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Hi,
This is a 1979 242DL, 4 speed w/od. This car has about 404,000 original miles on it. Within the last 20K or so there has been a strange run ability issue with it.
For example; let's say I have the car in 3rd gear, and I was slowing down to the point I should be thinking about shifting down to 2nd, but I let it bog down a little which I used to be able to do, but now the car will start bucking some time heavily. This typically happened in warmer weather, but it seems to be happen now is all types of temperatures. One other thing to note, which may be the same deal; I can usually run the car at freeway speeds okay, but if I come off the freeway, and slow down, and put the clutch in at about 40MPH or so and let the engine idle as I come to a stop, the engine will some times hesitate and almost die.
I did a test. I was able to put the car in Neutral, bring the RPM’s up, and then when I let go of the gas peddle and let the idle speed dropped back down to normal, the engine would hesitate and almost die, but it would keep running.
More facts: This car does not like to run when the engine is cold. So, if I was to start the car from a cold start and try to take off, even after a few minutes, I wouldn't be able to give it much gas without it sort of bucking a little, or just be non-responsive. Once it warms up, the car accelerates just fine. But, just the other day when the weather's been real cold, I started the car and even when the temperature gauge showed that the car was warm, I tried to step on the gas about half way down, and it wouldn't accelerate as if the engine was still running cold. It was non responsive. I could press on the gas 1/4 the way down and slowly bring the car up to speed. Not sure if this is related to my issue above or not.
I did blow a head-gasket about 385,000 miles on it, and my dad's friend fixed it for us. He put a new thermostat in, I think a GM brand, and ever since the engine temperature runs a bit on the cold side, as the needle will sit just below the "N" Normal mark. Is this an issue?
Thank you for your suggestions.
Michael
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