Ok I give up... Carb issues again

Originally posted by bagged85



blowing out the internals of the cat is HIGHLY illegal, specially in cali. use a laser thermoter. if it is hotter in front of the cat, then the rear usually by alot, you need a new cat.

It may be illegal but with a fully welded exhaust the chances of getting caught are slim to none. Besides who obeys the law?

Originally posted by oneup



So is that what it was?

Nope.

It runs better with the exhaust disconnected (and a lot louder). And I can get it down to 1100 RPM without it wanting to die, but if I let off the gas pedal and it goes to idle it still drops too low, and gets rough. Then it stumbles a bit when I press the gas pedal again. It still seems like its running rich. But it doesn't make sense. The carb is rebuilt again, all cleaned out, and thats all I can do. These carbs aren't tunable. It only has a fast idle screw.

i dont feel like readin through the post again....

what all did you do on an ignition basis ?

New coil, cap, rotor, wires and plugs. All after the issue arose.

damn... the only thing im really really thinking is a fukt-up head or head gasket! thats literally all thats left. it would also explain the "soot" from the pipe and it running like shit. im no mechanic, by far, i just worked at a shop as a manager for 8-10 years and have been around it all. i do know that heads make 4 cyl run horrible. (the dodge neon had these issues when they first came out and it ended up sort of a recall)

seth, i was pretty sure that it wasnt the cat, but others explinations did make sense. i still say you have a vacuum leak. i would be check with a propane torch or with carb cleaner. i would almost bet it is on the bottom side of the intake. they leak alot there. if you have any vacuum caps plug them one by one and see if you can find it. if there are already caps there remove them and just your finger to see if anything changes.

cookie

^^^ true, vacuum leak could be it and i know forst hand about those intakes. wouldnt the old soapy-water in a spray bottle trick around the intake help in finding it??? it definately would be a better start than taking off the head.

Originally posted by cookiemonster13



seth, i was pretty sure that it wasnt the cat, but others explinations did make sense. i still say you have a vacuum leak. i would be check with a propane torch or with carb cleaner. i would almost bet it is on the bottom side of the intake. they leak alot there. if you have any vacuum caps plug them one by one and see if you can find it. if there are already caps there remove them and just your finger to see if anything changes.

cookie

How do you check for leaks with propane or carb clean?

Also, I can't really do anything while its running, because I am the only one here, basically all the time. It won't idle enough to stay alive.

And wouldn't a blown head gasket put water in the oil? There is none.

I really don't want it to be that.

ive seen blown head gaskets not put water in the oil. especially if its not being driven... but the water can also be so little that you cant "see" it.