I tried to send this up a week or so back but I think my alternate
address might have screwed things up...please forgive me if this
has already been posted.
I had an odd thing happen to my '74 Spit the other night. I was
fumbling around trying to solder a pinhole leak in my radiator tank.
This operation wasn't going very smoothly and as time went on I found
myself sort of leaning on top of the engine to steady my hand holding
this big, ugly electric soldering iron I'd borrowed from work. Very
hot, very awkward...
Anyway...went I'd finished I decided to take the car for a well
deserved "test run" into town. It was in the 90's earlier in the day
and taking a 10pm top down cruise would be just the ticket.
Unfortunately, the car ran like hell. It stalled at every light, it
backfired coasting down hills...the car had always run so well before
that I couldn't imagine what was wrong.
I limped back home and decided wait until tomorrow morning to
investigate. Drifting off to sleep I was going down a checklist of
the things I probably knocked off the engine while leaning on it.
It turned out to be....the PCV hose. That is...the largish hose going
from the carb to the valve cover. I *think* this is the PCV
hose...right? Popped it back on and the car runs just fine.
What's bothering me about this is that I can't remember this
connection being so critical to the decent running running of
any other car I've owned. I realize that I created a vacuum leak
here, but somehow I always thought of the PCV connection point
and being a somewhat...uh..."harmless" air intake port.
An I making any sense here? :-)
Anyway...I guess I feel I now need to replace this neglected,
oil-rotted piece of rubber with something more fitting to its position
of importance....perhaps adding clamps even. <g>
Tom O'Malley
'74, '77 Spits
|