hey guys got a good one for you, the other day i was washing my car (68 camaro 327)
well when i finished washing it went and got gas and then next light i hit car was idling real funny and acting like it wanted to die, once i would get going it woudl drive fine, but at idle just running real rough, even sounded off, so i got it home and was looking everything over
and all seemed well, i mean i didnt clean anything in the engine ompartment, no water or anything like that so I was lost, I had been wanting to clean up my carburetor lately, so figured now would be a good time, took it apart and cleaned everything real good, put it all back together and same thing and now it is almost surging when at idle in park, I also had to raise the idle in park to keep it running, so did a little more investigating took the cap off and found the rotor loose! dont know how but okay, looked it over and tightned is back up, put everything back together, and found no change also when I unplug the vacuum advance it dies cant keep it running with the vacuum advance unplugged, any help would be great i am totally lost, oh and checked to make sure i filled with gas and all ok, just to make sure thanks guys!!

How old are your spark plug wires? I have seen cars that will not start after a rain storm because the plug wires absord moisture. Dry out wires with a hair dryer and car would start rite up. Also if your rotor was loose i would replace the cap and rotor could have very easly cracked something or bent a terminal.

Basics man, go back to basics. As stated, I'd start by replacing cap and rotor. Loose rotor could have easily caused a cracked cap, so start there.

If not that, check all tune-up items and vacuum connections.

Let us know.........................

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It sounds like you may have a moisture problem. Inside the cap or like they said, maybe the wires are beginning to split somewhere and were arcing to ground. I washed a new car that still used a distributor and had to remove the cap to dry out the water. It was like a 99 or 00, but still used a dist. Don't remember what car, but it had one. Couldn't believe it. I thought that stuff was a thing of the past.

i would look at the wires first, for the price of a cap and rotor may as well replace them just to be on the safe side.

well guys no help yet, i checked all my vacuum lines all pass, dis. cap and rotor good, wires good, plugs good, decided to take carb off again and go through it one more time, it all looked ok, put a new base gasket on it, started engine and it ran good idled good, reved it a couple of times so then i turned it off and went to go tell the wife i was gonna go drive it to make sure everything was okay, start it up again and it runs like crap again, wont idle at all but it doesnt surge, just will barely run in park and wont stay running in gear, so im not sure if my carburetorfinally took a dump or what. so thanks for any info.

vacuum leak?

sprayed carb cleaner everywhere and checked all vacuum lines

check your timing.

Engine needs three things to run - fuel, spark and compression.

Regarding spark - you said rotor was loose, but no where did you say you actually REPLACED the cap and rotor. Caps can have very fine cracks in them, almost impossible to see. If the rotor was loose then I'd start this whole process by replacing the cap AND rotor, then see what happens.

I'd also do a compression test, since it's so easy to do on a 1st gen Camaro. It's good info to know anyway.

Then move to fuel supply. Check pump pressure and all lines, particularly the rubber sections. There's a short piece in back (in stock form), at tank, that connects line to tank. That piece often cracks and the pump sucks air instead of fuel. After lines checked, disconnect line at fuel pump and hold line over empty can. Have buddy crank engine over (may wish to disconnect hot wire to coil prior to this) and make sure good flow of gas going into can. You did replace fuel filter recently, I'm assuming??

keep us posted

bad gas? drain the tank and try a diff brand

Happened right after you got gas?

Bad Gas, maybe water in the gas or worse, diesel mixed in with the gas?

Heck, I missed that part. If it started right after you got gas, then definitely that could be an issue. Call the gas station and see if they've been having problems.

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ill check these out guys thanks

ok so changed cap and rotor no change, in my head for some reason i was thinking it was my carburetor (which is an edelbrock performer 600 cfm manual choke) well i decided to check my idle mixture screws on the front and i decided to fully pull them out one by one, when I pulled out the driver side the engine dies which is correct, right?, then when I pull the pass. side screw out the engine stays running just real bad, screw it back in the then it runs like it has, do I have a carburetor issue, or am i just making something up in my head? i thank you guys again for your patience and apoligize for my stupidity. Bryan

I would expect both idle mixture screws to behave the same. You might try blasting a little air through the open mixture adjutment hole to see if you can blow any crap out of it. Depending on your carb, the idle mixture air bleeds might be visable from the top side. A guitar string, a little carb cleaner, and compressed air my dislodge any debri stuck in there.

