roresc

Alright guys, I think I may have a more serious problem than I am equipped to diagnose: I have an '85 GSL with roughly 219K on the engine, never rebuilt. I can get the car to turn over after about 2 or 3 attempts with the choke pulled completely out; as soon as the choke is pushed in, the engine sputters then dies if I don't rev her up a bit. I figure the carb needs tinkering with... but then, there is a cloud of blue smoke pouring out from under the passenger side of the vehicle. Having restarted the engine multiple times, on some occasion, the "add coolant" light activates even though the radiator and its reservoir are filled to the designated levels of the proper mixture of coolant. Any ideas what the under lying problem may be? Is it internal oil seals, gaskets, the exhaust system, the coolant system? I appreciate any direction you may be able to point me in.

CrimsonPride

iTrader: (11)

I haven't owned a 1st gen but since you haven't gotten a response yet I thought I would go ahead and throw some things out.

Needing a lot of choke, I wonder if there could be a major vacuum leak. A small leak like from a vac. hose would only raise the idle so you wouldn't have to get very detailed in searching for one. I think it would have to be a large leak in this case.

219K miles, blue smoke, won't hold idle, I would check compression before working on the carb. Could have lost one of the seals in the engine.

I assume there is a PCV valve. You could check that.

roresc

Thanks crimson; after looking into the engine bay, i've got a hose coming out from underneath of the blue air cleaner that has no connection to anything else...it just hangs loosely. Anyone know where I can find a vacuum diagram for this version of the car or where this hose should attach? In the photos, the hose is coming out from under the air cleaner, hidden slightly behind the bunch of wires. Thanks

CrimsonPride

iTrader: (11)

There are some FSMs here in PDF format:
http://www.rotaryheads.com/PDF/1st_gen/

It looks like that hose is connected above the carb throttle plates, so it shouldn't cause a vacuum leak, now that you've found something disconnected I'm sure you want to find where it goes.

roresc

Alright, there seems to be no leaks in the vacuum, air flow seems uninhibited. That said, the car starts fine, will idle perfectly fine if the manual choke is held out in the choked position. The engine will also rev perfectly normal to the red line with the manual choke pushed completely in(revs really roughly if the choke is held out while revving). However, as soon as the gas pedal is released and the engine rpm's allowed to dip to the idling level with the choke **** pushed in, the car immediately dies. Suppose this is a mixture problem or should I adjust the idle speed higher? Or perhaps the problem lies with a bad fuel filter/clogged fuel line?

roresc

It does appear air is leaking into the system and that's why it won't hold idle... looks like hoses are in worse condition than I originally assessed. Time to start exchanging them out.

alex ruano

have u check your manifold for any cracks

CrimsonPride

iTrader: (11)

With the additional info it does sound like it could be in the carb. I would check my vacuum unit(s)? on the distributor. I don't know if the choke would compensate for the timing change at idle of a bad vacuum unit, but I would check it and make sure that it will hold vacuum.

Since it revs I guess I would be less suspicious of fuel pressure but if it's due for fuel filter or you don't know when it's been changed, I would change it, since it's a cheap thing to do.

RXnos1200

iTrader: (24)

Maybe you just need to adjust the idle screw and bring up the idle some.......NOT the 2 idle mixture screws in the middle of the carb.

There is a phillips head idle screw close to the throttle linkage on the carb. hard to see it at first, but it is there......can only see it standing and looking at the engine from the drivers' side; it'll be on the right side of the carb......good luck

roresc

Update to the situation; Now that the rain has subsided here I have finally got a better look at things...found a leaking fuel hose so replaced that. Turning up the idle speed allows the engine to hold its own, completely un-choked. I haven't seen how low it will go further down, but at 1.6k it is completely stable. There still maybe a minuscule air leak in the vacuum, which I will have to determine as time goes on. I'll work on fine tuning the carb to see how much further I can get it down.But thank you guys for everything so far! It was very helpful in getting things set in motion on bringing this car back to life.

84 GSL

iTrader: (3)

With 218k miles, I would compression test asap. I would almost be willing to bet the car has a side seal that isnt holding compression. There is an explanation of how to do this with a piston engine compression tester in the 1st gen FAQ
Thanks, Wyatt