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Rough Running after WOT

M

Misterrobot

Member
The admiral and I were pulling up the anchor on our 1980 42’ Gibson Houseboat Crusaders 270. I said BUMP IT FORWARD and she heard WIDE OPEN. Just kidding but she DID run it WOT in neutral for about 10 seconds. When placed back to idle the engine stalled.

Now the engine runs very rough and the Tach is erratic. Any ideas? See my notes below from before the event.

· Newer Carb
· New cap and rotor
· 5 year old coil
· No mechanical noises
· Petronix greater than 5 years old

Capt Ron
 
I suppose it could be lots of things, but among the most likely would be some kind of valve train damage (valve floated and was bent by a piston). I would start with a compression check. With the tach being erratic it could also be some kind of damage to the ignition system, but I am not sure, with your setup, what that might be. Perhaps others will have a suggestion.
 
Just for fun......... look at a clock that has a second hand on it's face.
Now imagine an engine operating at WOT with no load on it.
Now watch as the second hand passes 10 markings while continuing to imagine the engine at WOT.
That is a loooooong time to be revved up like that.


Take all precautions when doing your forensic work.


I wish you the best, and I hope that you find nothing majorly wrong!



.
 
Not having any maitenance history makes it a tad bit rough....I'm with the 'start with a compression/leakdown test' camp; it will point you in the right direction...
 
Well, for thosethat are interested here is the cause. CARBON TRACKS.. Ya.. NoKidding. This was a new cap, albeit a new one from Sierra. There was a fine carbon ring around theinside of the cap. I cleaned the tracks(which we didn’t see that night) and it purred like a kitten.

Why would it dothis? I dunno. It might be the Accell non-performancecoil is a few thousand volts over original coils. It might be that my engine compartment isvery moist and the inside of the distributor, and not the cap, is dirty. Maybe the timing is so bad that the artsjumps all over the inside of the cap.

OH WELL

Anyways, I cleaned every up under the cap and sprayed with aCRC product called Wire Dryer. I’ll letyou know how it works. I am sure it isnot magic in a can, but we will see.

Thank you guys for replying to my request for help.

HAPPY SAFE BOATING!

Capt Ron
 
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