My Suburban died last night! - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

skyhawk1 · 05-03-2003, 06:42 AM

Coming home from Beckley, WV last night the burb was missing a little (been missing for a few days). It just died while cruising along at about 60 mph. Smelled gas strong when I got it stopped beside the road (it's really hard to stop it when it's not running). Anyway, I thought it was carburator problem because I just installed a rebuilt Quadrajet from Advance about a week ago. So I called home and my sons girlfriend came to pick up my son and me up. We took the Edelbrock that I took off back up and put it on and still nothing. We decided it may be the coil so we went back home and took the coil off my 71 and tried that. Still would'nt hit. Anybody have a clue? Someone told me that my cam lobes may be totally worn off. The burb has the original 350 with 122K miles. It's been running great. Any help would be appreciated.

pierce · 05-03-2003, 08:03 AM

Are you running the original points distributer? My truck just quit after running fine and it turned out to be the points.

MOTHERTRUCKERS · 05-03-2003, 08:13 AM

We had a customers truck do just what you said and it turned out to be a wire shorting out in the distributer itself, he would hit a bump and the motor would shut off.

*racedvl* · 05-03-2003, 08:14 AM

Swap the whole dizzy. I bet the something in there went south on ya. I had a problem when my truck just stopped. Swapped dizzys and took the old one apart. A wire had broken off the pick-up coil.

skyhawk1 · 05-03-2003, 10:37 AM

I installed a new Accell HEI distributor about 2 months ago. I'm here waiting on the tow truck guy to bring it home right now. He says it sounds like it may have jumped time. I'm going to check that first.

No3Fan4Ever · 05-03-2003, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by skyhawk1
Smelled gas strong when I got it stopped beside the road [/B]

Just to be safe, check the fuel pump

bpmcgee · 05-03-2003, 02:01 PM

You know, I had just exactly the same thing happen to me -- I was driving and all of a sudden it started missing and I smelled gas. I pulled up to a stop sign and it died -- no restart.

I replaced the fuel pump and I've been running fine ever since.

Brian

skyhawk1 · 05-03-2003, 06:22 PM

I've worked on the burb all day and still no luck. Replaced all 8 plugs, switched carburators, put in a new coil, and new distributor. Sometimes I've got spark and sometimes no fire. I'm totally stumped!

Class of 69 · 05-03-2003, 07:06 PM

It seems to me, with everything you've replaced and the intermittent spark, that it's not in the ignition. You need to go back farther in the wiring system to find a short, or broken wire in the power supply to the HEI circuit. Shift your focus away from the motor for now, and look for anything suspicious in the wiring harness. Green corrosion, dark, or black spots from overheating of the insulation etc.

Hutch · 05-03-2003, 08:10 PM

I would check the fuel pump first.
Then the spark.
If fuel pump is bad you can spray a small amout of starter fluid in the carb for a test.
But stand back away from the engine compartment when trying this test.
Let us know what it turns out to be for future reference.

Have fun

skyhawk1 · 05-03-2003, 08:58 PM

I just got it running but not too good. I replaced the rotor button and it fired up! However, it was missing and ideling rough. I set the timing with a timing light at 8 degrees before top dead center and it seemed to smooth out. I then held the throttle at about 3000 RPM and it ran real rough again, but if I disconnected the vacuum advance hose it would smooth out again. So I plugged the vacuum advance port on the carb and went for a test run and I felt like it was hitting on about 6 cylinders. So I just came home and parked it (I'm tired of fooling with it now) Maybe I'll try again tomorrow or maybe I'll just order a nice crate motor at Advance! I feel it's got something to do with the timing or maybe the cam is worn out or timing chain gears. I would appreciate any advice. Thanks, skyhawk1. Oh by the way, I was supposed to be in Pigeon Forge tonite, I guess that's why this is so fustrating.

MOTHERTRUCKERS · 05-03-2003, 09:05 PM

Run a wire from your positive battery post to the hei and see what happens, if it starts and runs start chasing wires back through the firewall to the ignition until you find the grounded out wire. Also on an hei system the wire from the ignition out needs to be at least 10 gauge when you convert from points or it will overheat and fry the module over time. In my opinion Accell parts are not worth the money you spent on them but it's only my opinion.

spinning wheels · 05-04-2003, 12:59 AM

If its not firing on all cylinders, check for a broken distributor cap. Sometimes the HEI caps get a hairline fracture and thats all it takes to make them run like chit. Also, start it up at night, sometimes you can see if you have bad plug wires that may be arching on something like exhaust manifolds. My truck started running like chit, turned out to be a plug wire got burned on the exhaust manifold. Replaced it, and she was back in business.

