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RamThis
03-05-2006, 08:01 PM
Car has been running fine for months now after all the work I have done. Once a couple months ago, the car died on my wife a couple times driving into work. I drove it a couple days afterwards and never got it to repeat the problem so I could see what circumstances it was dying at.

Ran fine since then, no sign of problems.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, she had a rash of three days the car would intermittently die, this time she said it happened at stop lights mostly.

Ran fine again until yesterday. It pulled the same thing, kept dying everytime she stopped.

With every time it died, it started right back up.

I have YET to drive it and have the same problem, it drives me nuts, I want to feel what it does when it dies to get a better idea of what it's doing lol.

MY own idea is perhaps the Thermo Valve is sticking or something? Is that the one that goes into the intake and is in contact with the coolant? If so, Im thinking its rusted since the cooling system was like a rust slurpee when I got the car, I have since done an extensive flush and cleanout, new radiator, new thermostat, and added in a rust preventative with the new coolant. I did not, however, replace a Thermo Valve. Can this be a frontrunner for explainations as to the dying problem?

Also, I replaced both front and rear fuel filter thinking maybe it was fuel starved from a clogged filter. The rear filter really was nasty, but new filters have not solved the probelm. I put a glass filter on the line under the hood so I could watch the fuel flow to see if maybe the pump was not keeping enough fuel up there. Last time the car died my wife called me and I had her look at the filter and she said it was still full of fuel. So, it's getting fuel.

The carb is fresly rebuilt too.

Any other ideas?? My inexperienced idea is ThermoValve, but I may be way off. Help!!!

A20A1
03-06-2006, 08:31 PM
Get a vacuum guage, it will help you out 5,bagillion%

That way you can test idle speed along side vacuum... at cold start up and when the engine has warmed up fully.
http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48569
:)

RamThis
03-06-2006, 08:45 PM
Already got one. Well actually, three of em lol.

As for the vacuum reading, I already have checked and its a nice steady reading of about 22". Im pretty sure its not a static vacuum problem just due to the fact the problem is so sporatic. I drove the car nearly a hundred miles today, and it ran flawlessly, and NOTHING has been touched under the hood since it gave the rash of dying at stop lights a couple days ago.

Wouldnt I need to have a guage hooked up to the thermo valve that sets on top of my intake? What exactly does that one do? I know if I reach under it and push up on a diaphragm some, the car idles down real low and starts to run rough. Almost exactly what the wife describes when she says it dies on her. That's why I suspect it as the culprit, or am I way off????

A20A1
03-06-2006, 10:07 PM
what thermovalve can you push on? that makes no sense. sorry. :(

or do you mean you are pushing on the choke or choke puller?


you have 3 thermovalves... two at the back of the intake manifold and one on the thermostat housing.

RamThis
03-07-2006, 05:22 AM
the one on the thermostat housing.

A20A1
03-07-2006, 11:04 AM
thats the one to the vacuum secondary... maybe you are idling off of the secondary... when the secondary closes the idle drops becasuse you're now running strictly off of the primary.

You can try and hook the secondary directly to the carb... instead of having the "T" fitting in there which allows vacuum to bleed thru the thermovalve.

See if the idle constantly is lower then... then go ahead and adjust the idle speed if you need to... when the car is fully warmed up.

RamThis
03-31-2006, 02:46 PM
Well, I have done nothing to the car since that day it acted up, and it has been running flawlessly since. I just dont understand it. I think this car has some weird gremlin in there somewhere....

Now, I have an electrical problem with the charging circuit, posted in another thread...... If it's not one thing, its another with this car..... :dunno: