Subject: LRO: Re: Stalling/Rough Idling SIII

From: "Andre L. Shoumatoff" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 7 May 2001 09:54:16 -0400 (EDT)

> The only incorrect item on it is a Solex carb without emission control
> rather than the Zenith unit.
> When it starts, it puts out a white puff of smoke.  This always happens,
> when starting cold or warm.   It did this before the new head gasket was
> installed.
> Also it is now idling idling roughly and sometimes stalls at idle.  It
> seems to "pop-pop-pop" like an old 2 cycle Saab, but does not backfire,
> when going down hills in gear.  It doesn't burn oil.
> Ideas?  Thanks!
> Kurt

Hello Kurt,
As per some dead-on advice I received once when I had the same problem
and had the exact same symtoms, I'd look around your exaust manifold for
loose bolts or a leak somewhere in the connection to the head.  It could
also, secondly, be a poor connection between the exaust pipe and manifold
where they meet at the bottom of the  manifold.  Those bolts could simply
be not tightened enough.  You should see some slighly black buildup there
though, and/or can put your hand around the pipe when the engine and pipe
are completely cold.

Though I never had to replace my manifold, I was told it is real common
for the main nuts which connect the manifold to the head to come loose.
But I'd speculate given how recently it has been replaced it is probably
not the problem.  I was also told the Series III gaskets were somewhat
prone to leaking versus the IIA one-piece gaskets, and finally the
manifold could have simply arrived warped from wherever you got it from,
but that is the worst case scenario that is least probable.

So, start with the water trick.  Remember to MAKE SURE the engine is cold
when you do it, otherwise you could crack the manifold.  Pour a little
cold water around the connection between manifold and engine.  Start her
up, and look for bubbles.  In my situation it turned out to be the
connection between the exaust and manifold, and my symtoms were
identical.  Make sure you also don't put too many miles (hundreds to
thousands) with it like this otherwise you could crack the manifold and
possibly hurt the valves.

Andre