i have the rats nest removed from the car... i am getting improper and rough idle... poor fuel economy and its difficult to start the car... i have checked for vaccum leaks and i am fairly sure there are none... i believe that the idle mixture may be off but without an emissions analyzer i am unable to be sure...

a. any ideas what might be the problem?

b. does anyone know about how far the mix screw should be turned out
(just to get an idea)

c. suggestions

 

Have you capped every nipple exposed during the rat's nest removal? Or did you poke screws down the rubber hoses? I've seen hoses split open and cause vacuum leaks after someone's blocked it with a screw or bolt.

 

When you removed the rat's nest, did you follow the tutorial? You want to make sure your leading and trailing vacuum advance is hooked up right, because those could cause poor fuel milage if not done right.

The mixture screw starts at 3.5 turns out I believe, then you tune your idle down to 850ish on a warm engine, then turn the mix down until it begins to "hunt", then back up half a turn. Then double check your idle speed and you're good.

Personally, I don't like 850, and neither does my car... so I idle at 950-1050ish.

Lumpy idle huh? ... well mixture I don't believe would contrinute much to that, I think it's important to take some time and make sure you did the rat's nest removal properly, then maybe check timing. There are about a thousand things that can go "wrong" in that removal and you have to cover all the bases.

Jon

 

can i get a link to the rats nest tutorial so i can chek some things...

no...i am pretty sure there is no vaccum leak... (a lil carb cleaner confirms it)

3.5 turns? really? lol... ive been working at about 1.5-2 turns....

 

Check your leading ignition. Failing leading ignition will exhibit those symptoms. If leading igntion is working, check the timing. If too retarded, it will also exhibit similar symptoms.