Help

I found no forum for 1987 pontiac acadian here. so i am posting it here.
I overhauled my carburator. The car was running ok .The only problem i had was when i started my car in the morning it used to shake a bit for 30 seconds anf then it ran ok .
When the temperature dropped to minus 22 celcius the car would not start. The car was towed to a service station and they changed the distributor cap and rotor and charged the battery. I picked it up the next day and it was raining 7 degrees celcius. Parked the car and the temperature dropped down to minus 12 c. The next morning the car started for 10 seconds and then conked out. Tried to start it again and it did not start.


Before rebulding the carburator I had this problem.(that was in november)
(when the car starts cold it does not stall . choke is still on.
when the choke knocks off and the car is warm the car stall when i stop at a stop sign or parking light.
i went to 1 mechanic he told me it was carburator base . he said it needed to be changed. he sprayed carburator cleaner at the base and the carburator ran smooth as he sprayed it.
i went to another mechanic he to told me the carburator was flooding and i need to rebuild it.
the carburator base is called a efe heater.
looks like a regular base but has a heater built in
http://www.smpcorp.com/web_app/catalog/publicweb_bg.asp
part no ef10
when i look into the carburator when warm the gasoline seems to be make a u shape.
hard to explain )


I spent 170 for rebuilding the carburator and 80 dollars for the cap and rotor. I also bought the heating unit for the base of the carb. That cost me 79 dollars. It was never installed since the mechanic who did the carburator job said i did not need it. The car has a electronic choke and is an automatic with power steering and power brakes.
Is this a choke adjustment or vacum break adjustment as the car was shaking for 30 seconds. Would it suggest the mixture on start up is too rich or lean. Should i replace the heating unit for the base of the carb

What should i do .
Any ideas will be appreciated

Before any other investment, check for the EGR valve condition/operation, which is a frequent cause of similar problems.

Before any other investment, check for the EGR valve condition/operation, which is a frequent cause of similar problems.
I did notice one thing there was a noise in the egr valve vicinity when the car was beginning to warm up and the choke was probably knocked off.That was when i began to accelerate. It disappeared after 10 seconds.
When warm i had tested the egr I pressed on the bottom and the engine slowed down.
That was when the car was working.
Now if the egr is partly stuck how would i free it up fast.
Its freezing here in montreal.
Thanks

Honest I do not know the specific setup for that engine. I told you about EGR because several years ago I had similar behaviour with my Omni...and I had completely decommisionned the EGR : plugged all holes so it did not exist anymore functionnally....just for the record, the exhaust return was through an external piping ; I removed the threaded connector and threaded in a....spark plug, instead.....lol
By the way...it is even colder in Chicoutimi......

the egr valve is a little canister that sit on the intake valve attached by 2 screws. I can unjam it by taking it off and hitting the stem with a plastic hammer.Will need a new gasket.
Its freezing outside. If i hit the canister with a hammer on the outside will it do it.

I guess the valve is vacuum actuated...I'd try to see if it moves , try displace it to rest position, then remove the vacuum hose and plug it on the vacuum side to prevent the EGR valve operation. If you feel you can position to a point farther that the place where it comes to rest, try to block it at that position, and do a trial run....

NOw nothing tell that the valve itself is intact and that it closes completely at rest...If possible if you are able to remove it without breaking the screws (if you want to put it back ) try to visually inspect the valve. At this point, we are just exploring a possibility, so we must be able to reverse the action ....Try to save the gasket, but....some fruit beverages cans as well as UHT milk cans are made of multiple layers of aluminum foil and cardboard and I have made gaskets from that in the past.....at least for a temporary use...


I just found that site for parts...U"S"A" of course, that was just trying to get a picture...to no avail.


http://www.autoparts-autoparts.com/partslookup1.jsp

KEM 130-223 [EGR VALVE] Check O.E. Number 0.00 60.47

STANDARD EGV335 [EGR VALVE] [EGR VALVE & GASKET]; VALVE WITH GASKET; CALIF.; A.T.; O.E. NO./STAMPED NO. 17111581 0.00 60.47

STANDARD EGV345 [EGR VALVE] [EGR VALVE & GASKET]; VALVE WITH GASKET; A.T.; O.E. NO./STAMPED NO. 17111243 0.00 56.78

LMP
The car will probably be towed to a garage tommorrow.I will have them check the egr valve first.Its just too cold to work outside.
From the above posting i had made( if its not the egr valve) does it suggest the mixture is too lean or rich If a car starts in the morning and it shakes

My feeling is "too rich"...too lean usually it would just die without shaking. I'd think the choke stays on too long. Usually , keeping (not pumping) the gaz pedal to the floor activates a lever that forces the choke to open so it helps restarting the engine if it died for excess rich mixture.

