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Why do people take shortcuts

N

Nutro

1/2 ton status
Joined
Jul 16, 2020
Posts
128
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35
Location
Austin, TX
and in general just not do stuff correctly? Pisses me off.

Help! I've got a miss at idle on this 88 I bought. I'm going through and replacing stuff and would probably need replacing anyway. I'm attempting the plug wires now. I haven't messed with a SBC or any plug wires in years.

I do know the previous owner claims a shop put a rebuilt motor in the truck a couple years ago. He was probably lying but anyway haha. I traced #1 plug wire and its not where it would typically be. It's a TBI setup. I know the FO is 18436572 from my father making me remember that as a kid. I would assume this is clockwise rotation? If so, its very wrong.

Can anyone shed some light on this?
 
FO is correctly memorized, distributor spins clockwise as viewed from the top

what is wrong with the plug wire? I’d think if you hade the order out of wack, it’d run bad everywhere, not just idle
 
So it has a noticeable miss and honestly it just runs funky. I drove it around the hood yesterday and I swear I heard a small backfire. Here is what baffles me. If you have the dizzy and you stab it wrong, you can just re-assign the firing order on the cap like what the previous owner did BUT just now when I was outside replacing plug wires I noticed that even with his #1 being wrong, there was 3 other wires they had wrong in the firing order they made. They had it like 18354672 or something. The truck shouldn't even run like that, correct?
 
Nutro said:
So it has a noticeable miss and honestly it just runs funky. I drove it around the hood yesterday and I swear I heard a small backfire. Here is what baffles me. If you have the dizzy and you stab it wrong, you can just re-assign the firing order on the cap like what the previous owner did BUT just now when I was outside replacing plug wires I noticed that even with his #1 being wrong, there was 3 other wires they had wrong in the firing order they made. They had it like 18354672 or something. The truck shouldn't even run like that, correct?
Click to expand...
They will surprisingly run. Get it to top dead center and reassign and attach the wires and retime it and see.

Personally I've also put the dizzy in pointing at number 1 firing on number one
 
Yeah my cap isn't oriented right. The plugs for the ICM are pointing almost directly back pointing to firewall. Quick question, with this truck, is this an HEI? I want to order an AC Delco ICM and it shows with and without HEI. I thought it was but the coil is divorced from the cap so I"m not sure what that is called.
 
It's a TBI w/o HEI. Also note, there is a specific process for timing the TBI...
 
I think I remember there being a timing disconnect that needs to be disconnected and set timing to 0 then reconnect and check timing?
 
Disconnect it, then start it. Time it

Shut it off before reconnecting it
 
Bent77 said:
They will surprisingly run. Get it to top dead center and reassign and attach the wires and retime it and see.

Personally I've also put the dizzy in pointing at number 1 firing on number one
Click to expand...
Engines can run in weird situations. Short story; I was once able to get my dad's Dodge Colt to run backward.
 
We had more than one car get driven in to the salvage yard I worked at with a "junk motor" by a customer wanting a quote on how much it was worth as scrap...that had the firing order all messed up..

One guy told us "it has never run right sine I had a local shop do a "tune up" (no need to mention their name !)...the guy had an older Chevy truck like a '69 or '70 with a V8...

Being "Chevy guys" my co-worker and I both were drooling at the prospects of getting a decent pickup that might only need a motor that actually had a title,and could be re-registered....but the guy started asking if we had any good used engines,and really wasn't enthused about junking it..it was in pretty nice shape overall..

We opened the hood and it only took a minute or so to determine 4 out of 8 of the plug wires were on the wrong cylinders!...and they were routed sloppily with zip ties everywhere..we pulled all 8 out and hooked them back up where they belonged and it started right up and ran perfectly..the customer was very grateful,he said three other garages said "it probably needs a valve job or has a blown head gasket"..:surepal..

A '72 Plymouth Sattelite we got in with a 383 had three plug wires in the wrong spots too,our boss had already paid the owner and hauled it down back with the forkloader and mashed the rockers and caved one door in on it..that car ran great after we switched the plug wires back where they belonged..

We also got a nice 440 out of a motor home,the owner said it "jumped time in NH" and the tow back here cost him $300,and he was disgusted and just wanted to junk it...he said he first had it towed to a shop in NH that installed a new timing chain & gears and "it never started again"...they assumed it had bent the valves ..

Turned out whoever put the chain in didn't bother to align the timing marks,when we took it apart...we lined them back up and fired it up for a minute with the timing cover off,and it sounded good!.so we put it back together ,ended up selling it to a guy with a '69 Charger he was restoring..for $800..it had 49,000 miles on it..we felt bad the camper got scrapped,it was in very good condition till it got in the junkyard..
 
Mostly lazy people only do that since they always want the easy way which is very shortsighted,
in the long run you'll have to fix that again and again.
 
