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73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Engine/Drivetrain => Topic started by: greenmonster on September 06, 2010, 09:12:38 am

Title: sporadic misfire
Post by: greenmonster on September 06, 2010, 09:12:38 am
I have a misfire that I can't track down.It is from idle-2500.It makes a puffing sound from both sides of the exhaust.It feels like a dead cylinder,but it moves around.I put a vacuum gauge on it and it is steady at about 20in.Any ideas would help.
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: Irish_Alley on September 06, 2010, 09:47:36 am
True duals
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: greenmonster on September 06, 2010, 09:52:12 am
Yes,true duals.
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: Laderhosen on September 06, 2010, 10:12:39 am
Are your header bolts tight??
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: greenmonster on September 06, 2010, 10:17:34 am
Yes they are tight.I just switched headers 2 weeks ago,but I have had the problem for months.
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: Lt.Del on September 06, 2010, 12:48:37 pm
common diagnoses tried yet?  wires, plugs, cap, rotor?  Got a temp gun?  point it to each cyclinder at header and see if one reads much lower.  These temp guns (usually w/ a red laser) are very cheap.  I use it for a lot of things.

At night, no light, idling, pop hood, any sparks from wires?
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: greenmonster on September 06, 2010, 01:20:35 pm
I put a full tuneup on it,and it didn't help.I even tried a different distributor that a friend had.
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: 1980c10 on September 06, 2010, 04:08:14 pm
Try a compression test.

btw sgt
"At night, no light, idling, pop hood, any sparks from wires?"
I did this and my wires were glowing blue.
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: greenmonster on September 06, 2010, 05:07:43 pm
I done a compression test 2 months ago,and it was fine.
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: topp on September 07, 2010, 12:10:34 pm
If the symptom wasn't there 2 months ago, the test would be good......
If this started since then, the test is needed
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: greenmonster on September 08, 2010, 11:03:05 am
It's been like this for 6 months.It was running great,then one morning it started acting this way.
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: TexasRed on September 08, 2010, 01:31:02 pm
Fuel filter good?
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: greenmonster on September 08, 2010, 02:23:22 pm
I replaced that too.I pulled a plug and grounded it out and the spark is orange.Is that normal for hei.
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: Irish_Alley on September 08, 2010, 10:52:03 pm
It should be blue. Where did you ground it to?
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: TexasRed on September 08, 2010, 11:07:48 pm
You have 12 volts going to the distributor?
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: greenmonster on September 09, 2010, 11:58:58 am
I have 12.34 volt with key on and 14.59 volts at idle.
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: Irish_Alley on September 10, 2010, 07:08:02 am
Where did you ground it to?
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: greenmonster on September 10, 2010, 04:11:30 pm
A bolt on the a/c bracket.
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: Irish_Alley on September 11, 2010, 12:27:19 am
A bad ground from the bock to the frame or body can cause it not to but hot enough. What I do sometimes is grab the treads of the plug with a jumper cable and put the other matching end to the neg side of the battery and test from there.
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: greenmonster on September 11, 2010, 08:14:34 pm
I'll try the jumper cable thing and let you know how it goes.
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: greenmonster on September 12, 2010, 08:53:51 am
The spark is still orange even with it grounded to the battery.
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: Irish_Alley on September 12, 2010, 06:55:08 pm
Tell you the truth I have a miss my spark is blue. If you ground is good and you changed all your distributor parts I'm lost
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: TexasRed on September 12, 2010, 11:19:40 pm
What kind of HEI? Do you still have ESC hooked up? External or internal coil?
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: greenmonster on September 13, 2010, 01:32:54 pm
As far as I know it is factory from 1975.I don't know what esc is but the coil is in the cap.
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: Captkaos on September 13, 2010, 04:21:10 pm
ESC wouldn't be on a 1975 that is the first year for the HEI.  ESC started in 1981.
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: TexasRed on September 13, 2010, 09:53:12 pm
Is that voltage reading you gave of the battery or the wire going to the distributor? What kind of a plug are using to ground against the frame to check for spark or are you using that tester from Harbor Freight? Did your truck come with a governer?
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: greenmonster on September 14, 2010, 06:22:47 am
The volt reading is from the dis.I am using a ac delco plug gaped at .035.
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: TexasRed on September 14, 2010, 07:59:23 pm
20 in of vacuum is quite a bit. Has this engine ever been rebuilt? I'm thinking either fuel pump or maybe the strainer/sock in the fuel tank is clogging something up. What's fuel pressure like?
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: greenmonster on September 15, 2010, 05:56:51 am
When i bought the truck about 3 years ago the guy told me it had a fresh top end.I just put a new fuel pump on it when it started acting up but i never tested the pressure.It is just a cheap replacement pump.
Title: Re: sporadic misfire
Post by: TexasRed on September 15, 2010, 04:40:56 pm
I think there's anything but a cheap replacement pump that's mechanical unless it's a race pump.