[ihc] Michael Shaw's sputter

["Joel M Brodsky" <jmbrodsky@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Michael,
My vote at this point is for spark plug wires in the wrong places.
Backfiring through the carb is certainly a symptom of timing being too
early, especially if it stalls, THEN backfires through the carb.  Just a
tip, if it does backfire through the carb and begins to flame, just crank
the key and the flame will be drawn into the manifold and it will go out as
it heads back towards the cylinders.
Also, if it's doing this often, keep the air cleaner cover on while you're
playing.

It sounds like the distributor may be one tooth off, or misaligned.  I have
seen some distys turned so far that the number one plug wire was actually
in the adjoining #2, or #8 positions...  From my recollection, viewing from
the top of the disty with top being forward of the truck, the number one
wire should be at about an 11 o'clock position, or roughly pointing to the
left of center-fire.

It could still be the timing, and I would leave the timing bolt snug but
not tight to facilitate easy adjustment by hand.  Just remember to snug it
down fully before your test drive.  I've had trucks just flat quit on me,
only to find the disty was loose.

Hope this helps!

JoelB

Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2003 05:13:35 -0700
From: "Joseph Shaw, II" <josephshaw@domain.elided>
Subject: [ihc] Age Old Carb Questions