Hopefully you have it fixed. I like the big thumbs up.

Still something odd going on.
Changed plugs and pulled the distributor for inspection.
The all aluminium distributor's gear was near perfect (which is good).
The terminals inside the cap were severly corroded and covered in green crap. The centre contact was badly worn and the point of contact where the rotor meets the cap contact was badly worn (metal tab on the rotor).
I had a spare OEM distributor (plastic) which I decided to install temporarily (I'll go back to the aluminium unit).
When I stabbed the distributor in what I thought was correctly (took pic’s of the original distributor before removal….installed the new one in exactly the same position)….the truck wouldn’t start. It just fluffed and farted and carried on….and sounded like it was getting pre-ignition.
So…..I decided to move it a tooth…and it started and ran. When I hooked the laptop up and scanned CMPRET it showed -69. I turned the distributor as far as I could and best I could get was -39.
Today I'm going to try lining it all up and going again. No way in hell I'm removing a valve cover....so what's the best way to get everything lined up?

Looks like you are still a tooth away.

You can get pretty close by setting the engine to TDC according to the timing cover. You know you are close now, so turn the engine to TDC by hand with the rotor pointing in the correct direction and you'll know you are at TDC. If you are 180 out, then the timing mark at 0 degrees will have the rotor facing away from where you want #1 to be.

Sounds like you are 1 tooth off still.

On Dads truck it was having a hard start issue. Pulled the distribuiter cap and the center contact was worn and the cap contacts were covered with crap. Swapped out the cap and rotor with no change.
I swapped in a new coil and the issue went away. The old coil was discharging a 2" spark from the coil to the coil wire OUTSIDE of the coil wire, very weird.

In the middle of this, I thought it might of been a spider issue. I ended up damaging 3 of the spider legs with a heat gun. Long story.

I have pulled the upper 3 times now, and I still cant get the upper plenum to seal correctly around the fuel distribution block. Ive still got a bit of a vacuum leak, but power and starting are back to normal as I discovered that the cylinder #5 poppet wasnt firing as indictated by hooking up the spider fuel supply whilst the upper plenum was off. I pulled the spider legs out of teh manifold and had them spray into the air, all worked except #5. I had a few brand new poppets laying around and it cured that issue.
With my vacuum leak, to get it to run close to normal, I have to pull the MAF connector and run Speed-density. It runs better than ever.
I got frustrated with the fuel block/upper plenum seal and just left it. I am so close to just siliconing the whole thing together. The plastic upper plenum material isnt very strong and will break easily if forced. I wish GM simply installed an aluminumk version of the marine intake and be done with it. I'm sure cost and emissions(injector spray targetting) had a role in selecting the the CSFI over the marine MPFI. Although I bet that if GM did an aluminum marine intake instal in teh 1st place, GM wouldnt have had to develop the california MPFI spider Conversion and warranty any and all trucks/vans reghistered in California if the presented with sticky poppets.


At least it runs for him for now, he drives it rarely.

Rant off, sorry Howard.

peace
Hog

Lol! There's always something Pauly.
I reckon some hi-temp silicone might be your friend. Lol!

Well….just put the aluminium distributor back in. Set the mark on the balancer to match the mark on the timing chain cover, set the distributor up so as the rotor would face No.1 plug/pin and it fired up with no issue. Hooked the laptop up and set the CMP retard without issue, and performed a Crank relearn.
But…it still seems to be doing the same thing. I’m going to take it for a spin around the block and see how it behaves.
I'm not happy....I smell fuel...whereas I never used to....but there are no visible leaks.
Next step is to swap the Racetronix fuel pump in that I've had sitting here for a while....just because!
It seems to be idling a little lean....and when I back off the pedal it goes lean before coming back up to the correct/set AFR.
Running SD, no cats, no egr.

hquick wrote:

Lol! There's always something Pauly.
I reckon some hi-temp silicone might be your friend. Lol!

Well….just put the aluminium distributor back in. Set the mark on the balancer to match the mark on the timing chain cover, set the distributor up so as the rotor would face No.1 plug/pin and it fired up with no issue. Hooked the laptop up and set the CMP retard without issue, and performed a Crank relearn.
But…it still seems to be doing the same thing. I’m going to take it for a spin around the block and see how it behaves.
I'm not happy....I smell fuel...whereas I never used to....but there are no visible leaks.
Next step is to swap the Racetronix fuel pump in that I've had sitting here for a while....just because!
It seems to be idling a little lean....and when I back off the pedal it goes lean before coming back up to the correct/set AFR.
Running SD, no cats, no egr.

