Kats 72 monte Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Hello everyone. I was hoping to get some opinions...I know some about cars but not a lot. Last weekend I took my Monte out for a drive and it drove funny. Starting from a stop position pressing the foot feed - my car shuttered. But - when I got to a steady speed not pushing on the foot feed to get more speed the car drove fine. I have a feeling its the tranny.....am I right or would this be a rear end problem? Don't think it could be an engine problem it runs good except the driving part. I had the u-joints fixed on the drive shaft so I really don't think its that. I am hoping that I am wrong and its not nothing....but by the shutter I have a feeling its a big something. If any of you are from Iowa if you could recommend a good reputable mechanic I would so appreciate it - little picky about who touches my car. I used to have my Dad help me but he's not able to anymore. If you can give me any suggestions I would appreciate it. Thank you everyone. Katrina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overdrive Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 You should check the transmission fluid level. Where in Iowa? Dan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Peters Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Possibly bad vacuum line to the distributor spark advance/retard. Sounds like spark may always be advanced and that is why it runs ok at a higher speed. It needs to retard more at lower. Not sure if that is what is going on but it may be one of the possibilities. Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemalibu Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Kat, did you have the u-joints replaced a very short time before you began to feel the vibration during acceleration? If so, I would suspect that they did not index the joints correctly, or that a needle bearing laid down inside the cap during install. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kats 72 monte Posted April 10, 2015 Author Share Posted April 10, 2015 Thank you everyone for your advise. I have checked the tranny fluid - looks good. Distributor........I got rid of that and the points - it has an HEI now. Does that still have a vacuum one it?? I don't think it does but could be wrong. U-joints were replaced about 2 or 3 years ago. I did put a new vacuum hose on it from the vapor canister to the carb. I live in Southwest Iowa.....I can't find anyone to work on it because it doesn't have a computer. Can you believe that??? Maybe I need to try a race shop to see if they would work on it. Thanks everyone for your help!Katrina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpoz20 Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Yes, the HEI definitely DOES need vacuum to it in order to work properly... There should be line from the carb to a little bell-like thing next to the distributor cap. That is the vacuum advance unit and adjusts the timing as you are driving. Make sure it is connected and the hose is not cracked/frayed, etc... Is there any noise that accompanies the shuddering that you are feeling? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stangeba Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 My first thought was a basic problem like a fouled / bad spark plug, bad spark plug wire or carbon track inside the dist cap. I always enjoyed starting a car, with a miss, at night in the dark, spraying a light mist of water all over the spark plug wires and cap then start up the engine and brake-torque the engine and watch the sparks fly! You will need a second person. The other thing I saw one time was a missing engine cooling fan blade that caused a vibration. Probably not your problem here. Bruce 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stangeba Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 My brother in-law, a retired Chevy power-train engineer, wrote this article about vacuum advance for our customers, that may be of interest to you. VACUUM ADVANCE AND WHY YOU WANT IT FOR YOUR CAR An often-asked question from many callers relates to whether they really need a vacuum advance mechanism on their distributor. I think this question stems from their observation that many “high performance” distributors do not incorporate vacuum advance and the resulting implication is that it is not desirable or necessary for a “good” ignition. There are a handful of applications where vacuum advance is not of significant benefit: 1) Pure racing engines 2) Severe duty very large trucks 3) Constant speed and load applications (airplanes, generators, pumps) Other than the above, for normal automotive applications the vacuum advance will benefit the engine as follows. 1) Improved idle cooling 2) Improved idle quality 3) Improved fuel economy 4) Improved throttle response 5) Improved drivability 6) Enables improved spark knock control under full throttle accelerations 7) Enables leaner fuel jetting at light load to further improve fuel economy. The basic reason for all these improvements is that the vacuum advance mechanism allows the distributor to supply a more optimum spark timing proportional to the load and speed output. Without the vacuum advance the distributor can only vary spark timing in proportion to speed and ignores its need for approximately 20 additional degrees of spark timing (“advance”) at light loads: (idle and cruise conditions) The basic reason for the change in optimum timing at light loads is that when operating at light loads, the mixture is leaner for fuel economy and less dense because of light load. These conditions cause the charge to burn slower, and thus, to reach peak pressure at optimum point in the cycle, the spark must be initiated earlier. Failure to do this will result in “retarded” spark timing and all the aforementioned losses. All engines are different, and have different spark timing requirements, but they are all the same in that as load is decreased, additional spark timing is required for optimum combustion. Do yourself a favor – 1) make sure your distributor has a vacuum spark system and 2) experiment to find out what your engine “likes” for timing at idle, light load, and heavy load. Then change the vacuum can to achieve a result closer to the optimum. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam (Bones) Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 there are many possibilites here, where do you start? my first thought was the accellerator pump in the carb 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kats 72 monte Posted April 17, 2015 Author Share Posted April 17, 2015 Thank you everyone for your help. I will see if I can locate those suggestions. I put the HEI on because the distributor cap kept getting condensation built up and well I don't have to tell all of you - it wouldn't start. I replaced the distributor cap many many times and finally went to the HEI so it would start each time. Being a single woman - its a little hard to figure out whats up with it when it won't start when I am long way from home. I don't mind the in town but makes me nervous out on the road. No there isn't any noise with it when it shutters. Just shakes a little when you are accelerating - steady its perfect he just floats down the road. I will see if I can locate those suggestions. I will keep everyone posted! Thanks again - I appreciate everyone's help!!!! Katrina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kats 72 monte Posted April 17, 2015 Author Share Posted April 17, 2015 Ohhhhhhh - the carb is very very picky!!!!!! I do not mess with it unless I have to. My Dad fixed it the last time and I won't mess with it. It still has the original carb on it. Thanks again! Katrina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70bowtie Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 When the HEI distributor was installed did you run a new wire (12 gauge) to the distributor BAT connection from a 12 volt dedicated source like from the fuse panel, because if the HEI is being supplied power from the old resistance wire that was used on the points distributor you would have problems. Leo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryl Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 Katrina I live in Iowa too. I might be able to help if your close. PM me if insterested 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikstudie Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 Sounds like a drive train problem to me. U-Joints, check them real good. Sometimes a visual inspection is not good enough... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stangeba Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 If you start the car, warm it up then put it into drive (with nothing if front of the car) with your left foot firmly on the brake, push on the gas (a fair amount, but not to the floor) and see if it shudders. If it does, since your not moving, I would look for a miss in the engine caused by a bad spark plug, spark plug wire or distributor cap problem. If the plugs are ever all removed at some point, I would then run a compression test to check the valves. Good luck and let us know what it is. Bruce 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kats 72 monte Posted April 27, 2015 Author Share Posted April 27, 2015 Thank you everyone. Daryl - I live in Glenwood. Where are you from? Leo - I am not sure I had a mechanic put the HEI in. The car run good up until November of last year when I parked it for winter. LOL - I had to read your post again Bruce......I was thinking you wanted me to do a burn out - hehe. I was gonna say nooooo I have never tried that. But I will see what it does when I do that. Do you think it could be bad gas? I was naughty and had gas in it all winter. I like to go out and start it every weekend just to make sure everything is still good. I do admit - when I parked it last winter I wasn't faithful with starting it every weekend. When I took it out for the first drive it still had a half a tank of gas and then I topped it off before I went out for a cruise. Let me know what you think. Thank you Katrina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryl Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 I see your at the other end of the state. I live in North Central iowa looks to be about 4 hours apart. As to the bad gas that could be it. Gas sitting al winter will have degrading from its original qualities. I have also seen cars sit longer than that and run with no issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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