taner

not gonna get into details but, #5 wire was up against the header and it was driven for say 60 miles like that(no i wasn't driving it). ok, i changed the oil, and the plug/#5 wire, still runs like $hit! motor has about 400-500 miles on it
i am gonna go do a leak down test on it and see what it tells me, i will post the results. not sure how to interperet the results, guess i will read the instructions on the tester

any ideas why it still runs like crap? i appreciate any suggestion and or comments

tia!!!
taner

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MY car featured:

www.bmrfabrication.com/Feature.htm

........................
1996 Camaro SS A.R.E 398
11.36@120.35mph, NA
10.43@ 120.87mph N2O(i shifted 3rd to 6th,DOH!) 1.375 60'
Best mph: 132.95mph w/10.47- yes i hit 4th,lol (Sept 16/01)1.68 60'
oh yeah also an 80 Camaro, an 98 Ram Sport

"...i wish i was the full moon shining off a Camaro's hood..."
P.J.

angel71rs

I see one way the wire incident caused damage: if the wire shorted, no problem, but if it opened, it was no longer a current path for the spark that should have gone to your plug, so that energy had to go somewhere else. It might have gone down in the distributor cap causing a carbon track that is now acting as a short for spark energy. Or if you have an HEI, it could have zapped module.

Keep in mind that sometimes 2 unrelated problems will pop up on a vehicle, so you fix an obvious one and when it still runs wrong, you are still troubleshooting with your mind frame based on original complaint.

Go in with the idea that it could be anything, broken valve spring, fuel problem, antoher bad plug wire, etc.

taner

i have an msd cap adapt with blaster coil and msd 6al for an ignition. i just put everything back together, rechecked timing, all wires checked for crimp on ends, all new plugs gapped @ .050"
and well it runs better than before but doesn't want to idle, so it still runs like ****.

i pulled out the rapidfire plugs that i put in last year and they were just fouled all to hell and smelt of gas, of course. so in went the stock ac delco's and well the car ran, but i swear i can hear the #5 piston rattling around in the motor (Piston slap)

well i am a bit pissed off to say the least, and very frustrated at this point!

thank you for your help. it is greatly appreciated, time to drown my sorrows in beer, lmao!!!

one other thing, i did the leakdown on #5, well the results are approx. 16% difference between the 2 gauges on the instrument. i don't know if that falls in tolerance or not of what is acceptable. but when i tried to compare by doing #3 cylinder as soon as i got over 50 psi the crank actually turned there was so much compression within the cylinder.

FU#K, i just don't know what to do anymore! i had a potential buyer for the car as well, and it was running better than it ever did.

what can i check in the distributor, hell i'll buy a new module if it makes a difference.

angel71rs

Your engine is new, rings still seating, so until you get readings on all, don't panic. I like to put a floor jack with a rag on the lift pad under the flex plate whenever I need to keep an engine from spinning. Just keep the pressure light.

That noise you think you hear, have you checked for a busted valve spring? I know that it will cause bad readings with a compression tester, I've never used a leak down, but would probably have same effect. So will a busted valve guide. My nephew broke a guide on his 454 Chevelle and it took us a while to find it. It's tough to see the guides with the springs on.

Jeff H

Check that spark plug, it might be fouled out if it wasn't firing for that long. I've had that happen before.

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Jeff H - 69 Z28 Hugger Orange, GM crossram, GM fiberglass cowl induction hood, factory TI setup & factory installed JL8 4 wheel disc brakes - original #'s matching and documented, being restored), 87 Toyota 4Runner SR5 Turbo

taner

Jeff,

plugs and wires i already took care of. i am gonna check for springs tomorrow, v.covers are off. when the car is runing i can actually hear the combustion entering the valve cover area. when i pulled the pcv hose off of the pass. side cover the motor actually ran smoother, so i relieved some of the crankcase pressure. we shall see. i plan on dropping off the car next week at a mechanic i trust to work on the car.

taner

i finally found sometime to look at the car last weekend, sure enough as mentioned above, #7 intake valve spring is broke, all i have to say is don't buy K motion springs for your sbc!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i don't care how good their big block parts are, lmao!!!
i have a set of comp cam springs going in on tuesday, good enough for my application, my cam provides about 510 lift with the 1.6 rollers. then it is back to jamming in the 80

thanks for the help!!!!!
taner

------------------
MY car featured:

www.bmrfabrication.com/Feature.htm

........................
1996 Camaro SS A.R.E 398
11.36@120.35mph, NA
10.43@ 120.87mph N2O(i shifted 3rd to 6th,DOH!) 1.375 60'
Best mph: 132.95mph w/10.47- yes i hit 4th,lol (Sept 16/01)1.68 60'
oh yeah also an 80 Camaro, an 98 Ram Sport

"...i wish i was the full moon shining off a Camaro's hood..."
P.J.

jannes

If it is any relieve I had about the same struggle awhile ago.

The engine ran very poor and I was focused on the ignition as the cause. Tried everything, changed a lot but to no avail.

Finally I lifted the intake to check for some airleak between the intake and heads when I found a retainer clip in the lifter valley. When inspecting the valvetrain a broken exhaust spring on number 7 was the cause. Luck was with me as the valve did just get a slight bend when colliding with the piston and got stuck in the guide. I just had to by a new valve and a set of new springs.

Talking about springs, the real cause was that previous owner had put in single coil springs when it should be dubblesprings. When revving high it missfired through the pipes, which I thought was breaker points not holding up.

Now with double springs it runs really good and strong, it is also quieter since there is not any clatter from weak springs.

Our problem in finding these errors is that our big chevy V8s are so strong that they can run real good on seven cylinders.

I ran about 500 miles with my bent valve, believe it or not, since it happened far away from home at a Camaro Club meeting. The engine was running but of course very poor at idle, but not any mechanical noise. It took me home.

Jan




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Jan Suhr
Stockholm, Sweden
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1969 Camaro Z-28 Cortez Silver with 396 BigBlock

http://homepage.mac.com/jannes

taner

glad to hear it worked out! sorry you had to change a valve
well the car seems to be running better, i still want to do one more leakdown test on it to ensure it is ok.

but oh yeah it is running better!