Thread: PROJECTS and TROUBLESHOOTING

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Again sorry for the book, seemed necessary;

We all know the importance of planning when it comes to building our cars. But, sometimes we forget this is just as important with smaller projects. On some of the projects it is not only important to plan them out, but to implement them in steps to make troubleshooting problems easier.

If you plan on installing a new carburetor and a new distributor. Do them one at a time. Install the new distributor and get it timed, tuned and running correctly, then install the new carb and tune it. This process may seem time consuming, but it will save a tremendous amount of time in troubleshooting and back tracking. It’s much easier to troubleshoot the distributor’s or carburetor’s issues if you’re not dealing with both troubles at the same time.

And, believe it or not, equally important is to read the directions given with new components. Yes I know, we don’t need no stinking instructions! Well, I’ll be the first to admit I DO. Yes, with all the techno knowledge changing as fast as I can drink my cup of coffee, it takes constant refreshing of the knowledge pool and the instructions in most cases aid in this well. And, the more you read the instructions, the better sense they make.

The same planning technics are applied to troubleshooting. If you install a new carburetor, plan on needing to tune it to match your motor. Tackle each issue one step at a time. Adjust the idle, then the accelerator pump, next the metering and jets, exc.. Try to do it all at once and you’ll not know what is working or not. The guy that tells you his carburetor ran perfect out of the box, was either incredibly lucky, or doesn’t know the difference tuning could make. Spend a little time learning the products and how they go together.

Let me re-iterate my philosophy of TEST don’t GUESS. Please don’t just start randomly changing components because you think or someone has told you they think something is causing your problems, in most cases you’re just wasting money. Are there times when you’ll have to guess, YES, but make those guesses educated by testing first. Give yourself and others a chance by collecting a little data first.
TEST, don’t guess...

And, use the manufacturer’s recommended support products, in most cases they really do know best. True story, a while back, I went into a parts store chain looking for the recommended gasket sealant. The manager of the store told me they don’t carry what I’m looking for, but weatherstrip adhesive will work for what I want. Then proceeded to tell me the part manufacturer I’m using is crap, that he installed their manifold on his motor and it leaked oil everywhere. I asked if he used their recommended sealants? He said no, he used weatherstrip adhesive it works better. As a gentleman on here is fond of saying, “not even duct tape can fix stupid”. Needless to say I went elsewhere and got the correct sealants and installed without a problem.

Lastly, a bit of wisdom I learned when I was a young man and have past it on to many. SLOW down, if you want to go fast, you must slow down first. Thorough, methodical, planned actions are always faster than random chaos…

Weatherstrip adhesive? Seriously? Some people.

Or, you could use these;
Fel-Pro Molded-rubber Gaskets Available for Oil Pans, Valve Covers - Chevy Hardcore