[NOBBC] Any thoughts on a starting issue?

[Gary Germano]

Hi Greg,
My Uncle, who was a really great mechanic, always taught me ( and emphasized
heavily!) that when troubleshooting : 1)compression, 2)ignition, and
3)carburetion. But the important thing is always in that order, or you can
waste a lot of time accomplishing nothing.
On ignition, pulling spark plug wires (carefully, not grounding
yourself...make sure you know how to do this) one at a time may indicate which
cylinder(s) are not firing.
If you "pass" compression and ignition, you might check for a sticky needle
and seat on one of your carburetor floats who's bowl may tend to go somewhat
"dry" after sitting and then"shake loose" and fill up after the engine starts.
You might also check for a slight intake leak that seals itself as the engine
warms. If you can work "fast" after the engine first starts, a stethoscope or
hose to your ear listening to each carburetor's suction might give you a clue.
Although not a common issue, checking your fuel pump pressure cold might also
be in  order if everything else seems ok.
Hope this is helpful, and good luck!
Gary Germano

> Date: Sun, 1 Jul 2012 19:08:27 -0700
> From: gsb1159 at pacbell.net
> To: nobbc at autox.team.net; NOBBC at yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [NOBBC] Any thoughts on a starting issue?
>
> Hello all,
>
> I am hoping I can get some possible trouble shooting
> suggestions for diagnosing a starting issue that has recently developed
with
> my car.  It starts up almost immediately but it's not firing on all
> cylinders.  It will lope along for a few minutes this way and then I can
hear
> and feel the missing cylinder(s?) start to kick in here and there until it
> finally all six are firing the way they should and it idles smoothly at 500
> RPM.  Revs and drives just fine after this initial rough period as well.
It
> does this consistently if it has been sitting a while.  I pulled all the
> plugs, cleaned and re-gapped them thinking perhaps one was fouled.  For
what
> it is worth they were all pretty dark.  Maybe this is related and maybe
not.
>
> Any thoughts on what might be going or how I might isolate the problem?
>
> Thanks in advance for any thoughts and suggestions.
>
> Greg
> 1959 AC Aceca
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