oil: check new air filter: check. i turn my car on and it doesnt stay on. it sputters, i need to really give it gas to keep it runnin. a lot of smoke. light smoke not dark. eventually after it warms up its fine though could it be my engine? carb? it was running perfectly days ago. no problems at all

could be a loose connection between the seat and the steering wheel.


have you checked your coolant? compression check? did you adjust anything at all?

x2 on what Tim wants you to check.

what do you mean between the seat and the steering wheel? yes coolant is fine. How do i check compression/? i have a leaky power steering line. so i added a little bit they day before it started happening.

could my leaky power steering line have got something wet?

What is the only thing that connects the seat and the steeing wheel together?

You'll need a compression gauge (can get one at any decent parts/automotive tool store). I pull the wire off the coil as you do not want spark and or fuel while doing this. Pull out one plug and thread in teh hose for the gauge. crank the motor over about 4-5 times. record what the gauge is reading. You want only a 10% difference between all the cylinders and about 90-120 PSI of compression. (a manual is great help for this).

maybe some wires but thats about it. I don't think it is the problem, although you should fix it.

i filled up my car with gas about two weeks ago.it finally got low so decided to fill it up again today, when i notice i didnt have the gas cap on. I must have left it at the gas station two weeks ago. could that be it? (compression)// i bought a new cap, changed the gas to a higher premiumand took it for a ride. the engine didnt even make a peep. normally i hear a bunch of pings when i step on it.

ya
the higher octane stoped the pings
did the engine feel better?

wayyy better... expecially the top end.

but im still not sure if this was the problem. my mechanic skills are not that great, im just learning as i go.

Told ya it was a loose connection. lol

You don't live in a place where the kids are known for putting sugar in the tank? Could also be dirty gas, water in the fuel?

not around here... it now the next day so im gunna go check to see if it fixed the problem. (cross my fingers)

so what i got from this is if i put like 97 grade gas in my car it will stop all the sqeaking and pings i hear when i floor it ?

I've found that the correct timing at wot is a balancing act between the dizzy and the proper jetting of the carb. This is NOT the PROPER way, but how I always did it was to mash the gas and advance the timing 2 deg at a time till it pinged. Then back off 2-3 degs. Pretty shadetree but I didnt care about the specs, I just set it to what the motor liked. I'm sure I'll get called out on this, but this is my personal experience, this is not meant to be advice.

with carb. cars, the highest octane you can run, (With iron heads) without pinging is around 10.5-1 if you are lucky

I know this is an old post BUT.... you're supposed to pull all the plugs out before doing a compression test

i can see this is going to be a rough crowd....lol