Got my new starter installed last night and the GT6 fired up quick as a
bunny. I felt great, got up early to drive the new chariot to work, what
with its working speedo and heater, and so on. Aah, all felt great.
Then, when I got off the freeway to get to the office, I noticed a miss in
the engine. In the past the #6 plug has fouled, so I assumed that was the
problem. Then, I realized I was running on about three cylinders, and could
barely creep up a hill. Then, all of a sudden, all but one came back. During
this time I had some terrible backfiring through the carbs and exhaust.
When I got to work, I pulled plug #6 and it WAS fouled. I cleaned it up.
Nothing. I swapped it with a working plug. Nothing. Each time I tested it
by pulling the plug wires to see which one was missing. Always #6.
I swapped a wire between #5 and #6. Still #6 was missing. It's getting spark.
I'm getting depressed.
I finally took off the rocker cover. The back valve (is that intake or
exhaust?) was real tight. I adjusted it looser. But I don't think that was
the problem. I put it all back together, and there's still something wrong.
I guess tonight I need to adjust all the valves correctly and do a
compression test. It looks like there may be more to do than I really
wanted to do right now...
So, the symptoms are:
#6 plug black and fouled. Others are tan-gray. #6 cylinder not firing.
Is it a valve or piston? Is there any way to guess without disassembling
the engine?
I guess it really doesn't matter. If I can't get it running right by
adjusting stuff and a compression check looks bad, I'll pull the head
this weekend.
Just when things were looking good...
Mournfully,
Larry
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