1980 Chevrolet c10 350
Asked by Pickten Jan 25, 2016 at 09:45 PM about the 1980 Chevrolet C/K 10
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
I am having a loss of power problem, I've replaced
distributor and all its components, truck starts fine,
she's a little cold natured, burns some oil, has a
cam, not sure on configuration. I can start truck
and start off down the road and it starts sputtering
and acting like a missfire and chokes out, I slam on
the gas and it will pick up then start doing the
same thing again. Carb is adjusted perfect, had a
old school carb man get it tuned in. I'm at my wits
end here. Been told it's a cam issue. But some
days she runs great with minimal running issues...
HELP...!!
5 Answers
Why do you say the carb is perfect when the truck runs like crap? How is the ignition timing? Check the compression too. A tune up and filter change may be due and check for vacuum leaks.
Well, he's an old gear head and I guess the better input I gave should have said, the carb is adjusted where it ran better. And all filters are replaced, fluids are new, plugs and wires brand new and gapped at 45. When I put a timing light on it, and once the distributor is turned to time it, it runs like crap, that being said, I had it top dead center and had the valve cover off to make sure the lifters were in proper position, also used a straw to make sure it was up. Once stabbed it was in 15° of pointing at #1. Chased the wires twice to make sure all in proper spot.
The timing should be around 10 degrees before TDC at idle. Are you sure the spark plug gap is correct? 0.045 is pretty wide for an older vehicle. I would double check the spark plug gap and play with the timing. I suspect it may be way off.
Well, I checked a few different sites and found that to be the general consensus. And it was very close. Close enough for an old truck to be in time. If it were a race truck or what have you , them I would have made a better effort to get it much closet. But I will tinker with it and see if it helps.