Garages were closed today.Tomorrow its warming up
How do you suggest i try starting the car( gas pedal
to the floor and then cranking ) or pumping 3 times half way and then then gas pedal to the floor and then cranking.I did not try to start the car for 2 or 3 days.

Based on my perceptions of your problem, starting first time (one pedal stroke in an d out to reset choke) with full choke on is surest way but then do not let it idle by itself, cause if choke stays on, it will start puffing and will flood, so I'd kept it revving...if it stops then I'd restart it with pedal to the floor..do not overrev it if it starts...
..check for black smoke from exhaust (too rich)..also I'd disconnect the EGR vacuum line just to see what happens.

..other than that, an audio stream would be of help...it might help identifying problems...
here is one recorded with my digital camera...(Kia SPortage starting)

www.geocities.com/lmp4203/Snd_2403.wav

LMP
The throttle shaft on the carburator is loose.
Do you know how they can be repaired.

...Do you mean the "throttle fixture" rotates and not the shaft? Usually this is pressed on...long time gone the bolted on fixture with a flat on the shaft ...In any case, either solder, hammer or epoxy glue, it means removing the carb and working inside in warm temperature......

Any other development with the engine running problem...or is that the problem ?

Carburetor or throttle body throttle shafts—Wear here can only be repaired by resleeving the throttle shaft, which for all practical purposes means replacing the carburetor or throttle body with a new or remanufactured unit.
http://hostingprod.com/@aa1car.com/library/vacleak.htm
Went to another mechanic.
Carburator is being ordered from scrap yard.
I always had a slight air leak when i pressed the power brakes from the diaphragm inside the booster.When in park and when the brake is pressed a slight hiss is heard
What do you think.

As for the brake itself, it is not absolutely serious as long as you are confortable with the pedal effort when braking.
However, a parasitic air intakt to the engine, if large enough,will certainly hamper idle, so one way of knowing if it realy matters with the engine operation is to completely block the vacuum hose form the engine to brake and see if the engine runs better....then you do not have power brake at all but I think just running the engine will prove this issue right or wrong.

LMP
I see you are creating a geocities site
You ever go to yahoo chat rooms.
If you do let me know.
A good program for entering yahoo chat rooms is
http://www.yaheh.org/
create a new account when you go into yahoo chat.
Just hope the carb from the scrap yard is good.
Happy New years All

Well for the time being I'm just parking photos and scans and other reference material at geocities...I had parked a lot on my website in this folder

www.avigex.ca/xport/
devoted to pontiac Transport and the like and other 3.8/3.1 engine issues but it was becoming somewhat cramped so I have opened this "extension".
Happy new year....and keep the Chevette going........

By the way, I am harassed hearing all the time about those issues of old cars on the road, etc.....that they should be inspected, bla bla bla, .....and all that kind of BS...in fact, look at accidents......most always brand new cars: the one who owns an old car and maintains it himself knows about the limits and is not over confident and drives accordingly and so these cars are statistically accident free..and even the insurance companies recognize that fact...

LMP
the acadian was in a garage for 12 days.
went to pick it up this morning and it did not start.
the used carb was put in.
they changed a temperature switch.
the egr valve was changed.
cost me $308 .
They could not locate the problem.
They recommened i should scrap the car.
They must have put 10 hours of labour in the car.
They said it was probably in the electrical system distributor shaft etc.
One of the old jets in the scrap carb was no good and they had to replace with the jet from the other carb.
It was scrapped for 75 dollars to the guy who sold me the used carb for 75.
He originally offered me 35 but i told him the carb he sold me was defective.
HE told me the best he could do is 75.
The only winner in this case was the scrap yard.
I supplied the garage the rebuilt carb 75
egr new 108 the garage supplied the temp valve arround 20
labour 105.

:sorry:
:frown:

LMP
the egr valve was no good.
you made a good diagnosis over the internet.
all the garages did not believe me when i told them about the egr valve.
it was the last thing they changed.