air/fuel mixture or bad timing?

[Danialz]

hi i have a 360 in my satellite with a 650cfm carb. engine is not a performance engine it came out of late 70's motor home . the other day i noticed that headers are glowing red hot but car doesn't over heat but does run rough.any tips on how to set up fuel/air ratio in the car.runs around 1000 rpm at idle with 40psi oil pressure . should i mess with timing first or the carb.thanks

 

[tmaleck]

hi i have a 360 in my satellite with a 650cfm carb. engine is not a performance engine it came out of late 70's motor home . the other day i noticed that headers are glowing red hot but car doesn't over heat but does run rough.any tips on how to set up fuel/air ratio in the car.runs around 1000 rpm at idle with 40psi oil pressure . should i mess with timing first or the carb.thanks

I'd put a timing light on it for sure. Get that set, then make sure no vacuum leaks, then carb. Pull the spark plugs and see how they look. They can point you at a basic rich/lean condition.
Tim

 

[PurpleBeeper]

I agree with tmaleck....."maybe" test your timing settings by A)driving vs. seat of the pants feel & listening for knock & B)buy a cheap Infra Red heat gun to point at the headers. I had this issue many years ago in a Cordoba (glowing headers) and I think my timing was too far retarded (can't remember for sure). Regardless, the timing is WAY easier to try first vs. carburetor settings/components.

 

[69 GTX]

My bet is timing.

 

[moes]

Is your distributor vacumm advance connected up. If you don't have a functioning vacuum advance system your idle and part throttle exhaust gas tempetures are going to be several hundred degrees higher than if you have a vacuum advance curve that is properly matched to the vacuum characterisitics of the engine.

 

[Bill Monk]

I agree with all the above. Rule out timing first then go from there

 

[coloradodave]

Advance your timing...

 

[Danialz]

Thanks for the fast response.ill give the timing a try

 

[69a100]

When tuning a motor, the last thing you mess with is the Carb.
Did you catch the statement where you adjust & tune everything else before dickin with the screws on the carb? Good Luck

 

[Kern Dog]

Glowing headers means that some of the combustion is occurring in the exhaust instead of fully in the cylinder. This is due to late or retarded ignition timing.

 

[Wietse]

Running a lean mixture also causes excessive exhaust temperatures.
But as all said, check and set timing first before anything else, i did a lot of work and adjustment on my carb as well and learned from the guys here as well. Ignition settings==>fuel settings.

 

[Danialz]

How can I set timing if my idle screw is out of adjustment.doesnt it effects timing?

 

[coloradodave]

How can I set timing if my idle screw is out of adjustment.doesnt it effects timing?

Simply put, no it doesn't. If, as you stated, the engine is idling at 1,000 rpm, you can turn the idle SPEED screw (the one on the driver's side, by your throttle linkage) in a little to drop the idle speed a couple of hundred rpm; other than that, leave the carburetor alone until your timing is set correctly. Simply advancing the timing, by turning the distributor CCW (small block) a bit will help get rid of the 'glow'. If you aren't familiar with how to set your timing, do a Google search and look for info from reliable sources, like Hot Rod, Car Craft, etc. BTW, I wouldn't recommend continuing to drive your car until you get the timing corrected.

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

Put a timing light on it and check at idle.Take note where it is,,like 14*. Now keep the light on and bring up the rpm to 2000 and see how much it moved.This is done with the vacume line removed and plugged.Now reinstall the vacume line and tell us those 3 timing points.

 

[Danialz]

So I start the car and unplugged all the vacuum line to distributor. I put the timing light on it and couldn't see the line on the pully.its running at 1000 rpm still gets hot and back fires. If I turn the timing down the car runs rough rpm drops to almost 0 and timing light turns off until I rev the engine up

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

Are there any markings on that damper??

 

[beanhead]

If you can't read the damper...advance the timing, by ear, to the point where the RPM stops increasing, this will get you in the ballpark. It's not the most accurate way and you'll need to get the timing verified one way or another, but you can at least run it and see if the high temp problem remains.

 

[miller]

its running at 1000 rpm still gets hot and back fires.

What kind of carb do you have, and how do you have the mixture screws set? I have seen times when carb mixture is way too lean...makes it run hot, will make headers hot, and can burn pistons, and valves! If it's a Eddy, try 1 1/2 turns out.

Timing...instead of trying to set it, with the engine running, your better off getting it pre-set.
Pull all the plugs, so engine is easier to turn over, by hand...that's a socket on the crank bolt. Turn the engine until the timing mark is at 0, on the tab, and 'feel' with something through #1 spark plug hole, for the top of the piston. Should be right there. If so, then turn the motor 'reversed', at least a quarter turn. That's to get slack out of the timing chain, then rotate in direction, to the timing mark you want. Stop.
Pull the distributor cap, and look at the rotor...should be 'just coming up to' #1 plug wire. If going through this, something doesn't fall right, something is off, and it needs to be found.

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

Gunna need some increments on the damper

 

[oldbee]

A few thoughts come to mind. Has the cam been changed? If so, was it degreed in? If stock cam, why is the idle at 1000? If it’s to keep it running then you have a vacuum leak somewhere. Nothing done to a carb will change timing, that’s all in distributor. Pull #1 spark plug, put ur finger over the hole and have someone tap over engine until you feel air press on finger; stop & look for timing line on dampener lining up with mark on timing cover. You should be close&able to see it. Report back.