Need advice

Plugs coated with soot, black stain on the pavement under where the Sidewinder points down, seems a bit rich.  I have disassembled and cleaned the carbs, but not touched any of the adjusters.  Who the f**k knows.  I've got plenty of other things I need to be working on around here, but nooooo...  I'm just about done with it.

On the bright (?) side, we've made 11 pages.

Hey maaan.... You gotta relax maannn... You seem a little uptight. Just take a break maaan...

Remember, the dude abides... the dude abides.

Ted

Carbon is an electrical conductor. If your plugs are really coated in soot they can simply ground out and leave you with poor spark or no spark at all. If they're badly contaminated, you may not even be able to clean them enough, so it's usually best just to replace them when they get that way. Since the signs point back to fuel, again I'd recommend you go with a hotter plug like an NGK D5EA, at least until you get the carbs dialed in.

Fuel pump

I spoke with Lane last night. So the consensus is better, but not solved. Let's go back to basics. Black soot out the exhaust means pig-rich. Either too much fuel pressure overwhelming the float valves, WAY high float setting, and/or idle mixture screws way too far out.

Several people on here and on Spyderclub believe that you set the screws to an arbitrary number and that things will be fine. This couldn't be further from the truth.

Lane, do you have my carb setting instructions? Basics: compression, fuel pressure and volume, spark(timing and plug gap and clean, new plugs), and valve adjustment all must be verified first before you adjust or look at the carbs.

Lane has verified everything except for fuel pressure. $20-30. Autozone I think. I have a fitting that screws right in a Weber carb at the fuel inlet(thanks Max!).

http://www.autozone.com/test-s...ster-kit/487843_0_0/

After 3 to 3.5 lbs. of pressure is verified, then we can get the carbs set and put this thread to bed. Lane, if the black pig-rich soot is coming out the exhaust chances are the plugs are blackened enough to cause misfire, even though they are new.

I think I mentioned fuel pressure on page 1 or 2 of this thread. Lane has had two CB pumps and is currently using a Huco(I think?). I have an Autozone pump, same one for ten years and 35K. Mine is no longer available, but Mr. Gasket has one that is similar, micro rotary pump model 42s. Self-regulated at 3.5 lbs. Available anywhere in the US. Cheaper elsewhere than Autozone, but $47 there in a pinch.

Two folks at Cars and Coffee this morning said fuel pump.  Guess I'll be pursuing that after all.

Well, it's been a close played game, but rooting from the beginning for the underdog 'Fuel Team' I'm delighted the gap has closed...now if they can just get close enough for a field goal to wrap it up.  

Offsetting penalties: bad fuel.

Two problems here. Danny's 009 set-up took care of the spark issue, now on to (what is clearly) fuel.

Don't forget the very real failed intake manifold gasket.  This isn't so much football as it is whack-a-mole.

I am starting to learn more strongly toward a pump whose internal regulator has failed, causing an overpressure situation. I'm not sure how to use the fuel pressure gauge that Danny recommended.  Part of me just says screw it, get a new pump.  It's not much more.

"This isn't so much football as it is whack-a-mole."

Such is life amongst the Imitation Speedstah Set.......

If Robin Williams were still alive he could have made a Speedster themed sequel Mrs. Doubt-fire Part II.

New fuel pump, no change.  Tried to adjust carbs but realized I had an attitude problem and quit.  Idle mixture screw on #4 can be screwed all of the way in and there is no change in engine speed or smoothness.  I can cover the intake on that throat, same thing.  The others act as expected.  The intake manifold under #4 gets cold enough for condensation to form in the humid Charleston air.  WTF?

Lane--I had the same problem with one carb idle mixture screw having zero effect on the engine.  The problem was traced to a bad carb gasket between the carb & the manifold that was discovered by spraying carb cleaner at the base of the carb resulting in the engine speeding up. A new gasket fixed the problem and the rough running I was having.

Will the revs still drop if you pull the #4 spark plug lead?

Jack - Gaskets have been replaced on both carb to manifold and manifold to head on both sides.

Mitch - I doubt it but I didn't try.

What,,exactly, is it doing now?  A little more detail would be nice.

What did you do to replace the fuel pump?  Make and model, please.

Do you yet have a way to measure fuel delivery pressure?  That's kinda important in this case.

90% of the time, no effect when bottoming the air mixture screw says "gasket leak".  It doesn't matter if they were just replaced or not.

If this only effects one carb, you may have a damaged diaphram or some internal gasket leak.

If the float level is too high, it will run too rich and adjusting the air/fuel won't change.

Do you have any vacuum lines, it so, check for leaks?

Gary

It is sounding as if it is only hitting on 3 cylinders.  It is also down quite a bit on power.  I put in the fuel pump Danny recommended (Mr. Gasket 42S, limited to 3.5 PSI).  I understand that signs point to an intake leak but if I verify that the gaskets are good what the hell else can I do?

Hmmmm a possible valve issue comes to mind but you confirmed compression....

Did you check all of the gasket sealing surfaces with a straight edge. Top and bottom of the intake and bottom of the carb ?