Howard,
Before you go through all the hardware changes.... By chance what is the percentage ethanol in your fuel tank at this present moment. Did this issue happen after a full up? Or have you already burned a tank of fuel to rule that out?
When I was doing my VE table a few years back.... My percentages would change by as much as 5-10% depending on what station I bought fuel from. There have been stores who had as high as 25% ethanol mix gas here and we have had 2ATV's and a boat at work after sold "NEW" with not much fuel in them, they leave and then the customers call raising hell because their new machine won't run.... They went to the gas station and purchased WATER instead of fuel.....
This happens ALOT here unfortunately.
Maybe rule out the fuel first?

Howard, have you checked the fuel pressure yet? My brother's 2000 Silverado truck was running like it was towing a 10,000 pound trailer, kinda lugging and slow to accelerate. Had him check the fuel pressure and he found that it was making 35 pounds, far less than it is supposed to. He has a new pump to install as soon as he gets a day off. I know poppets are funny about 55PSI they work and 54PSI they don't, but if the pump is struggling right at the edge then I can see this happening. Or, if you already did the factory MPFI conversion where you have the real injectors, they will work but not well. He was also setting lean codes on the computer.

Hey guys. I've been through a fresh tank of fuel to rule that out as an issue. I have the marine intake so no poppets to worry about.
I really need to do the pump swap anyway....so this just eliminates one possible issue along with the 'double prime' issue I've had since I did the 'Walbro special' installation a few years back.
I have a permanently mounted FP guage on the dash and it seems to be reading higher than usual...which is very odd.
I'm leaning towards a faulty fuel reg....but not sure. How do I check that?
I have plenty of vac at the reg when I take the little ref hose off.
I'll swap out the pump as par for the course...and then check everything again.

Think you just need to do the 24x CNP conversion.

Pop the regulator off and make sure theres no rust in it. I had a truck once that the pressure gauge would go clear up to 100 when you primed it and then back down, When it started it was pig rich and ran like crap. We ruled it out to be a restricted fuel line so we pulled the regulator (on a spider type but will still apply) and it was full of rust. other thing you can try is take a clear piece of hose on the return line and run it to a tank and see how it looks.

Whipped383 wrote:

Think you just need to do the 24x CNP conversion.

The CNP system that uses the 24x reluctor(basically an L21 BBC ignition) still requires a distributer body, distributer gear or more simply, a working distributer minus the cap and rotor, in order to supply the PCM with the camshaft position (CMP sensor) data.

peace
Hog

I know just think Oz needs a burb with 24x lol

Whipped383 wrote:

I know just think Oz needs a burb with 24x lol

Maintenance would be improved.

I'm debating myself to go stroker + 24x or lsx... I already have the vortec SC and intercooler waiting...

Whipped383 wrote:

I know just think Oz needs a burb with 24x lol

For sure it does.

peace
Hog

To much work for me and I honestly dont see the added benifit for the work and expense involved plus the blower is in the way of having a cool looking setup

If the pressure is higher than normal that indicates a clogged/defective FP regulator, not necessarily a fuel pump. Unfortunately, I think your FP regulator is going to be inside the intake requiring that you pull the top off it. Stupid design really, the only advantage is that any leaks in the FP regulator aren't leaked into the atmosphere even though an external FP regulator is a lot easier to get at and a lot more likely to be found and fixed in a timely manner. This was another case where the enviro-nuts couldn't see the forest for the trees.

Speeder wrote:

If the pressure is higher than normal that indicates a clogged/defective FP regulator, not necessarily a fuel pump. Unfortunately, I think your FP regulator is going to be inside the intake requiring that you pull the top off it. Stupid design really, the only advantage is that any leaks in the FP regulator aren't leaked into the atmosphere even though an external FP regulator is a lot easier to get at and a lot more likely to be found and fixed in a timely manner. This was another case where the enviro-nuts couldn't see the forest for the trees.

He's got the marine so the regulator is easy to disassemble.

Sweet, didn't remember what he had on there.

what about going back to basics? is there maybe a gasket that has dried/cracked/broke somewhere in the intake? what about the blower bypass valve?

Can anyone point me in the direction of where to buy a new reg? Perhaps the adjustable vette reg?