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Old 07-14-2009, 11:25 AM   #1
kcbuechler
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Exclamation 86 buick lesabre estate wagon with 70's olds 455 big block engine in need of help

I have a Buick Lesabre Estate Wagon, the year is an 86. The engine was swapped out for an olds 70's (dont know the exact year) 455 big block. It used to run great but after a long period of sitting, it now has trouble starting and when it does decide to start it dies at idle, any help would be much appreciated.
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Old 07-14-2009, 01:27 PM   #2
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Re: 86 buick lesabre estate wagon with 70's olds 455 big block engine in need of help

Stale gas, inoperative choke, carb set up wrong or dirty and the list goes on.
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Old 07-14-2009, 08:19 PM   #3
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Re: 86 buick lesabre estate wagon with 70's olds 455 big block engine in need of help

i would start by rebuilding the carb because those carb have lots of moveing parts in them like meter rod and accelarator pumps that get gumed up or corroded and dont move to free a new fuel filter would be a good idea
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Old 07-15-2009, 01:09 PM   #4
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Re: 86 buick lesabre estate wagon with 70's olds 455 big block engine in need of help

It's probably stale fuel and a varnished up carb.

But, don't overlook the air intake and exhaust system. If air or exhaust can't get in and out, car no run. Think possibility of critters building nests after long storage period.
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Old 07-15-2009, 05:41 PM   #5
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Re: 86 buick lesabre estate wagon with 70's olds 455 big block engine in need of help

okay well i got a new fuel filter cause the old one was brown, it took a second but it eventually started up, but still died at idle so i adjusted the idle and it ran great! Next morning im back at square one with same spinning sound :P
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Old 07-15-2009, 06:20 PM   #6
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Re: 86 buick lesabre estate wagon with 70's olds 455 big block engine in need of help

put some fresh gas in and a can of fuel treatment in the tank and baby it see if that helps this gas these days dont last long or you may have to pull the carb a part because the accelarator pump will go bad. It drys out after sitting then role over causes a dead spot when you hit the gas
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Old 07-17-2009, 02:53 PM   #7
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Re: 86 buick lesabre estate wagon with 70's olds 455 big block engine in need of help

okay, i have taken the carburetor apart and rebuilt and cleaned the whole thing. There were two holes in the floater so it was replaced. I am waiting to recharge the battery but from what i hear the starter will still spin out after cranking a few times, i dont know if that will change once the battery is charged fully but any ideas as to why the starter spins out like that?
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Old 07-17-2009, 03:43 PM   #8
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Re: 86 buick lesabre estate wagon with 70's olds 455 big block engine in need of help

The starter drive is usually the culprit here.
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Old 07-17-2009, 04:58 PM   #9
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Re: 86 buick lesabre estate wagon with 70's olds 455 big block engine in need of help

okay i dont know how to look at that, im still learning as i go lol, but now that thw carburetor is all cleaned and what not now i am hearing a lot more backfireing when i try to start the engine, still having the spinning noise as well.
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Old 07-17-2009, 07:48 PM   #10
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Re: 86 buick lesabre estate wagon with 70's olds 455 big block engine in need of help

it is better to replace the starter if you dont know what your doing but a full charge on the batt would be the first thing to do to set the carb up for the startup those screws on the front of the carb buy the intake should be turned out about two and a half turns then once you get it running adjust them a idle one a a time by turning them in or out to get the highest idle possible they may only need a half turn here or there good luck in your learning
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Old 07-18-2009, 06:55 AM   #11
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Re: 86 buick lesabre estate wagon with 70's olds 455 big block engine in need of help

well the new starter is done, but the carb isnt as old as the engine, i believe its the same one that came with the original cars engine itself, and to give you an idea of what some troubleshooting ideas would be its a Rochester quadrajet. Now i am waiting to get a timing light so i can change the ignition timing, then from there ill see where im at.
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Old 07-18-2009, 07:11 AM   #12
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Re: 86 buick lesabre estate wagon with 70's olds 455 big block engine in need of help

you mention poping check your firing order over make sure you dont have a wire crossed it sound like your almost there
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Old 07-19-2009, 10:36 AM   #13
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Re: 86 buick lesabre estate wagon with 70's olds 455 big block engine in need of help

Couple of quick hitters here...Did you ever hear this engine run in the first place ? These Olds are noted for bad timing chains. I'm not sure about 455 but the 350s are notorious. They came with a nylon gear and it wears prematurely. If your wires are not crossed, you might see some funky stuff when you try to time it. Secondly, check your points and codensor in the distributor. These things get corroded from sitting for a while and are easily cleaned up with small wire brush. When you losen/turn the distributor to check/reset timing, you shouldn't have that much play in it. If your moving the distributor and your timing light is sluggish, you could find your problem there. (timing chain) What I mean is, the light doesn't move right away when you adjust the distributor. Hope this helps.

Rob
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Old 07-20-2009, 06:55 AM   #14
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Re: 86 buick lesabre estate wagon with 70's olds 455 big block engine in need of help

well im still waiting to get the timing set, but yes I have heard the engine run before, it used to run great, but like I said after sitting for so long things just started to get a little wear and tear. None of the wires are crossed so I know the firing order is correct, luckily the firing order on the engine and the firing order for the car are one in the same so no mix ups.
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Old 07-20-2009, 08:04 AM   #15
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Re: 86 buick lesabre estate wagon with 70's olds 455 big block engine in need of help

The fire order is located on the intake . have you had this car running after the starter was put in is it poping through the carb or what you could have a collapsed lifted or a stuck valve from sitting that is a nother though
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