[JJLT1]

wtg BK
lookin good, and pics help..

The car surges/stutters under light acceleration around the 1-2 shift which is really weird.
I can floor it at 50, and she takes off just fine.

it did sound like a Lean Surge,
but when you said she takes off at 50, that made me not think filter..
till we know what the computer is doing , anything or nothing is possible..
I would check the Timing, see if its changing with the throttle in-put,,
if the Distributor 4wire connector is still there and working??
might be #5 in the pic..
and what did the SparkPlugs look like ??
.
.
yes the EGR #1 in the pic, can cause the lean surge and low ruff idle just like a vacuum leak..
another question,, where does the hose on the EGR go too ??
since the plumbing for the #2-3-4
Air Injection, EGR, EFE, Purge Valve, and both TVS is missing..

 

[Youngstorm]

It sounds like a vacuum line has opened up or broken somewhere. If you don't have one, a vacuum/fuel pressure tester will pay for itself over and over. I don't like the way the spark plug wires are laying on the left exhaust manifold. A cheap temporary fix for wires is plastic garbage bag ties interwoven to hold wires separated and in a fix safe location until some proper wire separators are acquired.

 

[57 Handyman]

Brandon, you are on the right track in your thinking that the rough idle is related to removing/replacing air cleaner and valve covers. Whenever something new appears, I always go back to the last thing I did before the issue arose. Most of the time, there is a correlation. As for spraying carb cleaner near vacuum lines or connections, that is a great diagnostic tool/trick. I was told that brake cleaner also works. Just be careful where you spray either fluid as both are flammable and the fumes toxic.

 

[87ls5.3]

Your carb cleaner idea is a sound one. So many of those vacuum lines can be brittle at the age our cars are. As mentioned by 57 Handyman and by you waiting for a cold start, be careful. Not sure where to look first but the A/C control lines on the passenger side of my car were extremely brittle and I snapped them back until I found a spot they wouldn't break and added new vacuum hose from there. Good luck!

Joe

 

[Bkardell]

wtg BK
lookin good, and pics help..


it did sound like a Lean Surge,
but when you said she takes off at 50, that made me not think filter..
till we know what the computer is doing , anything or nothing is possible..
I would check the Timing, see if its changing with the throttle in-put,,
if the Distributor 4wire connector is still there and working??
might be #5 in the pic..
and what did the SparkPlugs look like ??
.
.
yes the EGR #1 in the pic, can cause the lean surge and low ruff idle just like a vacuum leak..
another question,, where does the hose on the EGR go too ??
since the plumbing for the #2-3-4
Air Injection, EGR, EFE, Purge Valve, and both TVS is missing..
View attachment 129877

I took a bunch of pictures to hopefully help you with some of the missing hardware. Once again, I messed with nothing other than that egr valve to get the new valve covers on and it appears not to lead to anything anyway (picture with the red circle). Will try a brake parts cleaner test to check for vacuum leaks soon here. I appreciate the input everyone! Pictures down below.

 

[JJLT1]

I cant see where the EGR goes.. block it off, see if it helps the idle..
cant see where a few more go ether..
not sure/cant remember why you have 2 EGR Solenoid looking thangs..

this is kinda normal, if you don't have the sticker on the core support..


I put some names on these..
that Vacuum Leak pic is probly all ready leaking somewhere..

 

[Bkardell]

I cant see where the EGR goes.. block it off, see if it helps the idle..
cant see where a few more go ether..
not sure/cant remember why you have 2 EGR Solenoid looking thangs..

this is kinda normal, if you don't have the sticker on the core support..
View attachment 129904

I put some names on these..
that Vacuum Leak pic is probly all ready leaking somewhere..
View attachment 129905 View attachment 129906 View attachment 129907 View attachment 129908 View attachment 129909

Thanks for the reply/labeling JJ! Unfortunately I just tried the carb cleaner/brake parts cleaner trick on a dead cold startup and found no such vacuum leaks behind the carb/around that distributor area. I will need to try to figure out what to check next and keep moving down the list. Like I said, it has to be something I moved/broke/manipulated during the install of the new parts. Will continue to update! Thanks guys

 

[Bkardell]

UPDATE!! After some digging, and more vacuum testing, I found what I believe to be the culprit. My new valve covers must be slightly taller than the old ones being the egr valve makes contact with the valve cover, leading me to believe it is creating a vacuum leak. Follow up question: will an egr block off plate make my car run bad/worse? Do I just get a thicker gasket or use cardboard and see if I can make the clearance? I can have an egr block off plate as soon as Tuesday (shipping), my only worry is I'm not sure whats all hooked up to the computer and what not. I followed the hose coming off of my egr valve and it was basically dangling with nothing connected to it by the distributor (plugging this/spraying brake parts cleaner in it while running did nothing). When spraying the base of the egr valve the engine would almost smooth out as if it was making up for the added air it was sucking in due to the leak. Can anyone shed some light on the matter?

 

[JJLT1]

wtg B
x2 if the egr is not sealed, that's a vacuum leak and a exhaust leak..
if egr is not connected, its not working.. it just has to seal..
its normally closed with no vacuum..
block-off plate or thicker gasket will work..
thick cardboard/card stock may work a good while, but it gets hot..

 

[Bkardell]

wtg B
x2 if the egr is not sealed, that's a vacuum leak and a exhaust leak..
if egr is not connected, its not working.. it just has to seal..
its normally closed with no vacuum..
block-off plate or thicker gasket will work..
thick cardboard/card stock may work a good while, but it gets hot..

Good deal! I will order the block off plate and should have my hands on it by Tuesday and will install it, and update everyone then. Thanks again for all the help, it's beyond appreciated!

