To a mechanic......almost had you....

After 2.7 years and little getting accomplished i am about out of ideas..here's the situation.. My 12a'd 85gsl just won't stay running. She'll fire right up run for 20-30 seconds then flood out.. I'll take the plugs out dry em start it right back out and it floods again... Here's the mods as it sits..

rebuilt mazdatrix 12A
holley carb and racing beat intake
holley fpr
10 psi fuel pump
no emmissions
no exhaust
no airpump
no omp
new coils
new distributor
new ignitors

The main thing is mazdatrix gave me NO timing marks!
I tried lining it up visually b getting the rotor into the top position and then making the pulley and turning the dizzy. Could the timing be so far out that is why it's flooding? i was thinking about turining the shaft 180 deg and resetting the dizzy...i don't know i really want the car running by march because that's when autox starts back up...I hate driving the 2nd gen there...please help..

 

32 views and no ideas? What, should i just make an appointment at the local moron--i mean mechanics shop now or what?

 

I'm not so good w/ carbs, but did you check the float levels? Are you sure the needle valve is closing?

 

Can we take it that the carb was also new with the engine?? Ignition timming will not cause flooding. If it is flooding it's in the fuel supply. What is the pressure you are running to the carb and are you sure it's all plumbed correctly??

 

Is the carb dumping fuel down the intake as it idles for those 20-30 seconds?

 

yeah it'll dump fuel out..it doesn't matter what psi i have it set on.. I set the fpr at .5 lbs to see if it would make a difference and it didn't i usually have it set on 5.5 or 6. it is a brand new carb and i checked the floats and they are functioning fine...really wierd...i am so frusterated..

 

it's somewhere in your fule delivery system cheak everything twice over

 

Wheres the fuel dumping out of? Out the nozzles? Then either your floats are sinking, not closing the needle valves, or your needle valves are bad. If its dumping from somewhere else, then you have an internal problem in the carb. i.e. cracked baseplate/housing, bad power valve.

 

My bet is that it is a timing problem, not the carb or fuel. Not very helpful without a suggestion on how to fix it in the absence of timing marks though. Here is the best I can come up with (I have no idea if this will work, but it is a thought and can't hurt to try as a last resort).
There is something in the Haynes and shop manuals about the notches on the distributor shaft being lined up when you remove it with the timing set to TDC. Maybe do the reverse - take out the distributor, line up the notches, and rotate the engine manually until the teeth on the distributor shaft fall easily into place back in the engine? Keep track of where the pulley is when you do this, and if it doesn't work the first time take the distributor out, line up the marks on it again, and keep rotating the engine past where it was last time until the shaft drops in again - repeat until idle.

 

what is the fuel pressure

 

What do you mean no timing marks?

Do you have some kind of different pulley attached?

I would think timing marks would be pretty important. If you can find true TDC then you can easily make your own marks based on the diameter of the pulley.

 

Its in pretty bad shape, I'll give you $50.

 

~T.J.

PS - Cant you set the leading timing by taking the pully off and setting the key channel on the eccentric shaft at the 9 o'clock position and that will line up the pin with the leading timing mark?

 

I would suggest that you buy a pulley with some timing mark on it!

Sound like you need a sterling carb!! If i did not have FI I would have one! PURTY!

 

Can't be too bad if it starts and runs for 20 secs.

Is the holley carb jetted for the 12A?
Is it the carb setup by RB?

Cody! You are a funny bastard.

 

The red83 I got free supposedly had no timing marks but I ran my fingernail around the periphery of the pulley and found them. Then I daubed on white paint marks. Voila!

B

 

Yea, my timing marks were almost invisible and I had to really look at them to find them. But yea, run your finger around the pulley and you can feel them if they are there. Then paint them like bliffle has already suggested. But i see this is a more common problem then I thought.

 

 

I am trying to find it this weekend, i talked to the dealer......they said it is possible that the timing could be the culprit. I am going to take the carb to a local shop and have them check the jets and the floats. Damnit i hate to do it but i just don't know what to do, i can do the big stuff but hammering out the small details is killing me.

 

Try taking the intake and carb off the 85 gs and see if it runs on the gsl. If it does then you know its a carb problem..

 

will the car still die if you are holding the engine at say 3500RPM?

how many miles on the rebuild, is it broken in yet?

choke in/out when this is happening?