too low of stall speed???

[knightowl73]

350 motor,350 trans, eddy intake and rebuilt carb, mild cam but nothin speacial, just a bit of lump to it. when i come to a stop or im going around corners the truck wants to shut off. i can tap the gas a bit to counter-react to this, and i have the whole time ive had this truck, but i want to fix it. ive tried idling it up a bit, but then it just sits there and tries to lug forward while in gear. Is my factory stall speed too low? Anyone know of this problem?

was the same when i first got the truck running with the quadrajet on it too if that info helps. is this possibly fuel related?

[cableguy0]

Any idea what size the cam is? or what cam is in it? That sure sounds like all the signs and symptoms of a converter with a stall speed to low.

[knightowl73]

dont know much about the cam, was in the truck when i bought it. the old man i got the truck from did say it was a erson cam, and it is just a lil lumpy, moreso when its ice cold, it smooths out a bit once it warms up but not much. 350 trans is all original, no shift kit or nothing.

[Restrorob]

Think I'd be looking for a vacuum leak (hoses/intake etc.) .......

[knightowl73]

i didnt find any leaks, checked the vacuum hoses and sprayed wd40 around my intake and carb and nothing changed there.

[gchemist]

What is your timing set at? Do know how to use a vacuum gauge to tune a carb?

[knightowl73]

timing is dead at 8 degrees. vac guage read at about 17 at highest point and i set it to that, although the needle was shaky a bit, but so is the idle lol so i figured that was fine. have tweaked the carb screws carefully as instructions from another post suggested at least 3x and still get this though

[swb85]

Did you check the float levels in the carb? Even brand new out of the box, every edelbrock carb I've ever seen needed the floats adjusted. Also, they are very picky about fuel pressure.....too much and you'll blow past the needle/seat. Should have no more than 6psi fuel pressure.

Other than that, what rpm does the truck idle cleanly at in park/neutral? Could be pulling against the converter if you're idling pretty high.

[knightowl73]

a buddy helped me rebuild the carb, i do remember him saying something about them and bending the floats or something till they were both the same height i assume, so im pretty sure they are right.

never thought about the fuel pressure much, figured a stock pump just wouldnt put out more than required. maybe i should find a cheap adjustable pressure regulator?

dont have a tach to know exactly, but ive played with the idle. it sounds about right as far as in park not being too high and in gear not falling dead. i have went up with it a tad, but putting it into gear is like BANG! then, its just too high, so i idled it back down and ive been driving it this way ever since, lugging and sometimes even falling dead, but like i said, i gas it a bit and i stays alive through it. hard to drive with the radio up tho thru town.

adjusting the floats, would they need to go up or down if i had to move them myself? i really know nothing about this part.

[68Timber]

Originally Posted by knightowl73

a buddy helped me rebuild the carb, i do remember him saying something about them and bending the floats or something till they were both the same height i assume, so im pretty sure they are right.

never thought about the fuel pressure much, figured a stock pump just wouldnt put out more than required. maybe i should find a cheap adjustable pressure regulator?

dont have a tach to know exactly, but ive played with the idle. it sounds about right as far as in park not being too high and in gear not falling dead. i have went up with it a tad, but putting it into gear is like BANG! then, its just too high, so i idled it back down and ive been driving it this way ever since, lugging and sometimes even falling dead, but like i said, i gas it a bit and i stays alive through it. hard to drive with the radio up tho thru town.

adjusting the floats, would they need to go up or down if i had to move them myself? i really know nothing about this part.

Sounds like your bud knew how to set the float level, that should be good. A stock fuel pump will feed an Edelbrock carb fine, what those carbs don't like is too much fuel pressure. All I can add is initial timing seems a little low, it'd probably like more.

[knightowl73]

are you saying to bump it to say ten and see? ive bumped it up before in the past and ran it for a few weeks and changed it back once i put the vac gauge back on it. at 8 it seems to have the most vacuum, or does this not mean anything due to this not having a stock camshaft? ive always set timing at 8 unless the vac guage read better someplace else. am i missing something?

also i just came from a friends house now, and im really low on gas, really about to run out, no biggie, gas station is right at the corner of the house, but it didnt seem to do any o this. if low fuel level produces a lower fuel pressure then i think i might be onto somethn by putting in one of those regulators huh?

[68Timber]

No, I'm thinking out loud and I am not a professional engine tuner and only have a little bit of experience to go on. With an aftermarket cam, intake, and carb the engine would (should?) run better with more initial timing. Something in the 10 to 14 degree range.

Being low on gas does not change your fuel pressure - the fuel pump puts out the same psi of pressure no matter how much gas is in the tank as long as it is drawing fuel and not sucking air. A fuel pressure regulator won't help a stock fuel pump - they are designed to take high fuel pressure and change it to a lower specific output. They don't take low fuel pressure and increase it to a higher specific output.

I may be all wrong here, but that's the way I was given to understand fuel pressure regulators.

[motornut]

may wana double check intake for vac leaks

[Restrorob]

Originally Posted by motornut

may wana double check intake for vac leaks

I'm still on a vac leak as well, A intake can leak on the inside as well which would show nothing spraying the outside. Also check the trans modulator and hose if equipped.....

[MTCK]

That is quite a bit of vacuum for a big cam. I would play with your timing, idle mixture and float level before tearing into the tranny. Sounds more like a tune than stall issue. Am I reading your signature correctly that you have 2.56 axle gears? That could be contributing to your heartburn as well.

[knightowl73]

yes i was figuring the gears might be hurting as well, im i do have 2.56 gears out back and 255/70-15's out back which i know are pretty tall.

but i was running a 4.10 rear whe i first started driving it, and it the quadrajet on it needed a rebuild, would barely run at all. i tinkered with that carb and got it to run decent, but soon after changed rears and the carb to the eddy one.

ive actually noticed that when, say slowing to turn a corner, the rans does kickdown to second, but ive had better luck manually shifting it down all the way to first. seems to need it with the gear ratio i have now. and i dont get the stalling if i do this.

[3r!c84]

get the timming 10-14 and see how it runs.

[knightowl73]

yeah ill try that within the next few days. have to get another timing light or borrow one, mine doesnt work anymore