Thread: Sudden problem, truck dies at idle and some black smoke from the exhaust

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So typically its a spark issue being im getting fuel in the combustion chamber. The truck just started dying out at idle, no sputtering just a very calm shut down.

So I noticed that one plug wire ended up being loose, fixed that still the same issue. I needed to do plugs in it and when I pulled them I found them to be pretty black, but more disturbing as I was pulling the plug the boots are being burnt by the exhaust. So the headers are hooker headers, the plug wires are almost completely up against the exhaust. Im guessing this may be causing the spark failure. The current boots come straight up, im looking at going with the 90 degree boots. This still puts the plug wire close to the exhaust though.

The boots arent burnt down near the plug so I dont know that it would cause this but its still an issue. Here are a few of the boot protectors I found, any experience with any of these anyone?
http://www.summitracing.com/search/?...rotector&dds=1
Heres some pics of the issue at hand. Note the plug wire is not on the plug here so im aware of that:



and the truck

Nice Truck !!! And yes you will need the 90 boots and route the wires under the headers. Also I think its Accell that makes a shorty spark plug that may help,although I've never been to proud of Accell products.

Thanks! The 41 Willys always has been one of my favorites, im really fortunate to have been able to pick this one up, but im always looking around so its no surprise I found one eventually.

Ive never really dealt with accell, my distributor is a mallory however there seems to be a slight gash in the cap as well. Its not cracked and im guessing that at some point it came loose while being driven one day by the previous owner.

Originally Posted by HWORRELL

Nice Truck !!! And yes you will need the 90 boots and route the wires under the headers. Also I think its Accell that makes a shorty spark plug that may help,although I've never been to proud of Accell products.

Oh also this is a 350 SBC, im assuming all the distributors are in the exact same spot so plug wire length shouldnt be an issue? I have no idea what this thing came out of either.

The accell 'shorty' plugs are really autolight racing plugs that you can get at half the price of what accell sells them for.
Is that a cast iron head? then ngk are 5673-8 are what you'd want, they're short race plugs too but cost maybe $18 a set. Accell gets above $40!
Nice truck! Get yourself a set of taylor 90deg spirowound for that smallblock, you won't regret paying the money and they have the smallest boot for the most clearance and the unmade (do-it-yourself set) are long enough that you can run them under the header as others have advised.

Originally Posted by ojh

The accell 'shorty' plugs are really autolight racing plugs that you can get at half the price of what accell sells them for.
Is that a cast iron head? then ngk are 5673-8 are what you'd want, they're short race plugs too but cost maybe $18 a set. Accell gets above $40!
Nice truck! Get yourself a set of taylor 90deg spirowound for that smallblock, you won't regret paying the money and they have the smallest boot for the most clearance and the unmade (do-it-yourself set) are long enough that you can run them under the header as others have advised.

Yea I saw those, they are also steel braided. $165 made my tail end pucker a bit.

There are plug wire protectors that you can slide on and then wire tie to the plug wires.
Spark Plug Boot Protectors - Speedway Motors, America's Oldest Speed Shop

Like mentioned, get some plug wires that you can cut to length yourself. Run them down and under the headers. Use some of those rubber coated wiring loom clips and locate them next to the block somewhere. You would only need 2 or 3 on each side. You can get them that will hold multiple wires.

Yea I was taking a look at routing them under the exhaust. Unfortunately the way the header is that won't be possible. I'll be making sure though when I get these new wires that they stay clear of the pipes.

This truck has overall been running so good. In fact I had been driving it almost daily this past month including those 100 degree days we had, had the ac on full blast too. My goal was to put the truck through a test to ensure all the little gremlins are out.

So hopefully these wires solve my problem.

Just wanted to say...........very nice truck.!!!!.........have always loved the Willys whether it's a truck or a coupe.

Originally Posted by 1923tbucket

Yea I saw those, they are also steel braided. $165 made my tail end pucker a bit.

Stay away from the steel braided, they'll short and light you up if you get near them with the engine running. Bad ju-ju.
What i use is the 'spiro pro' 8mm 90deg boot for sbc, they go about about $75ish maybe less and if you can't run them down under the header there is a billet rail - 2piece - that i use with great success. The rail is sold by many different people, i use 'RPC', but the wires are clamped into place and very small amount is exposed, so they don't shift with heat. I used them on an elcamino with headers just like yours and when giving it a tune up a year later i didn't have to replace the plug wires. I am the worlds worst skeptic, but i use that 2 piece rail system whenever i do an enginebay and tuneup now.
Shoot me a pm if you need part numbers.

Sweet thanks for the suggestion!

It will be interesting to see if your stalling out problem is just burned wire boots. Sounds more like a carb issue to me, like maybe a bad vacuum idle pulloff valve, or a bad idle solenoid that kicks in with the AC? You mentioned driving a lot on 100+ days with the AC blasting. Let us know what you find when you change out the wires & plugs.

Originally Posted by rspears

It will be interesting to see if your stalling out problem is just burned wire boots. Sounds more like a carb issue to me, like maybe a bad vacuum idle pulloff valve, or a bad idle solenoid that kicks in with the AC? You mentioned driving a lot on 100+ days with the AC blasting. Let us know what you find when you change out the wires & plugs.

Kinda what i was thinking too, like plug wires etc are part of the problem and the carb is doing something stupid too like dribbling raw fuel into the engine.

Yea the plugs were kinda dark but that may have been because of that issue. It had never smoked or run all that rich before. Just a sudden problem. The one wire was burnt into the core

Originally Posted by 1923tbucket

Yea the plugs were kinda dark but that may have been because of that issue. It had never smoked or run all that rich before. Just a sudden problem. The one wire was burnt into the core

Yeah, but that one wire burnt would at worst create a miss either under load, or if totally burned even at idle. I'm pretty sure you've got some type of fuel thing going on. I'd look at any type of dashpot or solenoid that you might have that affects idle related to the AC first, and if nothing there then something that's changed in the carb idle circuit or float level.