skyhawk1 · 05-16-2003, 06:23 AM

Well after about 3 weeks of trying everything, and nearly loosing a finger I got the Suburban running again. First let me give you some medical advice. I cut my finger on the flex fan right off the bat. It wasn't very deep, so I didn't go to the doctor. Just duct taped it up and kept working. That was on Monday. I had a pair of those mechanic gloves so I wore them most of the rest of the day. By Tuesday evening my finger swelled up and I couldn't bend it. Went to the dr. Wed. morning and he gave me a prescription for an antibotic. By Friday, it was worse. Went to another doctor and he sent me for an xray and MRI. Dr. said I may loose the finger because the infection looks like it's spread into the bone. He put me on a stronger antibotic and I have another appointment Mon. (Still not out of the woods yet) Anyway, the moral of the story: don't play around with cuts, no matter how small. It got infected by putting on those nasty gloves that I had been bleeding in on and off for 2 days. Anyway, the problem with the Suburban was the HEI distributor. I took the stock GM distributor out of a 79 Burb that I have and put it in and it runs perfect. I went through 3 distributors from Advance before finding out they were all junk! One guy at Advance told me that they were junk and he goes to NAPA for his parts.

**Yukon Jack** · 05-16-2003, 09:16 AM

Yikes about the finger! About your distributor, I bought an Accel for the 454 and after enough people sad bad things about their reliability, I returned it unused for an MSD.

pierce · 05-16-2003, 09:28 AM

What happened to quality control? My brand new HEI Accel had a bad diode right out of the box. That was the first time trying to fire up a rebuilt motor.
Get well wishes for your finger also!

05-03-2003, 06:42 AM	#1
skyhawk1 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Oceana WV USA Posts: 184	My Suburban died last night! Coming home from Beckley, WV last night the burb was missing a little (been missing for a few days). It just died while cruising along at about 60 mph. Smelled gas strong when I got it stopped beside the road (it's really hard to stop it when it's not running). Anyway, I thought it was carburator problem because I just installed a rebuilt Quadrajet from Advance about a week ago. So I called home and my sons girlfriend came to pick up my son and me up. We took the Edelbrock that I took off back up and put it on and still nothing. We decided it may be the coil so we went back home and took the coil off my 71 and tried that. Still would'nt hit. Anybody have a clue? Someone told me that my cam lobes may be totally worn off. The burb has the original 350 with 122K miles. It's been running great. Any help would be appreciated. __________________ "The World's a Mess"! 71 C-10 72 Suburban 2WD Oceana, West Virginia

05-03-2003, 08:03 AM	#2
pierce Registered User Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Cincinnati,OH,USA Posts: 464	Are you running the original points distributer? My truck just quit after running fine and it turned out to be the points. __________________ 69 GMC 1 Ton Longhorn 37 Chevy Coupe

05-03-2003, 08:13 AM	#3
MOTHERTRUCKERS Registered User Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: BRADENTON FLA Posts: 3,269	We had a customers truck do just what you said and it turned out to be a wire shorting out in the distributer itself, he would hit a bump and the motor would shut off. __________________ Rest in Peace Ed. Thanks for all the good times.

05-03-2003, 10:37 AM	#5
skyhawk1 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Oceana WV USA Posts: 184	I installed a new Accell HEI distributor about 2 months ago. I'm here waiting on the tow truck guy to bring it home right now. He says it sounds like it may have jumped time. I'm going to check that first. __________________ "The World's a Mess"! 71 C-10 72 Suburban 2WD Oceana, West Virginia

05-03-2003, 06:22 PM	#8
skyhawk1 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Oceana WV USA Posts: 184	I've worked on the burb all day and still no luck. Replaced all 8 plugs, switched carburators, put in a new coil, and new distributor. Sometimes I've got spark and sometimes no fire. I'm totally stumped! __________________ "The World's a Mess"! 71 C-10 72 Suburban 2WD Oceana, West Virginia

05-03-2003, 08:14 AM	#4
racedvl Account Suspended Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Woodstock, IL Posts: 7,020	Swap the whole dizzy. I bet the something in there went south on ya. I had a problem when my truck just stopped. Swapped dizzys and took the old one apart. A wire had broken off the pick-up coil.

05-03-2003, 02:01 PM	#7
bpmcgee Registered User Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Northern Illinois Posts: 2,181	You know, I had just exactly the same thing happen to me -- I was driving and all of a sudden it started missing and I smelled gas. I pulled up to a stop sign and it died -- no restart. I replaced the fuel pump and I've been running fine ever since. Brian

05-03-2003, 07:06 PM	#9
Class of 69 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Stillwater MN Posts: 1,166	It seems to me, with everything you've replaced and the intermittent spark, that it's not in the ignition. You need to go back farther in the wiring system to find a short, or broken wire in the power supply to the HEI circuit. Shift your focus away from the motor for now, and look for anything suspicious in the wiring harness. Green corrosion, dark, or black spots from overheating of the insulation etc. __________________ 69 GMC K10 ..some restoration required....still..

