Re: 1977 Malibu Hand-Me-Down

by rosco77 Sun Mar 26, 2017 11:15 am

For what it's worth, if I start sounding like I'm getting pissed, don't worry. It's not you guys. I'm just getting frustrated. I appreciate the help, so please just let it roll off. I'm usually pretty laid back.

by bigredlaguna Sun Mar 26, 2017 1:18 pm

No problem, frustration is part of the game sometimes. I just shelled a good posi carrier because I forgot about a basic component.

I just am stumped by the collapsing upper hose. That implies there is a vacuum on it and there should not be. Usually the lower hose is the one that collapses when there is a problem in the cooling system that restricts flow.

by bigredlaguna Sun Mar 26, 2017 1:31 pm

rosco77 wrote:I replaced the fan clutch and yea, it was definitely no good, but the water still wanted to boil within a few minutes and the upper hose was collapsing. I pulled the thermostat and ran it without it, no more issues.

The thermostat was the problem then. Even if it tested good on the stove, if it is the type that opens against the water flow, it can be weak and fail to open due to the pressure/flow of the water pump.

by fasrnur Sun Mar 26, 2017 2:02 pm

Being upset and frustrated sometimes comes with working on cars like bigredlaguna said. I too went through a couple of things last year with my brakes that just drove me nuts. I think I might have lost it on my poor wife a couple of times because of it. lol

Sometimes for me, I just have to step back, relax, think of something else, and the solution will come to me.

Good luck rosco,
Jeff....

by rosco77 Sun Mar 26, 2017 2:10 pm

Thanks for understanding guys. I just felt it needed to be said. I didn't want to say something that pissed someone off and get kicked off this AMAZING forum. If I can't figure it out this afternoon, it's gonna wait until next weekend. Hopefully it'll be done before 8pm CST. Gotta get my Walking Dead fix.

by rosco77 Sun Mar 26, 2017 2:54 pm

So with both adjustment screws on the carb all the way in, there is still fuel spraying down into the carb. I think I'm done for the weekend on it though. Tired of screwing with it. Will try again next weekend if I'm not too busy.

by ant7377 Sun Mar 26, 2017 4:35 pm

Make sure the spring is in the lower hose or its going to collapse. You can gut the thermostat for some fow resistance. Or drill a little small hole to keep flow while the thermostat is closed.

by Damon23 Sun Mar 26, 2017 7:13 pm

rosco77 wrote:So with both adjustment screws on the carb all the way in, there is still fuel spraying down into the carb. I think I'm done for the weekend on it though. Tired of screwing with it. Will try again next weekend if I'm not too busy.

The screws on the carb adjust the amount of air mixing with the fuel. The accelerator pump is what pushes fuel into the carb.

by ant7377 Sun Mar 26, 2017 9:06 pm

Damon23 wrote:
rosco77 wrote:So with both adjustment screws on the carb all the way in, there is still fuel spraying down into the carb. I think I'm done for the weekend on it though. Tired of screwing with it. Will try again next weekend if I'm not too busy.

The screws on the carb adjust the amount of air mixing with the fuel. The accelerator pump is what pushes fuel into the carb.

If you are seeing fuel driping into the carb with the screws all the way in your idle screw (the big screw that controls curb idle)is open too far. You are getting fuel past the idle circut of the carb.

by rosco77 Sat Apr 01, 2017 8:27 pm

It runs!!!! It ended up being in the carb. I took it off this morn and cleaned it out real good with carb cleaner. Purrs like a kitten now. Timing was set at 12, carb was set, and I ran through the valves. Took it for a little test drive this evening and it ran good. I can definitely tell it has more power. Broke the tires loose a couple times. I only went about a mile though. Gonna go a little farther tomorrow with the wife behind me and see how it does. Gotta check the speedo anyway to make sure it has the right gear in the tranny. I'm hopeful I can drive it to work a day or 2 next week.

