sbc 400 pain in the side
07-23-2013 | 11:59 AM
#1
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Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 9
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From: south dakota
Car: 1989 PONTIAC FIREBIRD
Engine: SBC 400
Transmission: TH350
sbc 400 pain in the side
ok let me give you some back round on this because i'm not responsible for this nightmare ok I traded I p.o.s. Toyota celica for a 1982 regal had a 3.8L and a 89 firebird with a 400sbc in it he told me he knew nothing about cars and his mechanic uncle told him the motor was locked up and would never run again so he was selling it I knew it was a risk being its a 400 and you can destroy that engine fairly easily but went out on a limb with it because it seemed fishy that his uncle wanted to buy it from him well I got it home put the car away and let the snow fly come spring time again I drug it back out to work on it put a new battery in it and tried starting it and I instantly knew it was the starter so I replaced that and IT CRANKED I was pumped so we stuck some gas down the carb and it started right up so I let it run for like 30 mins then checked the trans fluid and sure enough metal so I said to hell with that and got a used but well takin care of th350 tore the old trans and engine out replaced it well this is where **** gets complicated this motor doesn't even need the car to run its on a separate ignition switch and push button to start the switches wiring goes into the fuse box and the button goes to the starters posts along with the orange and purple wires and the battery cable ive slowly gone through the wiring all seems to be good the way it was before the swap I know im getting fuel for one I can smell it while im trying to start it and I also had to pull the plugs and crank the engine to clear the cyls because I flooded it put them back still wont start any help or suggestions this is my first time taking on a car project of this size so help is so needed lol
07-23-2013 | 12:26 PM
#2
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From: New Boston, IL, USA
Car: '90 Formula 350
Engine: 383 SBC
Transmission: ProBuilt S/S 700-R4 & ACT 9" Stall
Axle/Gears: 10 bolt 3.23
Re: sbc 400 pain in the side
You'll probably get more help if you use punctuation and capitalize words. Most people just skip over posts if they are not.
Original Post (edited so I can read it):
Did you pull the distributor or unbolt the hold down at all when you moved the motor? If so you're timing is probably off now.
Are you getting spark at all? If not check that your distributor has power connections and the coil is hooked up and powered also.
You could have fouled the spark plugs too.
Original Post (edited so I can read it):
Ok, let me give you some back ground on this, because I'm not responsible for this nightmare. Ok, I traded a p.o.s. Toyota Celica for a 1982 Regal which had a 3.8L and a 89 Firebird with a 400 sbc in it. He told me he knew nothing about cars and his mechanic Uncle told him the motor was locked up and would never run again so he was selling it. I knew it was a risk being it's a 400 and you can destroy that engine fairly easily, but went out on a limb with it. It seemed fishy that his Uncle wanted to buy it from him. I got it home put the car away and let the snow fly. Come Spring time again I dragged it back out to work on it. I put a new battery in it and tried starting it. I instantly knew it was the starter so I replaced that and IT CRANKED. I was pumped so we stuck some gas down the carb and it started right up so I let it run for like 30 mins then checked the trans fluid and sure enough metal so I said to hell with that and got a used but well takin care of th350. I tore the old trans and engine out replaced it well this is where **** gets complicated. This motor doesn't even need the car to run its on a separate ignition switch and push button to start the switches wiring goes into the fuse box. The button goes to the starters posts along with the orange and purple wires and the battery cable. I've slowly gone through the wiring all seems to be good the way it was before the swap. I know I'm getting fuel for one I can smell it while I'm trying to start it. I also had to pull the plugs and crank the engine to clear the cyls, because I flooded it. When I put them back in the car still won't start. Any help or suggestions? This is my first time taking on a car project of this size so help is so needed. LOL
Are you getting spark at all? If not check that your distributor has power connections and the coil is hooked up and powered also.
You could have fouled the spark plugs too.
07-23-2013 | 12:33 PM
#3
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Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 9
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From: south dakota
Car: 1989 PONTIAC FIREBIRD
Engine: SBC 400
Transmission: TH350
Re: sbc 400 pain in the side
I didn't mess with the distributor at all so I don't think that's the issue, although I know the white wire under my distributor goes to the tach but im not sure what the red one is for sure but its connected. idk about spark ive never had some one show me how or even tell me. what do you mean fouled? they looked fine when I pulled them.
07-23-2013 | 12:34 PM
#4
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Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 9
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From: south dakota
Car: 1989 PONTIAC FIREBIRD
Engine: SBC 400
Transmission: TH350
Re: sbc 400 pain in the side
sorry about the grammar or punct. To be honest I failed English class ill try but cant make promises lol.
07-23-2013 | 03:21 PM
#5
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Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 9
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From: south dakota
Car: 1989 PONTIAC FIREBIRD
Engine: SBC 400
Transmission: TH350
Re: sbc 400 pain in the side
So i just pulled a plug and held it by and to my alt pulley. i didnt see any spark or electric jump of sorts. So what should i look for now?
07-23-2013 | 03:32 PM
#6
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iTrader: (8)
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 3,204
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From: New Boston, IL, USA
Car: '90 Formula 350
Engine: 383 SBC
Transmission: ProBuilt S/S 700-R4 & ACT 9" Stall
Axle/Gears: 10 bolt 3.23
Re: sbc 400 pain in the side
Could have just put a timing light on the wire too. With the light turned on, hooked up, and crank the motor over it should strobe flash the bulb. That way there is a lot less of a chance of causing a fire. I've heard stories of people burning cars down because fuel came out of the spark plug hole they pulled and went onto other things in the engine bay.
Sounds like you don't have any spark. It's time to get out the multimeter and start checking for 12 volts at the distributor and coil. I would bet you're missing a wire there. If you have power to the distributor it might just be a bad connection on the spark plug wire terminals, but even if you miss-firing multiple ones you should be able to hear it fire on a couple.
Sounds like you don't have any spark. It's time to get out the multimeter and start checking for 12 volts at the distributor and coil. I would bet you're missing a wire there. If you have power to the distributor it might just be a bad connection on the spark plug wire terminals, but even if you miss-firing multiple ones you should be able to hear it fire on a couple.
07-23-2013 | 04:13 PM
#7
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,402
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From: Sussex County, NJ
Car: 1994 Z28
Engine: 355 LT1
Transmission: T56
Axle/Gears: 3.42
Re: sbc 400 pain in the side
Any carbed motor is easy to run outside the vehicle. You need to ground to the block from the battery. Positive side runs to the starter. Make sure the floats are full (check sight screws). RUN POWER AND GROUND TO THE COIL.
If it doesn't start check your timing. If it still doesn't start check your compression.
If it doesn't start check your timing. If it still doesn't start check your compression.
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07-23-2013 | 04:23 PM
#8
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Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 9
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From: south dakota
Car: 1989 PONTIAC FIREBIRD
Engine: SBC 400
Transmission: TH350
Re: sbc 400 pain in the side
Floats? And i know nothing about a dist. or anything. To be completely honest, im still really new to this mechanics thing, ya gotta be a bit more descriptive. But thanx im grateful for any help.
07-23-2013 | 05:32 PM
#9
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From: GO PACK GO
Car: 83Z28 HO
Engine: Magnacharged Dart Little M 408
Transmission: G Force 5 speed
Axle/Gears: Moser 9" w/Detroit Trutrac
Re: sbc 400 pain in the side
Could have just put a timing light on the wire too. With the light turned on, hooked up, and crank the motor over it should strobe flash the bulb. That way there is a lot less of a chance of causing a fire. I've heard stories of people burning cars down because fuel came out of the spark plug hole they pulled and went onto other things in the engine bay.
Sounds like you don't have any spark. It's time to get out the multimeter and start checking for 12 volts at the distributor and coil. I would bet you're missing a wire there. If you have power to the distributor it might just be a bad connection on the spark plug wire terminals, but even if you miss-firing multiple ones you should be able to hear it fire on a couple.
Sounds like you don't have any spark. It's time to get out the multimeter and start checking for 12 volts at the distributor and coil. I would bet you're missing a wire there. If you have power to the distributor it might just be a bad connection on the spark plug wire terminals, but even if you miss-firing multiple ones you should be able to hear it fire on a couple.
worse thing you could do now is fiddle with anything else that doesn't have anything to do with getting a spark to the spark plugs. No spark is the root of your problem. Don't touch the float or anything else on the carb. If you're that certain it's not getting gas, just pour a tiny bit of gas straight down the carb and crank it over...it won't do anything without spark...
With a multimeter, see if you're getting 12 volts to the coil with the ignition switch in the "run" position.
07-23-2013 | 09:35 PM
#10
Supreme Member
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,402
Likes: 3
From: Sussex County, NJ
Car: 1994 Z28
Engine: 355 LT1
Transmission: T56
Axle/Gears: 3.42
Re: sbc 400 pain in the side
I know on an hei distributor you need power and ground to the coil. If either doesn't exist it will not create a spark. The easier way to do this is the b+ you run power from the battery and c- you ground to the negative terminal of the battery. If you still don't have spark something is wrong with the distributor or coil.
07-29-2013 | 05:32 PM
#12
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 714
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From: Pennsylvania
Car: '91 Camaro RS
Engine: Carb'd 383
Transmission: Built T5
Axle/Gears: 3.73 Posi
Re: sbc 400 pain in the side
I don't mean to discourage you, but it sounds like you dont know too much about cars. Get a service manual or use the internet to help you out. We're all here to point you in the right direction but we aren't going to teach you everything about cars.
Floats: the two rectangluar "boxes" on either side of your carburetor, where the gas is stored.
Distributor (assmuing you at least know what it looks like): Distributes voltage to all 8 spark plugs via spark plug wires. The distributor relys on the coil to produce the high voltage which then is ditributed by the distributor. This means that if you don't have 12v going into your coil, you'll never have spark.
Use google, it'll give you a better understanding of what everyone is talking about, that way we can actually get something accomplished here. Good luck with this, we're all here too help.
Floats: the two rectangluar "boxes" on either side of your carburetor, where the gas is stored.
Distributor (assmuing you at least know what it looks like): Distributes voltage to all 8 spark plugs via spark plug wires. The distributor relys on the coil to produce the high voltage which then is ditributed by the distributor. This means that if you don't have 12v going into your coil, you'll never have spark.
Use google, it'll give you a better understanding of what everyone is talking about, that way we can actually get something accomplished here. Good luck with this, we're all here too help.
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