As well as I could.  I couldn't locate a decent straightedge in the garage, so my confidence level isn't high.

I'm confused.

In your first reports, it seemed to be #1 that was the problem. Now, it's #4?

Is it possible you solved the initial problem but created a new one in the process?

Is it still idling OK, but getting bad as you open the throttle?

Has all this unmounting and remounting the carbs messed up the linkage?  Is it time for the Heimlink maneuver?

Lane, Maybe you should check your insurance policy for the $$ amount pay-out on a total loss?...

These replicas have been known to catch fire when cantankerous carbs/fuel delivery systems have been 'fiddled' with...!

Mitch - Correct.  Symptoms have moved as I corrected issues (bad ignitor, failed gasket, etc.).  Idles reasonably well, but you can tell there is a miss.  It's just more obvious above idle.  Carb linkage was replaced years ago with CSP bell crank system. Miss is present whether or not linkage is connected.  I will probably try the spray test around #4 tonight after work.

Carl - Oh I know exactly how much it's insured for.

Lane ,

 I know you have covered a lot of issues thus far but one thing has came to mind. Have you checked to see the valve lift on the bad cylinder? I had a camshaft go bad years ago causing similar issues that your having. Pull the valve cover and see if the valves all seem to be opening about the same amount compared to the other cylinder on the same side. 

Mitch, I see what you did there. You are a very funny guy, buddy.

Tab, when I checked valve clearance I looked for anything out of the ordinary and saw nothing.  I didn't do any measurement, so I cannot totally discount that possibility.  That's beyond my ability at home and more than I want to get into.  If the "spray test" doesn't show anything I am sending the car off to someone better able to fix it than I seem to be.

Tab, if the cam was going flat there would be a problem on the two opposing cylinders. Also, the compression check being the same on all cylinders kind of verifies the mechanical integrity. I believe they were all really close. Lane verified his valve adjustment also, very recently, but maybe it wouldn't hurt to double check that. 

The compression check doesn't verify an intake leak. Some carb cleaner spray around the carb and intake bases would though.

I know Lane doesn't have the toolbox that most of us have, and I am not busting his chops for not checking. But I would have verified fuel pressure and quantity before replacing the pump. I do understand why he replaced the pump, several of us told him to. I still think maybe the floats are too high and I'm sure the carbs are set pig-rich. 

Joel had the same problem on his car, one cylinder not having any fire or effect at idle, but fine above 3000, which points to one idle circuit and it's progression circuit, but main ok.

"The fecal touch is strong in this one."

I came home to find the garage filled with gas fumes. It seems the new fuel pump is leaking. I have tightened it and will see it the leak is stopped. If not, I'll re-install the previous one. I attempted the "spray test" with carb cleaner but detected no engine speed change. All I got was a messy manifold. I even sprayed some down the throat itself, with no effect. WTF?

And it continued. I tried to remove a couple of spark plug wires so that I could get to the nuts holding the manifold on and check their tightness. It was impossible, given the angle I had, to get them off, even using spark plug wire pliers. Danny, I destroyed a wire and owe you a new set. Are they stock VW?

I am done. It is clear that I cannot fix this and probably should stay away from any job more complex than changing a lightbulb. I will try to figure out who I can have the car flatbedded to to fix.

OK Lane it is time to come to terms with one's limitations. We all realize it at different times in life. For me I rebuilt a flathead V8 with a couple of "knowledgable" buddies when I was 16. After we completed the reassembly of the engine we had a bag of parts left over. It was a slush box tranny so we put it in gear and towed it until it started. It sort of ran for a couple of days and them blew all to smithereens. At that point I knew that tools in my hands were dangerous weapons. To make a long story short. I got my grades up went to college and learned how to make lot's of money. I can't fix **** but I can gladly pay someone knowledgable to do so. When asked about my car I always tell people I can't fix anything but I can sell anything. 

QUINTUS: "People should know when they're conquered." 
MAXIMUS: "Would you, Quintus? Would I?"

Yes Noel,

It's good to recognize some of your deficiencies early in life so you can concentrate on what feathers your nest...and I'm glad that you made a 'long story short'

Biggus Dickus: Guards! Fwo him wuffly to the gwound!!  (Monty Python)

Lane, I think I know how you're feeling.  After a couple of years of suffering with my IM's fuel injection and overheating I put the car on my hoist and pulled the engine the next day.

Have you checked your muffler bearings?

Lane, sometimes if you're completely baffled, topping up your lubricant is a good place to start.

Fetzer valve?  -Chevy Chase

Three glasses of wine last night helped.  I'll keep the bourbon and Irish whiskey in reserve.

I'm sure that the answer to my question will have nothing to do with Lane ferreting out his problem, because he's more knowledgeable than I am, and it's already been considered...but this thread has me treading a steep and confusing 'learning curve' and one of those steps is:

     Does an electronic ignition require a 'resister marked (R) plug?

     And, the higher number on a Bosch indicates a hotter plug...

     Is that also true for NKG plugs?