Franky318
New Member
Hey guys,
I've got a question relating to cold start of my 318 (distri with hall sensor). I try to figure it out since I own the car and it is more a comfort thing than a real problem.
What happens?
If I try to cold start the engine there is a 50/50 chance that it fires up directly and dies a few seconds later or that I have to crank it for 15-20 seconds until it starts, then I need to babysit it for a moment and after that everything is fine.
The "problem" occurs when I choke it or when I use just the throttle. The chance the enginge fires up quicker is higher with the choke but then I too need to babysit the engine using to push and pull the choke.
When the engine finally runs there is anoher thing that happens quite often:
When I switch from Park to Gear (reverse or drive) the engine starts to slow down and dies. I figured out that everything is fine when I push the throttle while switching to gear or let the engine alone for a few minutes. I need to proceed this just one time. When I close the garage door I switch to park and when I switch to gear there is no problem anymore.
All this just occurs in the first few minutes after cold start. As soon as the engine heats up a little bit, everything is fine. It is also possible to drive 2km's to the next gas station, shut it down and fire it up again - no problem.
When the engine stood for a few hours (especially in the sun) the start is a bit heavy but there is also no problem (fuel evaporation I think). No problem with gear.
I mean, that's not a real problem, it's a comfort thing but perhaps something isn't set correctly and it can lead to long time faults.
Following parts were changed in summer 21: Distri cap, rotor, plugs, ignition cables, ballast resistor, coil, capacitor - nearly everything that has to do with ignition expect distributor and ICM. It didn't get better but also didn't get worse - it's something ;)
I've read a lot about this and came to following points:
1) Wrong carb spacer
When I bought the car there was a 650 Edel carb installed - with stock intake manifold. In winter 2021 I bought a smaller carb and an Edel intake. While putting everything togehter I used the spacer that was used for the carb and the stock intake manifold. Now I have seen that Edelbrock sells a spacer only for Edel intakes. It has just a square in it, no holes like the ones for stock intakes.
Could this lead to a problem. Not even related to cold start but in general?
2) Vacuum
I honestly can't remeber anymore how the old carb was installed. Afaik I installed it just like the old one. A hose to the valve cover and every other line outs on the carb were closed. When I pull the line to the valve cover the engine starts to rumble and slowly dies. I've read that this must happen if there is no vacuum leak.
Are there any other methods to test for leaks or is this test-result good enough to say there is no leak?
3) Low fuel pressure
I haven't tested it, yet but if the pressure would be too low the engine would shut down completely after some time or am I wrong at this point? I haven't touched the screw on the Edel fuel line to set the pressure. It's set from the previous owner.
4) Distributor and settings
I'm pretty sure the previous points aren't the reason for the symptoms. So I took a look at the distributor. The impulser-"wheel" of the hall sensor is pretty worn-out. I don't know how this can happen since the wheel isn't in contact with the sensor (or should it be in contact?). I also noticed that the rotor can be twisted pretty easy to left and right - and stays in this position. It can be twisted for about 5 millimeters. I'm also able to move it up and down for a few millimeters.
Could it be the vacuum advance or is it "normal" that the rotor twists and moves up and down or is it a knocked-down shaft? I don't want to pull the distri if it isn't necessary.
When my brother is in town we want to check initial timing. Perhaps something is messed there.
Perhaps you have other points to let me check which I haven't thought about. I took a few pics of the vac-lines, perhaps this will help. Since every case is individual I still want to ask you although there are a few threads about it and I don't want to spam a thread of another user with my questions.
Thank you in advance
Frank
BTW: I tried to fire it up after lunch, it went pretty good, car was ready to go after 2 minutes. But I had to play with the choke and throttle the first 25-30 seconds.
I've got a question relating to cold start of my 318 (distri with hall sensor). I try to figure it out since I own the car and it is more a comfort thing than a real problem.
What happens?
If I try to cold start the engine there is a 50/50 chance that it fires up directly and dies a few seconds later or that I have to crank it for 15-20 seconds until it starts, then I need to babysit it for a moment and after that everything is fine.
The "problem" occurs when I choke it or when I use just the throttle. The chance the enginge fires up quicker is higher with the choke but then I too need to babysit the engine using to push and pull the choke.
When the engine finally runs there is anoher thing that happens quite often:
When I switch from Park to Gear (reverse or drive) the engine starts to slow down and dies. I figured out that everything is fine when I push the throttle while switching to gear or let the engine alone for a few minutes. I need to proceed this just one time. When I close the garage door I switch to park and when I switch to gear there is no problem anymore.
All this just occurs in the first few minutes after cold start. As soon as the engine heats up a little bit, everything is fine. It is also possible to drive 2km's to the next gas station, shut it down and fire it up again - no problem.
When the engine stood for a few hours (especially in the sun) the start is a bit heavy but there is also no problem (fuel evaporation I think). No problem with gear.
I mean, that's not a real problem, it's a comfort thing but perhaps something isn't set correctly and it can lead to long time faults.
Following parts were changed in summer 21: Distri cap, rotor, plugs, ignition cables, ballast resistor, coil, capacitor - nearly everything that has to do with ignition expect distributor and ICM. It didn't get better but also didn't get worse - it's something ;)
I've read a lot about this and came to following points:
1) Wrong carb spacer
When I bought the car there was a 650 Edel carb installed - with stock intake manifold. In winter 2021 I bought a smaller carb and an Edel intake. While putting everything togehter I used the spacer that was used for the carb and the stock intake manifold. Now I have seen that Edelbrock sells a spacer only for Edel intakes. It has just a square in it, no holes like the ones for stock intakes.
Could this lead to a problem. Not even related to cold start but in general?
2) Vacuum
I honestly can't remeber anymore how the old carb was installed. Afaik I installed it just like the old one. A hose to the valve cover and every other line outs on the carb were closed. When I pull the line to the valve cover the engine starts to rumble and slowly dies. I've read that this must happen if there is no vacuum leak.
Are there any other methods to test for leaks or is this test-result good enough to say there is no leak?
3) Low fuel pressure
I haven't tested it, yet but if the pressure would be too low the engine would shut down completely after some time or am I wrong at this point? I haven't touched the screw on the Edel fuel line to set the pressure. It's set from the previous owner.
4) Distributor and settings
I'm pretty sure the previous points aren't the reason for the symptoms. So I took a look at the distributor. The impulser-"wheel" of the hall sensor is pretty worn-out. I don't know how this can happen since the wheel isn't in contact with the sensor (or should it be in contact?). I also noticed that the rotor can be twisted pretty easy to left and right - and stays in this position. It can be twisted for about 5 millimeters. I'm also able to move it up and down for a few millimeters.
Could it be the vacuum advance or is it "normal" that the rotor twists and moves up and down or is it a knocked-down shaft? I don't want to pull the distri if it isn't necessary.
When my brother is in town we want to check initial timing. Perhaps something is messed there.
Perhaps you have other points to let me check which I haven't thought about. I took a few pics of the vac-lines, perhaps this will help. Since every case is individual I still want to ask you although there are a few threads about it and I don't want to spam a thread of another user with my questions.
Thank you in advance
Frank
BTW: I tried to fire it up after lunch, it went pretty good, car was ready to go after 2 minutes. But I had to play with the choke and throttle the first 25-30 seconds.
That also means I keep the manual choke but now I know how to use it.
