Please help!! I love my car!!

red933 · #1 08-20-2006, 07:52 PM

I have a 1982 Malibu that is my baby. She's got a 3.8 liter 229 with a 2 barrel carb. All of the sudden, the engine starts backfiring through the carb and sputtering while I'm driving. The engine idles rough, reving up and down. So, I replaced the spark plugs, wires cap and rotor. Being sure not to get the wires crossed. I changed the oil, oxygen sensor, air filter, fuel filter and the fuel pump. By now I'm pretty tired. So I give it a try...... Still the exact same problem. Oh, did I mention the engine continues to run for like 5 minutes after I turn off the key? She sure wants to run !! Oh and when I get to like gear 2 or 3 of the automatic transmission, the engine boggs down and run really low in gear. Like when you shift from 1st to 4th gear in a manual.
Any ways, I decide to go all out and check the timing chain. Sure had a lot of slack in it. Very loose. This has to be it!! Nope.......still sounds like a helicopter.......poor girl. Someone help her please!

silicon212 · #2 08-21-2006, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by red933

I have a 1982 Malibu that is my baby. She's got a 3.8 liter 229 with a 2 barrel carb. All of the sudden, the engine starts backfiring through the carb and sputtering while I'm driving. The engine idles rough, reving up and down. So, I replaced the spark plugs, wires cap and rotor. Being sure not to get the wires crossed. I changed the oil, oxygen sensor, air filter, fuel filter and the fuel pump. By now I'm pretty tired. So I give it a try...... Still the exact same problem. Oh, did I mention the engine continues to run for like 5 minutes after I turn off the key? She sure wants to run !! Oh and when I get to like gear 2 or 3 of the automatic transmission, the engine boggs down and run really low in gear. Like when you shift from 1st to 4th gear in a manual.
Any ways, I decide to go all out and check the timing chain. Sure had a lot of slack in it. Very loose. This has to be it!! Nope.......still sounds like a helicopter.......poor girl. Someone help her please!

Here's your Rx - Replace cam and lifters, take two aspirins and call me in the morning.

56chevtruck · #3 08-21-2006, 09:47 AM

I agree, sounds like a wiped cam.

red933 · #4 08-21-2006, 02:48 PM

Any other possibilities? I really hate the fact that I could've replaced the cam while I had the timing chain off. Arrrrggg!!!!!! Thanks a lot for your suggestions. This has always been a very helpful forum.

56chevtruck · #5 08-21-2006, 03:08 PM

if it isnt a wiped cam, check the valves, an exhaust valve most likely if it is blowing out through the carb. Pull valve cover, pull the coil wire so it wont fire and turn the motor over. Check to see if you have "rocking" action on all valves. If a rocker arm isnt moving, check for a broken valve, bent pushrod or a possible collapsed lifter. If those do not appear damaged with the exception of the lifter because you cant see if a lifter is colapsed unless you can see the cam lobe movement, its the cam.

silicon212 · #6 08-21-2006, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by red933

Any other possibilities? I really hate the fact that I could've replaced the cam while I had the timing chain off. Arrrrggg!!!!!! Thanks a lot for your suggestions. This has always been a very helpful forum.

Could be a vacuum leak. Check all vacuum lines. I've had 3 229 engines over the years - aside from the fact that all three were 229 cid, had DualJet carbs, and were painted in the GM Corporate Blue paint, the one thing all three had in common were bad cams. All three of them. So, that's my first guess.

red933 · #7 08-26-2006, 01:32 PM

OK, on to replacing that cam - but wait.......now the disributor won't pull out. Any tricks on how to get out a stuck distributor? It should pull staight out, right? C'mon ! This is all I need!!!

JustSayGo · #8 08-26-2006, 02:43 PM

Spray some PB Blaster on the distrinutor and let it soak a little. The distributor will pull strait out. A broken or weak valve spring will do the same, although I believe your cam is bad.
http://www.pbblaster.com/

Is your idle solenoid working or is the idle set with the throttle stop screw?

tom3 · #9 08-27-2006, 12:42 PM

My guess would be a plugged catalytic converter. Really screws things up.

G-man422 · #10 08-27-2006, 12:53 PM

^ yeah, it may be a bad cat.

silicon212 · #11 08-27-2006, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tom3

My guess would be a plugged catalytic converter. Really screws things up.

That's not going to make a big difference at idle or low speeds. Where you see a failed or plugged cat is at higher speeds - power falls off and the engine temp climbs.

red933 · #12 08-28-2006, 06:06 PM

So, how do I know if the cam is bad? I've got it out and it doesn't look worn. The lifters are still flat and look pretty good. Maybe I should just shut up and replace it, then see what happens. But what if thats not it?

No........SHUT UP!!! THIS HAS TO BE THE LAST OF THIS MADNESS!!!!

silicon212 · #13 08-28-2006, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by red933

So, how do I know if the cam is bad? I've got it out and it doesn't look worn. The lifters are still flat and look pretty good. Maybe I should just shut up and replace it, then see what happens. But what if thats not it?

No........SHUT UP!!! THIS HAS TO BE THE LAST OF THIS MADNESS!!!!

If you've got the cam, replace it. Usually, a worn lobe will look a little more broad than the others. In the engine, the rocker arm associated with that lobe will barely move, or it will move less than the others. Worn lobes also tend to have a "rough" look to them, pitting etc. The lifters will often, but not always, wear in a concave pattern on the affected lobes. I've seen one so bad that it was worn into the oil cavity inside the lifter, resulting in about a 1/8" hole in the bottom of the lifter.

If you didn't mark the exact cylinder and valve each lifter is for when you pulled it out, you will be replacing your cam and lifters anyway.

bobss396 · #14 08-29-2006, 06:23 AM

I check pushrod travel with a dial indicator set up, which I know everyone doesn't have, maybe you can borrow one from a mechanic friend? If you got a wiped out lobe, this will pick it up. It still might be a collapsed lifter, but you would get excessive valve train noise with that, like a clack clack sound.

Definitely do both the cam and lifters. Lifters are supposed to rotate in their bores, so make sure that the old ones all turn before you pull them out. The bores can be touched up with a hone.

Bob

red933 · #15 08-30-2006, 05:10 PM

I'm replacing the cam and lifters anyways. Just a waiting game now for Fedex to ship them. Anyone know how to check if the valves are leaking? Can i just use compressed air to see if it holds up the valves? Or is that not accurate enough of a test? Probably better to just remove the heads all together and check them that way while I've got everything else off, huh?

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