timing

bobsmanstuff

bobsmanstuff

Senior Member
On my 53 239 every now and then when starting you get a water come out of the exhaust. Recently I put new points and plugs in it and now have a slight miss and the moisture that comes out is black. Does it sound like it's to retarded and needs to be advanced? Thanks for any suggestions.
 
the black moister coming out of the exhaust is maybe because you have not run it enough to get the exhaust hot, just starting itinq. the shed is NOT enough,
Lawrie
 
Moisture not an issue on start-up. Just don't rev the engine while its in the garage. Leaves ugly stains on floor and nearby wall. Don't ask how I know.
As suggested drive it to warm it up so that the engine will dry itself out.
Chap
 
chap52 said:
Leaves ugly stains on floor and nearby wall.
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Yeah, I think we all have gotten those black stains. Indicates running overly rich. I push open the choke immediately after firing, keep only the smallest amount of choke it wants to keep running. And every engine's wants are a little different.
 
You should at least have a timing light as part of tool kit. And your timing should be checked after replacing or adjusting the points.
 
the water is most likely condensation and it is probably black, from time to time, due to the carbon in the tailpipe. although, IMO, poor timing could affect the amount of carbon in the tailpipe...
 
I wouldn't worry so much about the black water (which is normal at start-up), but would be concerned about the fact that you "now have a slight miss" that wasn't there before. I'm really quite surprised that none of the responses up to now have even mentioned it. I think it's time to go over the plug and point replacement to find out what has changed. Were the plugs gapped properly? You may want to take them out and check them, as it is not unknown to get a bad plug once in a while. Double check the points gap to make sure it's correct. I bought a used dwell meter off eBay several years ago and found that getting the correct dwell is superior to just setting the gap. Also, how are the plug wires? Are they solid core or maybe some suppression wires somebody installed in the past. If so, just bending the wires installing the new plugs can sometimes "break" the conductivity and cause missing.

Get it running right before you start chasing gremlins.
 
I did take the plugs out and gapped and checked the points. It idles smooth but under a load in the garage it misses.
 
As the temperature cools off it's normal to have water dripping from the exhaust as it warms up but it should not be missing. If it's missing after it warms up, make sure you didn't mix up any plug wires when you gapped the plugs. Make sure the timing is correct. Then pull a plug wire off one at a time with "insulated" pilers and see if the missing gets worse. If one of the wires makes no difference in the rpm then you need to do a compression check on that cylinder, or the plug wire is bad. You could then try switching the wire to a different plug and see if the misfire follows the wire.

I have a Snap-On ignition scope here at the house so I can kill cylinders one at a time and see what effect they have. Without a scope about all you can do is remove a plug wire one at a time and see if it makes a difference to find the faulty cylinder. I was mechanic for 30-years during the end of the points era. Those big giant Sun ignition scopes were the hot ticket, but they take up a lot of room. They are obsolete now, but I bought this one for $100.00 bucks and it woks great. I rarely use it out in the garage. I used to use the one at work just about daily with 400 vehicles in the yard.

Incase it's a fuel problem you can try lightly spraying some carb cleaner in it during the misfire and see if it has any effect. That's one of the ways I use to see if it was an electrical or a fuel misfire. Unlikely its fuel related but every once in a while, I had one with a fuel problem.
 
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Re that "miss" check you plug wiring for tightness. The miss under load suggest something else. Be sure the condenser is good. Wouldn't hurt to put a vacuum gage on it to check for sticky or leaky valves.
 
The moisture in the exhaust is condensation. Someone will correct me, but it is somewhere around 15gal of air that goes into the combustion cycle, for every gal of gas burned. Depending on the % humidity, that could be a lot of water. After a few rusted out mufflers, I started drilling a 1/8" "drain" hole at the lowest point, at each end of the muffler shell. Now I get two black spots on the garage floor. :)
 
51woodie said:
After a few rusted out mufflers, I started drilling a 1/8" "drain" hole at the lowest point, at each end of the muffler shell. Now I get two black spots on the garage floor. :)
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I have done this a few times too. I usually keep a piece of cardboard on the garage floor to catch drips.
'It is NOT leaking, it is marking its territory"
Terry
 
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