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Old Jan 16, 2013 | 04:31 AM
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my mechanic told me (while he was doing my wheel bearings) that my 73 is starting up on 7 cylinders then when it warms up goes on all 8.
his quick fix solution was to try and replace the spark plugs with the next firing size. i currently have champion BL - 11Y
what should i try with the new ones or should i not be doing this?
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Old Jan 16, 2013 | 04:34 AM
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Originally Posted by tobyj7
my mechanic told me (while he was doing my wheel bearings) that my 73 is starting up on 7 cylinders then when it warms up goes on all 8.
his quick fix solution was to try and replace the spark plugs with the next firing size. i currently have champion BL - 11Y
what should i try with the new ones or should i not be doing this?
its a 350 base engine
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Old Jan 16, 2013 | 05:47 AM
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Has nothing to do with spark plugs, unless the gap is closed up on that one cyl.
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Old Jan 16, 2013 | 06:40 AM
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Originally Posted by Belgian1979vette
Has nothing to do with spark plugs, unless the gap is closed up on that one cyl.

Take a timing light, hook it up to the non-firing cylinder and see if you are getting power to that plug wire. If you are, it is either not fully seated on the spark plug or your plug needs to be replaced. If you are getting no power to that one wire, start looking back to the dizzy. Maybe the wire is not seated on the cap.
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Old Jan 16, 2013 | 07:15 AM
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Get rid of the Champions and replace with the AC Rapidfire #2's.
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Old Jan 16, 2013 | 10:20 AM
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Originally Posted by tobyj7
my mechanic told me (while he was doing my wheel bearings) that my 73 is starting up on 7 cylinders then when it warms up goes on all 8.
Really?
Did he say how that can happen?
You might need a new mechanic.
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Old Jan 16, 2013 | 10:33 AM
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Originally Posted by petes74ttop
Really?
Did he say how that can happen?
You might need a new mechanic.
I can think of at least two scenarios where that cans and does happen, but putting a hotter plug is not the cure.
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Old Jan 16, 2013 | 11:09 AM
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What is the cause and the cure?
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Old Jan 16, 2013 | 11:11 AM
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If he was any good, he would have isolated which plug it was, removed it to check whether it was the plug or not, also checked the wire to that plug and the distributor cap.

Since he didn't do any of that, he's probably just "stumping" for more business...
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Old Jan 16, 2013 | 12:07 PM
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I cannt find any cross reference from the stock plug, AC Delco R44T, to a Champion BL11Y. The nearest plug would be a BL13Y which is a R45T.

Last edited by MelWff; Jan 16, 2013 at 02:06 PM.
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Old Jan 16, 2013 | 01:57 PM
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Measure resistance of your wires. Should all be in the same range. I just had the same thing happening on the startup of a new engine. Ran really rough, explosions in the exhaust and such. Took the plugs out, no problem. Took the wires off and measured them. One was broken.
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Old Jan 16, 2013 | 02:38 PM
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ill check all the wires and plugs today and see how i go. he was fixing something else and i didnt want him to start looking into this just to save money
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Old Jan 16, 2013 | 03:14 PM
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Unless he told you which cyl. is not firing, pull all the plugs and look for one that's rusty or crudded up.
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Old Jan 16, 2013 | 07:28 PM
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Cheers guys I might post some pics tonight of what I find. (Australian time)
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Old Jan 17, 2013 | 04:11 AM
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so i took each cable off the distributor and they all looked good, checked all sparkplugs and they all seemed good. put it all back together and its running fine.
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Old Jan 17, 2013 | 01:34 PM
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Sort of related to you topic, I have found Champion spark plugs did not work well for me. After a day at the track, they need to be replaced. After a few brands I now use NGK spark plugs. You may want to consider giving them a try.
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Old Jan 19, 2013 | 11:34 AM
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Originally Posted by cottoneg
Sort of related to you topic, I have found Champion spark plugs did not work well for me. After a day at the track, they need to be replaced. After a few brands I now use NGK spark plugs. You may want to consider giving them a try.
When I installed the AFR 195's I put in Rapidfire # 5's. They eventually took on a nice tan colour but the engine took a while to smooth out at idle. I then put in the NGK's. The engine smooth's out much quicker on warm up and seems to run better. The plugs are now white vice tan with no other changes to the engine.
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