engine feels like a brick swinging around on a string

[dennis tangen]

i have just finished putting my buick back together i just had my trans built and installed i also just put a new timing set ,coil distrubuter cap, rotory button, plugs, plug wires, fuel fiter etc. but now it lopes very bad so bad it moves the car especially when the car is in gear and it feels very rough on the road i only went a 1/4 mile and never tried to reac 35 mph because it felt so bad f.y.i. the timing is at 4 degrees any info will help . the car has also been sitting in the yard about 6-9 months

 

[bobc455]

Unfortunately, I have to assume that the machine shop that did the work did a proper balance job. I hate making assumptions, but without tearing the whole thing apart again, it's not really possible to tell.

So on that assumption, the first thing I would do is check out the ignition- check the plugs, wires, etc. are all functioning correctly - if you are missing a cylinder or two, that could cause this sort of problem.

If the spark plugs are all the same color, all of the ignition wires are attached correctly, there are no broken pieces in the dist cap, and you can get the timing light to indicate that each cylinder is firing, then I would do a compression check. Make sure that all cylinders have the same amount of compression, within about 5%.

If everything still checks out, I would pull the valvecovers and verify that all the valves are moving properly - a worn cam lobe or two can cause the engine to run roughly (what did you use for a break-in procedure?).

Just my thoughts...

-Bob Cunningham
bobc@gnttype.org

 

[BillK]

Dennis,
If the car has been sitting for 6-9 months without having run, it is very possible that the fuel has turned to "junk". Also, whatever fuel was in the carburetor when you parked it has probably gummed up. Your symthoms sound like the choke might also be stuck closed. I would try to drain the tank if possible. if not, drive to the nearest gas station and fill it up with fresh gas, along with a couple of cans of fuel system cleaner such as Gumout etc. You might have to drive it a bunch to get the old gas/junk out of the system. It should not hurt anything to do so as long as that is the problem.
Hope this helps,