Running on Empty
|
My spare ride is a 1980 model Ford pickup with a 300 straight six. While I enjoy tinkering with cars and trucks at work with
my students, having to fix one of my own when it breaks is like having to repair the lawn mower when it's time to cut the
grass. Because I don't use foul language, my one-word definition for those rotten circumstances is always something innocuous
like "annoying," "bummer," etc.
A year ago, I wrote about my experience at a local parts store when my old Ford's Duraspark ignition module gave out. I got
two faulty boxes off the shelf, endured a railing accusation of shotgun troubleshooting by the parts counter guy and then
had to limp to a different store to get a good module.
Well, this time around on the same truck, my carburetor had commenced to flood and needed some attention, so I bought a kit
and a float and worked my way through reconditioning that little Carter atomizer.
I've built a zillion carburetors over the course of my career (more or less), and so I was in my comfort zone here — what
could go wrong? Well, I used the measuring gauge that came with the kit and meticulously set the float level to the spec laid
out on the instruction sheet. When the job was done, I drove the truck on weekends for about a month or so without incident.
These eggs must have been hard boiled after riding behind the headlight of this Cavalier. Because the driver never opens the
hood, they probably had been there since last spring.
|
A friend called to tell me his nephew's 1992 Cavalier had gone belly up at a local credit union. I don't moonlight, but this
guy is my No. 1 lunch partner, so I was committed.
The Cavalier had a bird's nest with four eggs in it behind the headlight (no joke), had fuel but no spark and the No. 1 spark
plug wire was burned out, a condition that creates a nasty voltage spike back into the ignition coil's primary circuit drivers
that just about always destroys the breaker box on cars like this.
I wasn't going to work in 100 degree heat in the credit union parking lot on the busiest day of the week, so we fetched my
'80 model Ford truck, dropped by the parts store, picked up an ignition module, spark plugs, wires and a crank sensor for
the 2.2L Cavalier.
Things were going well until my pickup started flooding so badly en route to the Cavalier that it wet the spark plugs and
put us down on the city bypass in heavy traffic.
I'd had a comeback on my own vehicle, which was kind of revolting on one hand and embarrassing on the other. We risked life
and limb to push the old truck off the road and called another friend who runs a tire shop. He sent one of his guys to give
us a ride back to my house, where we fired up my 2001 Cherokee and used it to drag the pickup back to my house before retrieving
the Cavalier.
Resolving Problems
This burned out spark plug wire was one of two on the Cutlass. The bird-nested Cavalier had one like this on the spark plug
end at No. 1, and that one killed the ignition module. The Olds module was damaged enough to be spoiled, but it wasn't down
for the count.
|
With the Cavalier on the lift, we got rid of the bird's nest, replaced the used-up spark plugs, burned out ignition cables,
dead module and questionable crank sensor, and got the Cavalier going that afternoon. The repairs cost about $400 in all,
and this Cavalier was back in the wind.
At home, I removed the carburetor air horn on my pickup to find the reservoir was obviously overfull. After examining the
needle and seat, and then checking the float for buoyancy, I determined to lower the float level just a bit, a maneuver which
rewarded me with success.
Posted 2009-10-09 13:19:24.0