by bigredlaguna Sat Apr 01, 2017 8:31 pm

by rosco77 Sat Apr 01, 2017 8:33 pm

That was pretty much my reaction 1977 Malibu Hand-Me-Down - Page 2 978692

by rosco77 Mon Apr 24, 2017 8:37 pm

I had some time to work on it again this past weekend. If you saw my thread about the trans, you know I've got an oil leak on the cooler lines. I didn't mess with that much, but I installed a set of gauges to work along with the dummy lights. They're a cheap set of SunPro gauges I found on Amazon. The install went well and everything seems to be working properly. I didn't know it getting into it, but my dash lights weren't working. They are now. I had to take the switch out and clean it off. Anyhow, my oil light has been on. I didn't trust the light because I knew the sender was pretty old. I put a new sender for the light in when I put the tee in for the oil gauge. Well, at hot idle it reads 0. After some research, looks like I'm gonna be pulling the motor and checking out the bearings. It's either that or the new oil pump is bad. I know where the pump is that was on the old engine, but it's not too easy to get to now. So, all that said, gotta put it off until summer. Not gonna have the time for a bit. Any ideas other than bearings or pump?

by thatfnthing Mon Apr 24, 2017 11:00 pm

With gauges, you get what you pay for. I had Sunpro's a long time ago, and while they were inexpensive, they read whatever the hell they wanted to read. And it wasn't necessarily the same thing twice in a row. I had the same 'no oil pressure at idle' issue as you, until I tried a VDO with an electric sender, then discovered I did indeed have oil pressure at idle.

by Hs1973 Tue Apr 25, 2017 3:52 am

Same thing here. I dont trust the gauges with a hard Line. I have seen to Many not work right. If there is even a small kink in the Line or it Got debris in it it wont work. I have a vdo oil pressure gauge hoked up along with my oil light, i mounted the sender just above the oilfilter and left the original sender to the oil light alone. That Way i have both working.

If you indeed dont have oil pressure i have had new oil pickups Fall off, that is why i weld it on. Also ive had the little plastic thing on the dissy shaft break making the pressure behave Odd. Or maybe the oil pickup sits to close to the bottom of your oilpan. Anyways frustration comes with working on old cars. Sometimes things just dont work right, even if you have used a ton of money and time. I just had hell of a time figuring out why my brakes sucked. I bougt top of the Line parts for a small Fortune, only to find that i did not make a difference. Still had not freaking brakes. Bought new Stock parts only to get the Wrong parts. Another Waste of money and more frustration. Cut my leges up bad with an anglegrinder in the process, and no matter what i tryed. Still no brakes. Its fixed now finally, but it is not the first time ive been close to setting the car on fire and be done with it. And it wont be the last time either.

So keep at it brother and the solution will present itself. You get it done.

by Hawk03 Tue Apr 25, 2017 9:09 am

Is this a mechanical or electrical gauge? If mechanical, try and find an electrical oil pressure gauge similar to try. I installed electrical Sun Pro gauges and they seem to work okay.

by rosco77 Tue Apr 25, 2017 8:34 pm

It's mechanical. I also understand you get what you pay for, but I wanted these over the cheap O'Reiley gauges for the name. I've known a few people that run the Equus gauges with no issues. Anyhow, with 2 sending units for the light tripping the light at idle, and the gauge reading 0 at idle, I figure there's a problem somewhere. That's 3 signs there is an issue, and I'm also starting to hear a slight knock at higher rpms. I wish I had the funds for better gauges, but I've got to work with what I have. I'm not giving up on her, had this car too damn long for that, just gonna take a break for a bit and pull the engine back out over the summer and start checking bearings, oil pickup clearance (deep sump pan with appropriate pickup bolted on), and maybe a couple of other things. It's been doing it since day 1 with this engine, so it had to be something simple, I just hope I didn't screw up too much stuff thinking the original sender was bad and running it anyway.

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