05-03-2003, 08:10 PM	#10
Hutch Registered User Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Grapevine, Tx. Posts: 2,142	I would check the fuel pump first. Then the spark. If fuel pump is bad you can spray a small amout of starter fluid in the carb for a test. But stand back away from the engine compartment when trying this test. Let us know what it turns out to be for future reference. Have fun __________________ John Hutchison Grapevine,Texas 68 1/2 t swb 68 Mustang 69 Jaguar 71 1/2 t swb 88 Supra CompTs6m 93 Escort GT 2005 Corolla XRS

05-03-2003, 08:58 PM	#11
skyhawk1 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Oceana WV USA Posts: 184	I just got it running but not too good. I replaced the rotor button and it fired up! However, it was missing and ideling rough. I set the timing with a timing light at 8 degrees before top dead center and it seemed to smooth out. I then held the throttle at about 3000 RPM and it ran real rough again, but if I disconnected the vacuum advance hose it would smooth out again. So I plugged the vacuum advance port on the carb and went for a test run and I felt like it was hitting on about 6 cylinders. So I just came home and parked it (I'm tired of fooling with it now) Maybe I'll try again tomorrow or maybe I'll just order a nice crate motor at Advance! I feel it's got something to do with the timing or maybe the cam is worn out or timing chain gears. I would appreciate any advice. Thanks, skyhawk1. Oh by the way, I was supposed to be in Pigeon Forge tonite, I guess that's why this is so fustrating. __________________ "The World's a Mess"! 71 C-10 72 Suburban 2WD Oceana, West Virginia

05-03-2003, 09:05 PM	#12
MOTHERTRUCKERS Registered User Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: BRADENTON FLA Posts: 3,269	Run a wire from your positive battery post to the hei and see what happens, if it starts and runs start chasing wires back through the firewall to the ignition until you find the grounded out wire. Also on an hei system the wire from the ignition out needs to be at least 10 gauge when you convert from points or it will overheat and fry the module over time. In my opinion Accell parts are not worth the money you spent on them but it's only my opinion. __________________ Rest in Peace Ed. Thanks for all the good times.

05-04-2003, 12:59 AM	#13
spinning wheels Registered User Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Hacienda Heights, California USA Posts: 474	If its not firing on all cylinders, check for a broken distributor cap. Sometimes the HEI caps get a hairline fracture and thats all it takes to make them run like chit. Also, start it up at night, sometimes you can see if you have bad plug wires that may be arching on something like exhaust manifolds. My truck started running like chit, turned out to be a plug wire got burned on the exhaust manifold. Replaced it, and she was back in business. __________________ '72 GMC custom camper 350/350

05-16-2003, 06:23 AM	#14
skyhawk1 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Oceana WV USA Posts: 184	Well after about 3 weeks of trying everything, and nearly loosing a finger I got the Suburban running again. First let me give you some medical advice. I cut my finger on the flex fan right off the bat. It wasn't very deep, so I didn't go to the doctor. Just duct taped it up and kept working. That was on Monday. I had a pair of those mechanic gloves so I wore them most of the rest of the day. By Tuesday evening my finger swelled up and I couldn't bend it. Went to the dr. Wed. morning and he gave me a prescription for an antibotic. By Friday, it was worse. Went to another doctor and he sent me for an xray and MRI. Dr. said I may loose the finger because the infection looks like it's spread into the bone. He put me on a stronger antibotic and I have another appointment Mon. (Still not out of the woods yet) Anyway, the moral of the story: don't play around with cuts, no matter how small. It got infected by putting on those nasty gloves that I had been bleeding in on and off for 2 days. Anyway, the problem with the Suburban was the HEI distributor. I took the stock GM distributor out of a 79 Burb that I have and put it in and it runs perfect. I went through 3 distributors from Advance before finding out they were all junk! One guy at Advance told me that they were junk and he goes to NAPA for his parts. __________________ "The World's a Mess"! 71 C-10 72 Suburban 2WD Oceana, West Virginia

05-16-2003, 09:16 AM	#15
Yukon Jack Post Whore Join Date: Feb 2000 Location: Rose Hill, KS, USA Posts: 12,689	Yikes about the finger! About your distributor, I bought an Accel for the 454 and after enough people sad bad things about their reliability, I returned it unused for an MSD. __________________ 1970 Blazer with a 400 sbc and 4" lift 1980 Pontiac Trans Am, 455 Oldsmobile 2012 Kawasaki Concours 14

05-16-2003, 09:28 AM	#16
pierce Registered User Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Cincinnati,OH,USA Posts: 464	What happened to quality control? My brand new HEI Accel had a bad diode right out of the box. That was the first time trying to fire up a rebuilt motor. Get well wishes for your finger also! __________________ 69 GMC 1 Ton Longhorn 37 Chevy Coupe



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