knocked one lose and the other came off. fixing this got ride of the ticking in the distributor. but now I have no low speed power. if I Tromp on it it back fires and sputters. I rechecked the plugs and cap. It idles good. I'm getting mad, because it did run good. now to figure out what I might of done.
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Old Apr 2, 2009 | 07:54 PM
  #7  
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my 76 ray
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From: Hinckley OH
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Check your firing order. If you switched the wires when you changed them it will cause the symptoms you have.
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Old Apr 2, 2009 | 08:00 PM
  #8  
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1nicecorvette
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From: Canastota Ny
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i agree-- yeah def sounds like a wire backwards. believe me when i first got my car i was about to sell it. the PO had two of the wire backwards the car ran okay but not great. so when i went a finally adjusted the carb the car ran like complete crap. i got frustrated and gave up. SELL IT I SAID..the damn thing wouldnt start worth nuttin. finally i took my time, looked at the (numbers on the block) got the firing order from guys here and found that the PO had the two wires backwards. simple things cause such havoc!
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Old Apr 3, 2009 | 01:35 PM
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Originally Posted by my 76 ray
Check your firing order. If you switched the wires when you changed them it will cause the symptoms you have.
You could also have a vacuum line lose or not connected. Did you reconnect your vacuum advance to the right location? Did you remove any other hoses or wires?
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