misfiring?

[yobbo88]

I have an 83 VH that has a fairly big problem... i dont know what it is but the best way to describe it is it sounds like a subaru engine. we all know the sound right? it was happening a while ago after i changed spark plugs and leads but it seemed to fix itself after a while. i cleaned my engine with degreaser and a high pressure hose yesterday to see where an oil leak was coming from (its the rocker cover gasket i believe) and the problem has come back. what the hell is it?

[DANNY8]

If u washed ur engine then maybe one of the electrical components got wet? Take ur dizzy cap off and see if it's damp inside, and also wipe over all the contacts, lead ends and spark plugs.

[Goon]

Have u replace your rocket cover gasket? or maybe the rocketcover bolts are lose?

I tighten the bolts up when its cold then after the engine has warmed up.
"Don't over tighten as u may snap ur bolt in half. " it'll be stuck then "

[yobbo88]

ive checked everything electrical im fairly confident its not anything to do with that. i havent replaced the rocket cover or gasket but will be doing so soon as oil is leaking from there. could it be pressure coming from the seals? i dont have the power i used to have either. sometimes the engine will smooth out and power will return maybe half way through 2nd if i accelerate hard. im thinking maybe i wrecked the seal more with the high pressure hose? i dont know but its annoying

[yobbo88]

anyone got any ideas? another thing does the length of a spark plug lead affect anything? ive bought 2 sets of spark plugs in my search for an answer but with 2 different brands they are still a bit short for my car they reach but some look a bit uncomfortable. they are for a vh according to box. does oil going down into where the spark plugs go into affect also? im just listing things ive done that may be the cause. what else... post them as i remember

[1vngal]

does oil going down into where the spark plugs go into affect also? im just listing things ive done that may be the cause. what else... post them as i remember

How do you mean by oil going down into where the spark plugs are? If it's what I'm thinking then yes, it would have an effect, by the oil 'soaking' the end of the spark plug, and the spark may not be able to jump due it being covered in oil.

[yobbo88]

yeah with the leak coming from the rocker cover when i changed the plugs as soon as i pulled them out oil dribbled down there and i would assume as more oil has leaked it has soaked down around the plugs. ill check tomorrow to se if they have oil on them and if so will clean them and see what happens. i hope it is something relatively simple. im looking into having the engine reconditioned also (reason behind that choice is i like it original) and just wondering on ballpark price?

[1vngal]

Well that would be one of the first things I'd be checking. It seems very likely that your plugs could be soaked in oil, and this is whats causing the miss-fire. Expecially if a decent amount of oil went down there.

Like you said, just take them out, and clean any oil off them and see if there's a difference.

I'm not too sure on engine reconditioning prices though...

[yobbo88]

alright sounds good ill give it a go. this car is a pain in the butt! straight as interior and exterior but lazy ass owner when it came to services... its from my pop by the way and he stopped servicing it a looooong time ago. a well its a life lesson i spose. car=money pit of joy

[1vngal]

hahaha, sounds like my VN, immaculate everywhere apart from the general matienence of the engine!!

Lets us know how you go with yours!!

[yobbo88]

ok replaced cracked plug cleaned the rest and its actually worse now. serious trouble starting, a couple of times blew whitish smoke from top of engine. once its going its rough as. can anyone give me an idea on an engine recondition price and hopefully this will fix the problem and will get better performance and economy from it? im not willing to throw this enigine away its only got 100,000Km on it.

[Pub247]

If you want to keep the same motorA recondition done on the motor by a place who does good work is giong to cost a bit easily a 1000 and more you just ring around and ask or otherwise you can do an exchange. I suggest you take it to someone who knows their stuff and get them to fix it it'll be a lot cheaper.

[yobbo88]

looking at my engine it may be a lot of work anyway. from looking at it it needs seals or gaskets or whatever right down to the sump.... possibly... i really dont know i might find a workshop that does free quotes or something.

[yobbo88]

ok at home now and had another look. source of white smoke from the top of the engine is coming from carby. its a varajet 2 is this normal in any way? im thinking ive found the source hopefully. is the thing connected to the dizzy by one spark lead the coil? whatever that is i think i can hear an electric crackly sort of noise coming from it... or is that just the distributor turning and hitting the terminals? it sounds too slow to be that but then again i have no idea how fast the rotor in the dizzy spins. im thinking after the hose down i finally killed it as it looks like an original ie 23 years old. any thoughts after this info?

[craigvk]

Alright get yourself a can of INOX or RP7 or WD40. Spray that crap on the distributor posts (all of them) and also on the spark plug tips. Also open up the distributor cap and spray some in there. If you see moisture in there, wipe it out with a rag and spray a little in there. INOX is non conductive. It can help cure problems.

I degreased my bros VK barge a while back and I ended up spraying some INOX on the dizzy contacts and it made the barge come back in tune. Give it a try.

[craigvk]

ok at home now and had another look. source of white smoke from the top of the engine is coming from carby. its a varajet 2 is this normal in any way? im thinking ive found the source hopefully. is the thing connected to the dizzy by one spark lead the coil? whatever that is i think i can hear an electric crackly sort of noise coming from it... or is that just the distributor turning and hitting the terminals? it sounds too slow to be that but then again i have no idea how fast the rotor in the dizzy spins. im thinking after the hose down i finally killed it as it looks like an original ie 23 years old. any thoughts after this info?

Your coil is connected to the distributor by a single lead. The rest go to the spark plugs. Make sure they are connected right. You haven't unplugged them and put them back eh? If you connect the leads wrong, the barge will run like a 'barge'.

Don't touch anything!

[yobbo88]

i understand the flow of how the ignition system works and know the firing order so all the leads are correct. if the coil is old and basically dead will it make an engine misfire? the distributor cap and rotor is 3 days old and is fine no moisture at all. leads are all dry and have taken out spark plugs and cleaned them all. gap seems ok on all. im now thinking the problem is before distributor and leads ie the coil. is it possible the problem is there?

[yobbo88]

changed ignition coil and no joy. i dunno this is shitting me... can anyone help?

[Goon]

Have you got a picture of this problem mate? is it still the oil problem? or engine problem?

[yobbo88]

i dont think it was ever the oil problem now that ive been over everything else. its not electric as far as i can tell as ive replaced ignition coil, dizzy cap, rotor, leads (twice) and plugs (twice). ive now got it down to maybe carbon cooked onto the pistons? i didnt think it had any relevance but after talking to a guy at exhaust place (booked in car for extractors) he asked if my car keeped firing for a bit after i turn it off if the engines warm. it does do this so i think im gonna have to get it opened up and have pistons etc cleaned. while the mechanics in there ill have the ports or whatever shaved etc so ill get my moneys worth. doesthis sound like a probable cause? im just not looking forward to paying for something i may be able to do if i had access to tools... oh well

[Goon]

Extractors and a new fan belt made a difference in my car when i first brought it, but it's a shame u dont have the tools to do the job.

Goodluck with her mate

[yobbo88]

found a wicked crack in manifold so now im thanking myself for booking it in for extractors... this would explain power loss and subaru like sound yeah?

[Pub247]

In the inlet or exhaust manifold ?

[yobbo88]

i suck with the names of parts.... the part that will be replaced with extrectors and joins to exhuast under the car (from what i know) so exhuast manifold?

[Goon]

You need the manifold for your carby you would be replacing the exhaust head "what i call it" with extractors.