74 k10 revive

[spenser21]

so im new here, but im having trouble with my 74 k10. she has a small block in her. when I got her there was water in the tank.so I dropped the drivers side tank, (passenger side gone), cleaned out the tank, added new sender, with fuel hose , and an inline filter up top. after that ive been driving her to and from work but constantly have to "two foot" it to keep her alive. ive changed plugs, wires, and distributor but still nothing better. Ive bought a rebuild kit for the edelbrock 1405 that's on but im not sure if this is the next right step or not.??? my problem is that without feeding it gas, it almost instantly dies at any stop sign or stop light. during idle it sounds super choppy and adjusting the idle only helped so much. so much that idle is ok, until I put her in gear then rpms go from 800 to 550 if she doesn't shut down. any help is appreciated as this is my first truck. thanks

 

[HotRodPC]

If it's running just fine at all times but idle, and you know the initial timing and idle setting is correct, then Carb should have been the first thing to consider as the problem. If it sat for any length of time, it's probably got a dirty, gummed up or blocked idle circuit in one of the carb orifices. If all else has failed, I'd go ahead with the kit and make sure all the orifices are blown out really good.

 

[spenser21]

ya that was my thought. I know it sat for some time, at least a year or two, but I have a feeling that it was sitting even before that, i just cant track it back that far. also i forgot to mention i did a compression test while changing spark plugs and wires. it came out as

1-140
2-140
3-140
4-145
5-135
6-120
7-145
8-145

not sure what exactly is going on there but a valve adjust looks easy enough (youtube) that i thought id give that a shot too.

 

[HotRodPC]

The compression isn't going to affect the idle issue you're having.

Compression doesn't look all that bad. Obviously a little something going on there with #6 but it's still not bad enough to warrant pulling the engine apart. I'd get it idling smoothly and drive like I stole it.

 

[spenser21]

I can sure do that! just from a little reading it sounds like a lot of these have the problem with dropping rpm when putting it in gear? maybe im just seeing a lot because im looking for that problem but is it that common, and is there an easy fix?

 

[HotRodPC]

If they are not tuned right this can happen. Normally you should only get about a 200 rpm drop from Park to R or D.

 

[theblindchicken]

Sounds like the idle may need to be adjusted a little bit higher to keep the fuel pump pulling enough gasoline to keep it running.

 

[spenser21]

sorry it took so long, but for those who are following, the carb rebuild was amazing. surprisingly way easier then I thought. long story short though, shes running like a champ now!!! idle is way better, no more face planting, and she even starts better/faster. Im hoping to start an "under construction" thread as well here real soon. thanks again for all the help!

 

[HotRodPC]

sorry it took so long, but for those who are following, the carb rebuild was amazing. surprisingly way easier then I thought. long story short though, shes running like a champ now!!! idle is way better, no more face planting, and she even starts better/faster. Im hoping to start an "under construction" thread as well here real soon. thanks again for all the help!

I figured as much. Your description had "Bad Carb" issue all over it. Good Job !!! Thanks for the update.