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  • #1

    Low RPM timing issues

    Yes, my car still has some gremlins. When it warms up, the car starts to buck and sputter when it is in gear and below 1200rpm or so. Above that, and even at WOT the engine runs very smoothly.

    We checked the timing today, and it is bouncing all over the place, so I guess that constant advance and retard motion is causing the car to act like it is missing, and sometimes it even stalls. When the car is in tune mode, it holds timing just fine, but as soon as it's plugged back in it starts to misbehave.

    We have checked pretty much everything mechanical so far, and the theory now is that it is the distributor. A guy at my dad's shop had the same problem, and an MSD HEI like me, and it went away when he switched to a GM one. I wish I could find my old one to test it out

    Any ideas? I read that you have to time MSD with a fixed light, but that is just if you have a box, right? The car runs good otherwise...I drove it to Woodward and back last weekend, but I just get nervous when I have to come to a stop.
    Tags: back, box, car, dad, engine, find, good, guy, ideas, issue, issues, light, low, missing, motion, place, pretty, problem, rpm, runs, shop, test, timing, today, woodward
  • #2
    Edit: The car does not show symptoms until it is warm, but timing fluctuates from the beginning, even with a cold start. Tried a fixed light as well, but with no change. Hopefully I can find a dizzy to borrow for troubleshooting.

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    • #3
      MSD shit is junk. See what happens with a stock distributor...
      Gone but not forgotten: 1986 Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z

      "You shall ride eternal. Shiny and chrome."

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      • #4
        Ended up adding 3* and that is bumping up the idle enough to keep it out of the zone where it was stalling. I'm talking to a guy that works at a junkyard that can probably loan me one, and we can go from there.

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        • #5
          You getting enough vacuum at idle?

          Used to own a Firebird.

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          • #6
            And I forgot to ask when we were talking out on Woodward, is your fuel pressure all right?
            Gone but not forgotten: 1986 Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z

            "You shall ride eternal. Shiny and chrome."

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            • #7
              Yeah, plenty of vacuum and all, hoses are all new from the swap, and the distributor is electronic advance anyways. Fuel pressure checks out fine...we have tested it several times. I'm running 40psi with key on, and it stays pretty solid when running.

              The bad news: The converter lockup was disabled when the car was tuned, and this was done so through the prom and not just by unhooking the plug. Hopefully I can locate my old prom from my starter tune, but it is looking like it got tossed when it was replaced, which irks me to say the least. Still waiting to hear back on that one.

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