76 Wagoneer - fouls plugs _often_

[Marc]

Hello all,

I have a 76 Wagoneer that fouls plugs every 2-3 months. As soon as I change
them, it runs like a champ for6 weeks, then slowly goes down hill over the
next 6-8 weeks.

I thought I had a carb problems (still might), so I replaced it last summer.
This time it ran great for 3 months, then started running poorly. I've got
a 4BBL carb, and I suspect that my secondary openers are catching on the
base. Would this cause my plugs to foul?

In general, does anyone have an idea what might cause this problem?

Help!
Marcus

[Drifter]

On Tue, 8 Mar 2005 19:58:00 -0800, "Marc" <dadof...@charter.net>
wrote:

I would check EVERYTHING for a vac leak and go from there.

Drifter
"I've been here, I've been there..."

[Tom H.]

Is the fouling black and dry (powdery) or black and oily? If the deposit is
powdery then I would look for ignition and carb/intake problems. If oily
then I would suspect rings and valve guide seals.

Tom
"Drifter" <zesp...@askme.com> wrote in message
news:2fts219choh4bb5dh...@4ax.com...

[Marc]

Black and dry. What kinds of ignition or carb/intake problems should I be
looking for?

Marcus

"Tom H." <tom_r...@att.nospam*.net> wrote in message
news:DHFXd.118333$Th1....@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...

[bowgus]

My understanding ... dry and black ... mixture too rich or plug too cold.
And my understanding, as an engine gets older (not that yours is old) a
hotter plug can help to burn off any oil leaking by the rings.

"Marc" <dadof...@charter.net> wrote in message
news:91EYd.3546$377...@fe03.lga...

[Tom H.]

How much can you adjust the mixture on the carb? It could be set too rich.
Generally you can adjust idle richness with a screw, while mid-throttle
adjustments are made by changing jets. Smog regulations that started in the
'70s put limitations on how much adjustment a person could make to idle
mixture. Is the choke opening up properly? When hot, the choke blades
should be vertical (on a downdraft carb).

I am not sure if ignition timing would produce your problem without
something else being more noticeable.

I don't know for sure what a clogged PCV valve would do, but it is routine
maintenance to check or clean or replace them.

Tom

"Marc" <dadof...@charter.net> wrote in message
news:91EYd.3546$377...@fe03.lga...

[bowgus]

Disclaimer: I used to do my own work, that was a long time ago :-) If it was
me, I'd do a compression test for valves (dry), rings (squirt some oil in
the cylinders). My guess ... valves are the cause of the incomplete
combustion ... relatively painless/inexpensive to fix ... I'd pull the head,
drop it off at the local machine shop for a valve job. If it's not the
valves but the rings I myself would forget it (I never was up to
rebuilding/paying someone to rebuild a motor that's that old) and just keep
getting by as you're doing (new plugs every coupla months). I'd maybe put in
thicker oil (#80 gear oil ... just kidding) and hotter plugs. What you might
try, is go buy one hotter plug, install it, and see how it compares to the
others after say a week or so ... maybe it'll be a nice light brown in which
case go buy a few more :-).

"bowgus" <bow...@rogers.com> wrote in message
news:1MOdnYOYGOW...@rogers.com...

[Tom H.]

I concur with "bowgus" that a compression test makes a lot of sense. If you
go to hotter plugs, just don't go so hot you get ping (pre-ignition), which
I think is the sign you have gone too hot on the plug, but if the plug color
is brown like bowgus mentions, that is a sign you are not too hot--- too hot
would be white.

Tom

"bowgus" <bow...@rogers.com> wrote in message

news:-Nmdnb9pnKh...@rogers.com...

[Marc]

Tom/Bowgus,

Thanks for the advice. Bought new plugs tonight, but as it was before I
read this, I just bought the cheapest Champions I could find. I'll see if
it fires up tomorrow, and runs for a bit.

I'll do a compression test, and see how it comes out. I'm still concerned
that I might not have the correct adapter going between the carb and
manifold, and my secondaries on the carb aren't opening completely.
Hopefully I can figure this out soon, and get her running regular.

I'll respond back to the group about how things turn out. Thanks!
Marcus

"Tom H." <tom_r...@att.nospam*.net> wrote in message

news:9OoZd.388498$w62.1...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...