I am guilty of doing many "jerry rigged" repairs to my vehicles in recent years..only because I'm lacking in the ability to physically lay under a vehicle or bend over under a hood for a long enough time period to do it "right"...I want it over with ASAP..

I hate trusting things I know aren't repaired "correct",because I know better,its not "right"-- but I cant afford to let a shop fix things, and after seeing many of them around here are hacks that get top dollar,(that is IF you can find anyone willing to work on an old rust bucket here--most quote ridiculous prices hoping to scare you away, or simply say "we dont fix antiques"...)
I figure I'm just as well off doing it my way myself..

I have no problem using certain items for a purpose they were never intended for as long as it works and is reliable..I'm no purist when it comes to having everything "factory" as long as it works OK on the truck I'm driving now..its no real prize..

That may
make me a "hack" but I tend to have vehicles I got very cheap because of the former owners inability to diagnose or fix its troubles,that otherwise would have ended up in a scrapyard,not something real nice in great condition....sometimes the cost of a "proper" repair is more than the vehicle is worth,so you are reluctant to put a lot of money and effort into it..

Some examples of my "short cuts" include using Mar-Glass & RTV to cork up a leaky oil pan after putting bolts in the holes failed to completely stop the weeping,instead of replacing it..the 6.2 in my truck has seen years of abuse and if I were able to pull the pan off it and I find cracked main bearing webs ,it would be a waste of money and effort to put a good pan back on it--or taken the leaky one off to start with..the crank could snap a week later too,after all that work..

I'd rather put the effort and money towards a better engine swap..if its even worth doing by that time the truck may be too rotted to be worth it..
 
I’ve spent the last 12 months fixing the laziness on my rig. Wrong spark plugs, bent throttle shaft, distributor cap not tightened down and letting mud in, huge notch cut out of the y-pipe for driveshaft clearance, bent home made shackles, leaf springs unevenly spaced with washers in the hangers, on and on and on. It’s exhausting and pisses me off. I planned on driving this thing this year but instead I’m fixing shit to make it reliable instead.
 
My big block farm truck is like that too. I think someone installed the distributor a tooth off but made it work by turning it til the plugs on the side of the cap were almost hitting the firewall. I haven't wanted to mess with it and it runs good so it has stayed that way.
 
At one point I was trying to be a perfectionist,then realized on an old truck or car,it'll never be "perfect" again,after you patched rotted floors,door bottoms,rocker panels,cab mounts,etc...

I put a ton of work into many of the vehicles I had in the past and though a few turned out pretty decent (good enough for me anyways),I got tired of being anal and as my health degraded ,I started cutting corners...like the day I discovered the y-pipe on a truck had a big hole on one side,but the rest of it was still rock solid..

I didn't feel like spending a day lying under it,risking busting the manifold studs off (which was extremely likely),and end up having to pull the manifolds to drill them out,which would probably entail a few more problems along the way..instead,I took an empty spray paint can,cut the top & bottom off it,slit it lengthwise,and used 4 hose clamps to secure it over the pipe where the hole was..

I got 2 more years out of it before I had no choice but to replace the Y pipe..and I just cut it off close to the manifolds and clamped new pipes on,made it dual exhaust..drove it a few more years and it was still that way when I sold it..

I don't mickey-mouse important stuff like brakes ,steering and drive train components,but I'm no longer worried about "looks"--I just want it to get me to point A and B without having to walk or call a tow truck..now if I had a mint rust free AZ truck that was show quality,I'd never want to "fix" things that way..
 
To dodge traffic:D

Mostly cause of
Ignorance
Laziness
Or cheapness
Agree, very aggravating
At least you're doing it right to be safe while you own it
Good luck on your build
 
Well, bought a new dizzy and put a new AC Delco ICM in it and stabbed it. Got it TDC and rotor pointing to #1. Unplugged the timing disconnect, got it to Zero. Turned it off and plugged the disconnect back together. Wired it correctly and man, this thing idled like a dream and ran like a dream...for about 30 min. I then got a check engine light. Code 42...which is Ignition Control Module? lol FFFUUUUUUU
 
ramack said:
Engines can run in weird situations. Short story; I was once able to get my dad's Dodge Colt to run backward.
Click to expand...

I had a swapped CRX, one night I was drinking at the beach and I pulled all 4 plug wires as theft prevention. The next day I had forgotten that I pulled the plug wires but it fired up perfectly, I drove 20 miles home no problem. The wires were close enough that they were making contact and the engine ran great. That's honda for you!

a few weeks later it was stolen and stripped
 
Double check the timing spout connector for dirt grease oil and make sure it is seated. ohm check the dist body to ground make sure it has a good clean connection. The new icm got silicone grease between it and dist base? make sure the plug wires are not resting the icm wiring into dist.
 
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