Hi all, just bought an 85 GS from a member here and was looking for some advice and support. i drove the car home (about 300 miles) and the car literally had no power. the prior owner felt that the car was running too lean but it had the characteristics of running too rich. anything above 1/2 throttle and the car would bog hard and buck back and forth. when the car was idling or turned off, the 'thermal reactor' would hiss like it was a highly pressurized furnace letting off steam. i imagine its pretty gummed up in there.

i checked under the hood and the rats nest had been removed. i re-read the removal process how to and noticed that he did not reconnect the hoses to the distributor, the two prongs were left open. what effect on driveability would there be if the vacuum signal to the distributor was not in place? i had a 79 with the DLIDFIS (however you spell it) and do not recall if that had a vacuum line(s) going to it.

also, getting the vehicle started took about ten to fifteen stabs at the gas before it would fire. granted, the choke has been disconnected as well.

i know it is disorganized, but any thoughts opinions or help is more than welcome.

 

From your description of a hissing from the exhaust, the first thing to do would be check the cats. I would bet they are clogged.
As for the vacuum advance, they should be hooked up. As the RPM increases, the timing needs to advance. The mechanical advance can only do so much, the rest is up to the vacuum advance.

 

i have never driven a car with clogged cats before - how much power does this realistically rob a vehicle of?

also, what (if any) benefit is there to removing or disabling the choke?

 

Clogged cats can really cripple an engine, especially in the higher RPM range. Totally clogged, it may not even idle. Partially clogged cats will really hurt the power above about 3000 RPM, and get real hot, fast.

As for the choke, there really is not benefit to disabling or removing the choke, especially for a car that will be driven on the street. The choke is there to assist with cold starts, and once warmed up, should be fully open.

 

Yeah, the hissing exhaust sounds like cats. But if you remove them and it does not improve, you might have clogged jets in the carb. Best to start with the exhaust though, that would at least be a performance upgrade even if it didn't fix the issue...

 

i'll work on restoring the choke, i have got most of the exhaust off the car and will be replacing the header at least with a racing beat i salvaged from my 79.

when you say it may not even idle, are you meaning it could stall out?

 

If the cats get completely clogged, then yes, it can stall. Even at idle. Once the pressure in the exhaust gets high enough, the engine cannot expell the burned fuel/air mixture, which will cause it to stall out. Rarely ever see one get that bad, but it can happen.

After installing the RB header, and hopefully the cat replacement pipe, if it still exhibts the high RPM bog, then you may have other issues. But, this is a very good place to start.

 

another question i have since the choke is disabled - is the choke controlled strictly by the cable or is it also solenoid controlled? the distributor is also loose on its nut, so i am guessing it will need adjustment - any tips for that?

thanks in advance!

 

Choke is only cable operated. All that mess associated with it is to retract the choke when it's finished warming up.

I suggest new fuel, air and oil filters, plugs & wires, cap and rotor, and new oil & coolant.
Best first buck-twenty-five you'll spend on her.
Then go from there.
Sounds like a combination of little things. Changinging all that stuff will eliminate a bunch of variables and keep you from chasing your tail.

A bunch of pumps of the pedal may meant a perforated accelerator pump gasket. (See if there's fresh fuel on the outside of the carb.)

If the inside of the carb is abnormally dirty, like the guy didn't run a filter, then you could have clogged emultion tubes which will cause you to siphon fuel when you're at mid RPMs.

 

ok with my brother holding the choke, the advances hooked back up, exhaust removed (LOUD) and not pumping the gas pedal, the car seems to start pretty easily. my brother let go of the choke and the car then required revving to stay running. we were waking the neighbors and that was not an option. seems to rev up good. the car has fresh gas and a fuel filter. new air filter. the only thing i have yet to change is the oil filter.

 

does any one have pix or know where i can find pix of how the choke is supposed to be hooked up? the cable is in place and moves in and out but i have no idea how to connect it to the actuator(s). also, is the choke manually opened, gradually, during start up or does it open itself up over time as the vehicle is running? the car starts up fine and runs but if my brother lets go of the choke flap it starts to die