the 79 p.o.s overheated again and i finally got in a 4-core rad. new hoses, and said screw the Thermostat which was probably bad so i gotta put that back in. anywas i replaced the plugs, wires, cap, rotor and went to start it up just the other day and when it started to kick over and idle it was Really rough. now after my car had overheated that one day about 3 weeks ago before i got all this new crap in, i started it up just to see if it would well, start. and it did and it also had a really rough idle like i had a sticking valve or something. i checked the gap on each plug on the old ones and new ones and gapped it at .045 and they only had the reddish color thanks to lots of fuel additive. they did smell of gas and a little oil, but thats not my main concern. does anyone know why i would get such a rough idle? maybe a valve stem got gouged or scratched bad enough to stick and not open all the way. any help would be greatly appreciated.
Oh! i forgot to add...i havent overheated really bad just once, its been like 3 times, did i warp the heads? and uh, i still need to do a compression check on each cylinder.

 

you might have a blown head gasket due to warped head from the overheating. Does it pull hard on acceleration, if so not a head gasket.

 

Hey friend...check the Dist. cap. It may be on cockeyed or cracked. I've done that more than once. Blown head gaskets will show water bubbles in crankcase oil. Check it out.

 

Again, as 76pacer suggests, I always try the simple things before pulling the heads.

My personal favorite is to not push the plug boot on tight eough. Runs like heck and you're ready to do a rebuild. Then you check the wires and it goes away.

Before you panic, alway check the cheep and easy stuff first. Having said that, there is no better way to warp a head and ruin a head gasket than overheating.

Good luck.

 

Sounds like you need some expert advice. Call around and get some estimates for a diagnose. Should be only $50-$100 even at dealer. All I can say is that overheating just once can easily crack the head(s) and I have proved that myself.
But if you want the experience and learn for yourself, most shop/service manuals have a troubleshooting section. And you'd be surprized how many good auto manuals for your car are at the local public libary.
Good luck. cardo0

 

On that thermostat thing - sometimes the cooland moves so fast without the thermostat resrticting it that it doesnt have time to cool off in teh radiator. I wish I had a suggestion about it running rough. All the above suggestions cover what I was thinking

 

First off a compression check is definatly called for. Ignition can be checked with timing light. With the car at idle clip the inductive pick up to one plug wire at a time. Each one should produce a steady rythmic flash. If any have a miss flash here or there or have flashing combined with fluttering flashing, that would indicate problems with misfires and or crossfiring ignition.

 

Thank you all for your help/suggestions. i think i can somewhat rule out the cap being on improperly because i have checked it and all sides are even on. i have yet to do a compression check but since i get paid tomorrow i dont wanna screw with it at the moment, i think ill let a shop diagnose it and see what happens from there. the only thing i havent done yet which i need to do is a oil change. Anyone heard of Royal Purple? i heard its really good, but even with a discount from working at Napa, 6+ dollars a quart seems a bit much. Anyone in the Sacramento Area recommend a good shop to go to for diagnosis and repair, maybe to deck my block *whatever that means lol* and to put on new heads or reman. ones?