With carbs like that, I usually start with both screws turned out 1.5 turns from seated. In other words, turn them until they seat (gently), then go counter-clockwise 1 and a half turns. You can then begin adjustment using RPM gauge, or just do it by ear (what I do). I turn each screw in (or out) listening for changes in RPM. I try to get optimal RPM's while being as close to lean (screw turned in) as possible, and I like to see both screws about the same at the end.

If you are turning one of the screws and it makes no difference in RPM, then you may have some dirt in there......................

Did you call the gas station?

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The coil couldn't have shorted out by getting wet, could it?

The coil couldn't have shorted out by getting wet, could it?

It's possible...............

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called the gas station they said that as far as they knew everything was ok and they havent recieved any other calls about any concerns, i have pulled that whole carb apart and fully cleaned out everything there is nothing in that side idle mixture screw it is just weird how one side will kill the car and the other just affect idle... im soo lost, when i replaced the cap and rotor i also put a different coil on the new cap as i have two no difference

Did you use compressed air to clean out the carb?

Usually (but not always) if you adjust the carb like I described above, when you turn either screw in all the way, the engine will stall.

I'm kinda suspecting carb problem by the way you're talking. Do you have another carb you can toss on there and try?

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thats what im trying to get my hands on now to see if that is my issue, thanks for your help everyone ill keep you posted.

Drain your tank. Ask the gas station when was the last time they replaced their storage tanks. Drain your tank into a container so you have some proof in case it was bad gas. Find your gas recept that way you might be able to get some money back for poor gas if in fact it is poor gas

Just thowing it out there but, How many miles on the engine? Could the timming chain be real sloppy or jumped. 3% of slopp is all you can still run ok on without having to adjust timming to run good again. ( temp ) That happend to me one time I shut it off the engine poped once a LIL that was that. May not have anything to do with washing or gas. As some one said Basics Man.

first off I want to thank everyone for all there help and words of encouragment, but I finally found the problem (well kinda) ok so like I said for some reason was thinking it was the carburetor and I had some new things happen or tried that help me confirm that theory, while the car was running I could (without the air cleaner on) put my hand over the carb and the idle would jump up, now if I was told right that means a lean condition happening, so just for kicks I decided to take the carb off and go through it one more time, and I did, looked over every nook and cranny blew it all out with COMPRESSED air (thank you Chevy-SS) and carb cleaner and stuck it back on, fired it up and after a little tuning it is running great, now this is why I said I kinda found the problem, because im not entirely sure what the deal was I am just assuming I had something in the idle circuit and just couldnt get it out until that lucky third try, so again appreciate all the ideas and help but now she is back on the road and purrin' like a kitten.

How Is The Seal On You Gas Cap?water Is Heaver Than Gas,if You Rinsed Off The Car Real Good You May Have Got Water In That Way Also.i Would Pull The Carb Apart And Check For Water.

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Cool man. Glad u got it working. Sometimes it takes a strong blast of air to clear out those tiny carb passages! :)

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Unfortunately sometimes the root cause is left to our imaginations. The important things is that you found a trick to fix it. Don't be concerned about not knowing root cause - it's more common than you might think. Glad you got it going...good work. :beers:

I would expect both idle mixture screws to behave the same. You might try blasting a little air through the open mixture adjutment hole to see if you can blow any crap out of it. Depending on your carb, the idle mixture air bleeds might be visable from the top side. A guitar string, a little carb cleaner, and compressed air my dislodge any debri stuck in there.

What kind of guitar string? Classical for the older stuff? Electric for the modern tuner? Acoustic for the guys who tune by ear? Bajo Sexto for the SOTB folks?