i was encouraged to start a new thread on my fuel problems.

awhile ago (before i adjusted my timing) i had a few of the following problems...

the car would idle rough randomly. most of it occured when i started driving. sitting at stop lights after just starting the car, it would be really shaky, around 6/700rpm. sometimes not so much. other times it would be rather still, around 900rpm. after driving for a bit (maybe a straight half an hour, or even 20 minutes), it would just sort of disappear and i'd idle fine. maybe slightly rough, but nothing out of the ordinary. i would also burn a little oil. i could smell it when i walked around the back of the car, and the insides of my exhaust pipe have a slight bit of that black powder on them. my exhaust also sounds like quarter note hits on a bass drum, kind of like someone panting fast. and you can hear a buzzing from the front and rear of the car (the rear sounds like the fuel pump. someone told me air was getting in the lines, sounds reasonable).

well, i recently (1 to 1½ mons.) readjusted my timing (it badly needed it). on my model you have to disconnect the vacuum hose on the distributor, and it should idle around 750 +/-50 rpm, timing should be at 12º BTDC. well i did that by adjusting the idle knob and rotating my distributor; i got to 700-800rpm (my CIS battles constantly, so its impossible for it to stay within a 25-50rpm range) and right about 12°. then once i put the vacuum hose back on the distributor, the idle speed dropped around 500rpm and my timing up to 15 or so. so i took it off and it ballooned back up to 700-800.

it was a little odd. my assumption was that it would do the opposite since im supposed to idle at 900 rpm (manual trans; auto is 1000), but at 750 when the AIR system thing is disconnected.

even more recently within the month, i've had this weird fuel stumbling problem. at first, when i would accelerate hard on a half tank of gas, the car would stumble (i was told this is the correct term for it). i noticed after i filled up again that the problem disappeared, but reappeared once i had reached a half tank again. i decided i'd drive with the problem until it got to a quarter tank, then refill it and see if it would lessen the problem... and it did. now it starts to stumble at about 3/8 a tank of gas. so im going to keep doing this to see if it works. i've used about 2 bottles of FI cleaner (Amsoil PI and i think a pennzoil or some other name brand). i dont know if this has anything to do it. i actually posted the stumble problem awhile ago and someone(i cant remember the name, its in my email box) gave me some really good advice on what to try, but i havent had a chance to try it, my afternoons have been getting stolen by my work, my girlfriend, cold, or rain. mornings belong to school. also i believe he described his 84 sedan... im just hoping my '78 wagon will have the same setup.


i cant think of anything else to mention.
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'78 245 143k dual exh. -- soon to drop in a turbo