Terc delight

[Gottolovem]

looks like they get progressively darker from From 4 to 1
I will go check mine now

[KZ750]

I'm racking my brain.
maybe my spark plug is no good???? everything else seems okay.

[marlinh]

That is a possibility. What was the compression?

[KZ750]

compression with my friends tester showed 145 all across. except cylinder two, which was 150.
Spark plug works.

[dlb]

i think you replaced the spark plug wires but did you also replace the cap and rotor? i know you said you are getting strong spark there but there was another member recently who thought he was getting ample spark but still had problems. replaced the cap and rotor, spark was stronger, engine ran fine again.

another idea: try different spark plugs in different cylinders and see if anything changes (or just buy new plugs, of course).

that compression is fine but a little low for a rebuild. new is about 180 psi. oh well, it shouldn't be an issue at all.

[Petros]

this thread has gone on so long I am getting lost on what is happening. the compression looks all good, an engine with some wear but still perfectly serviceable. It is normal for the radiator to have the lower hose cooler than the top, that is how it works, it cools the incoming hot coolant as it goes in the top, and it SHOULD be cooler as it goes out the lower hose into the engine (if that did not happen than you need a new radiator).

with the engine idling, use some insulated pliers and pull the # spark plug wire and obeserve the idle speed, replace it and than pull the number two wire, than replace it pull the number three wire and so forth. Each time the idle speed should slow down and get rough, and than return to normal when you put the wire back. if one has no change, than first try swaping out the spark plug with one of the others and do it again. If it is now the other cylinder that does nothing when the wired is pulled, change that spark plug (they can go bad internally where you can not inspect them). Also try swapping a wire with the same test, just to eliminate the wire as a possible cause.

Than also check the spark on that "bad" cylinder, if it is strong and yellowish white (slight blue okay too), and jumps the gap, than the problem is the fuel charge.

if spark plug, wire, and compression all check out, than you are getting one cylinder too lean.

The only way you will get less fuel in one cylinder than the other is a vacuum leak just up port from that cylinder intake valve. this could be a bad gasket, a cracked manifold, or one of the vac ports on the intake valve leaking. check all of the vac hoses that attached to intake manifold in front of that cylinder. Than check the manifold bolts.

One other thing that might be happening is oil leaking into one cylinder bad enough to foul the spark plug. Usually that will not happen right away, but will take 200-300 miles or more from a clean plug to cause fouling bad enough to cause fouling. You might remove the valve cover and inspect the valve stem seals on the bad cylinder, they are fairly easy to replace with a rented valve spring compressor (make sure the piston for that cycler is at TDC when you do it!).

If the rings are broke in that cycliner allow excess oil passage, usually that shows up in the compression test. So that seems unlikely, but it is possible the oil control ring is damaged or not working and the compression rings are still working, but that is kind of rare.

good luck

[KZ750]

Thanks alot guys. I really appreciate the amount of time spent in typing these replies.
I probably should cut this topic, it is kind of getting too long.
So far I have put in new plug wires and plugs,and torqued the manifold bolts to specifications when I installed the motor.
I'm sure the new motor in my car has more than 145 psi. They say most meters are incorrect, and to look for variances over numbers.

Petros- I read a post from you discovering a "lighting storm" going on inside the distributor on a Nova? That could be my problem.
I remember hearing some interrupting ticking sounds coming from the cap. I figured it was a bad plug wire shorting somewhere in the engine bay. The cap even looked okay when I checked it out. All though after changing the plugs out for new, I haven't heard the sound.
I really don't think my problem is engine related, prior to changing out the motor, the car still ran on three.

[Gottolovem]

Borrow one of my dissy's before you buy another!

[GotToyota?]

I'll also have one you can buy soon if you need one. Much cheaper than what a newer one would cost probably.

[KZ750]

I'll get a hold of you later in the week gottolovem if your free.

[Gottolovem]

Yes i will have one with me even if i'm at work.
It's not a problem to come get it from me while i'm there just give me a call so i know when to expect you.
It will be a good time to bring the diff to!

[KZ750]

So I just got the dizy put on and.....................
Nothing.
Darn but thanks a lot for letting me borrow it, and you're right about it helping me to isolate the problem. gottolovem.

Can My issue be fuel related?
I just don't want to think about it being the case that the engine is bad, because it's new, and the car did this prior to the new motor.
Maybe it's carb related? I looked for vacuum leaks but did not see any.
Maybe try some type of seafoam or fuel cleaner?
Thanks alot everyone for all the help lately.

[Petros]

seafoam and fuel cleaner is not why it is not running, stay focused on two issues: no spark, or no fuel. to test for fuel either squirt some engine starter spray or gasoline down the carb and crank it. If it starts and than dies, it is likely fuel related. If it does nothing with fuel down the carb, it is spark related.

If you hold a spark plug wire 1/2" from the engine and someone cranks it, you should get a strong whitish spark that goes "snap, snap, snap". if not than it is spark related. If you do have a spark you have to check the spark timing that is occurs at the correct time and the correct cylinders. Makes sure the spark plug wires are in the correct order on the cap, and go to the correct spark plug.

you must go through each system one check at a time, going from easierst (cheapest) to check and correct, to the more costly items until you find out what is wrong. randomly trying different things is a waste of time and you could craeted a problem already on top of the one you have.

Not likely it is internal to the engine, if you have compression it should run if it gets fuel and spark at the right time. though it would not hurt to pull the front cover off and double check the cam timing to verify the cam belt is no correctly.

[Gottolovem]

You can also pull the valve cover and make sure that everything is good (could be a valve not opening)
It is a new reman engine don't trust in the builder if a guy spends 8 hrs a day rebuilding engines he is bound to miss something somewhere.

[KZ750]

I could see that. Okay. I'll pull the cover.
Found gas in one of the vacuum lines coming from that little black vacuum port on the first tunel on the manifold.