 

[Bkardell]

wtg B
x2 if the egr is not sealed, that's a vacuum leak and a exhaust leak..
if egr is not connected, its not working.. it just has to seal..
its normally closed with no vacuum..
block-off plate or thicker gasket will work..
thick cardboard/card stock may work a good while, but it gets hot..

So I went out and looked this morning, and the EGR valve is connected to the EGR solenoid. There is another vacuum line leading from the EGR solenoid straight to the carb. Electrically the solenoid does appear to be hooked up, but when the car was running and I removed the rubber line from the EGR valve, it had no adverse effect whatsoever. My question is, will installing this block off plate make my car run worse? The plunger type mechanism in my EGR valve IS free and will move up and down, so I know its not frozen. I am going to find out either way come tuesday when that block off plate gets here. If it does make it run/idle worse, I just want to figure out a way to reinstall my EGR whilst making the mount taller to clear my valve covers. Thanks in advance.

 

[JJLT1]

no the egr shouldn't affect the idle, if it does its broke [vacuum leak]..
the egr only opens at part-throttle cruise/hiway to dilute the fuel charge and cool it
less temp = less NOX emissions, and help gas mileage a little.. IIRC

 

[Bkardell]

no the egr shouldn't affect the idle, if it does its broke [vacuum leak]..
the egr only opens at part-throttle cruise/hiway to dilute the fuel charge and cool it
less temp = less NOX emissions, and help gas mileage a little.. IIRC

Awesome, good to know! I will install the block plate as soon as I get it and hopefully that should smooth out the idle. The car ever so slightly smoothed out/idled up when spraying brake cleaner by the base of the EGR valve, and then I realized that it was in contact with the valve cover. I am guessing it was a very minuscule vacuum leak, but enough to make the idle slightly erratic. I am really hoping this will fix my issue. Will keep updating!

 

[Bkardell]

Update! Block off plate came early! Installed it and thus far it seems that idle is a little smoother, but definitely still shakes the car some. My father in law swears that's just how some older cars idle haha! I will start to go through and replace old brittle vacuum lines as well as keep updating on new problems that may arise. She runs, drives, and stops great for now though! Thanks a million!

 

[JJLT1]

wtg B
be sure and use a gasket or RTV under the BO-plate ??
that vacuum hose in pic looks like its had a hole in it..

do you hear the MCS in the carb ticking ??
un-plug it and you should get a CEL- check engine light if the computer is working,,
and as said, check the timing, see if its moving / controlling ??
that tells you the computer is doing its job, timing has a HUGE affect on idle and power..

 

[Bkardell]

wtg B
be sure and use a gasket or RTV under the BO-plate ??
that vacuum hose in pic looks like its had a hole in it..

do you hear the MCS in the carb ticking ??
un-plug it and you should get a CEL- check engine light if the computer is working,,
and as said, check the timing, see if its moving / controlling ??
that tells you the computer is doing its job, timing has a HUGE affect on idle and power..

Thanks JJ! The kit came with a pretty thick gasket, and it is definitely sealing as I did the brake cleaner vacuum trick and idle stayed the same it seemed. That hose in the picture was a hose connected to my egr valve, though spraying it had no adverse effects on idle. Idle is still slightly choppy, but I started moving on to other problems: getting all the lights functioning. The blinkers both work, both front markers blink in the front when the headlights are off, but as soon as the headlights are on, they alternate and don't blink at the same time. Next weird thing is the rear left tail light shuts off only when the right blinker is on and you hit the breaks and then bam it shuts off. Turn on the runners and poof its back on. Ive replaced the rear right bulb (2 filament) and I've replaced the directional flasher on the fuse panel. I've got so many demons to chase with this thing that when I get bored of one, I move to the next lol. Sounds like there may be slight ticking from the carb though I'm unsure. I will keep updating

 

[JJLT1]

The blinkers both work, both front markers blink in the front when the headlights are off,
but as soon as the headlights are on, they alternate and don't blink at the same time.

that is normal..... depending on where the side marker lights get there ground,,
usually from the turn signal light bulb on the front [ the rear side markers don't blink ]
when the turn signal gets power the side marker looses its ground, and it goes off..
it makes a single filament bulb run on park light power and still blink with the turn bulbs..

its usually a good idea to clean all the grounds first,
a bad ground can cause back feeding on all the bulbs on the same ground,
lots of weird things happen..

Next weird thing is the rear left tail light shuts off only when the right blinker is on and you hit the breaks and then bam it shuts off. Turn on the runners and poof its back on.
Ive replaced the rear right bulb (2 filament) and I've replaced the directional flasher on the fuse panel.

check all the grounds on the rear, usually black, they all tie together and is screwed to the frame..
check the bulb grounds in the sockets too..
brown wire is tail and side lights,, green is right turn and stop,, yellow is left turn and stop..

.
on the vacuum hoses,
if you have 6 very small leaks that can cause a problem,,
if you spray them one at a time you may not see a difference in the idle..
but there still there.. if it looks like a leak, fix it..
forgot to say,, check them with the motor hot, if its cold and the choke is on,
its adding fuel to richen the mixture, which can cover-up a vacuum leak test too..

another quick test/check
with it hot slowly close the choke flap and see if the idle goes up or down
or smooths out.. kinda tells you if its more rich or lean at idle..
and
with a dual plane manifold could be a left or right side of the carb problem,
and maybe not both..
a squirt of carb cleaner down one side or the other may say something too..

Sounds like there may be slight ticking from the carb though I'm unsure.

Stethoscope on the carb in the front..
or un-plug it, see if it quits.. and it may set a code..