I purchased a 1973 Series 3 short wheel base last summer from a gentleman who was tired of putting money into it. It came with a newly rebuilt engine that had spun a bearing shortly after the rebuild. I installed an unknown engine that I got running and drove it all summer but it didn't run great. It was low on power, often died when decelerating, and smoked. After a leak down test determined the valves were bad I swapped in the rebuilt head from the rebuilt engine it came with but I'm still having some of the same issues.
The truck starts right up, but idles poorly, like it's misfiring and puts out a lot of smoke still. I did a compression check. All four cylinders had 150+ psi. I did a leak down test and all were low 25-20%. I checked valve clearances, point gaps, change to brand new spark plugs, reset the static ignition timing again. It's definitely getting spark. About the only thing I can think of is the cam followers being worn, cam lobes damaged or cam shaft timing being off.
Vacuum test shows rapid fluctuation between 7-18 in Hg. Any way to check the cam timing or cam followers without removing the timing cover or head? Any other ideas as to what I could look into?
The truck starts right up, but idles poorly, like it's misfiring and puts out a lot of smoke still. I did a compression check. All four cylinders had 150+ psi. I did a leak down test and all were low 25-20%. I checked valve clearances, point gaps, change to brand new spark plugs, reset the static ignition timing again. It's definitely getting spark. About the only thing I can think of is the cam followers being worn, cam lobes damaged or cam shaft timing being off.
Vacuum test shows rapid fluctuation between 7-18 in Hg. Any way to check the cam timing or cam followers without removing the timing cover or head? Any other ideas as to what I could look into?
. If you haven't done already, I'd check the timing as well.
