ok NOW i need some help

[Jabba's Barge]

as some of you might have read, i replaced the manifold gaskets on my tahoe. i also replaced the cap, rotor, wires, and plugs. the original plugs were autolite coppers. all new parts are acdelco.

i start the truck and it BARELY runs, dash lights blinking etc. and feels like it would die any second. i stop it and re-prime the fuel system a couple more times and restart. same.

i get out and recheck all my connectors and stuff. i discover i forgot to connect the distributor, so i connect it and the truck runs the same. now i have a CEL.

i stop the truck and give it a once over again. i don't see anything else, so i restart it. engine is shaking and it will barely stay running. it almost died once or twice. i was actually able to move it though. i backed it into the garage so i could get some daylight on it tomorrow, but until then, i am hoping someone may be able to point something out, no matter how obvious.

first thing i will check tomorrow is the wires and make sure they are run correctly.

so far, there seem to be no leaks, fuel, coolant or anything else. i am going to try to borrow a tech's scan tool tomorrow night and clear it out. anything else a noob should check? would the timing change because of the difference in plugs? the distributor went back in exactly how it came out. i marked the manifold, distributor and rotor. it all lined back up. ideas? anyone else have any problems after a similar job?

 

[drowndindreams]

did you yourself replace the wires and plugs? you could have misplaced the wires, or the plug could not be in their sweet spot. usually when you have a problem like this, you look at the plugs and wires. check to see if your timings right.

 

[TigerEyz3]

Trace the plug wires between distributor and plugs to make sure they are matched (1 to 1, 2 to 2, etc). Also, make sure the plug gaps are set properly.

 

[Jabba's Barge]

i just quarduple-checked the plug wires this morning and they all seem to be run correctly. i checked most of the boots to see that they're seated and the ones i did check were ok.

i was talking with a tech friend who suggested that since basically a full tune up was done that the timing may be off. he said it was possible that, with all the new parts, the old timing (the way the distributor, cap, and rotor were set up) may not work right for the new parts. he said it may be something a lot simpler though, like a boot that appeared to be seated but really wasn't. he suggested playing with the timing a little after checking (again) all the plug wires and maybe even the plugs themselves.

 

[dachrist]

When you took the dist out to change your intake gasket, did you make sure to mark exactly the location of the distributor so you could put it back in teh exact same spot? Also the rotor in reference to the distributor? It sounds like you may be off a tooth.

 

[malones99]

Did a code come up? I think its 1345 for the distributor. I had a simular problem when I did mine last week, bearly start wouldn't run. Threw the code... was able to move the distributor while it ran to smooth it out. Sounds like the dizzy is off a tooth or its off 180 degrees.

 

[Jabba's Barge]

nope. it took a little work (and patience) but it went in exactly the way it came out. i did mark the the rotor to distributor and distributor to manifold. if i try to move it a single tooth, the rotor would be way off.

the CEL is on, but i do not yet know what the codes are. it wouldn't surprise me if a distributor code was thrown- i initially started it and the distributor was unplugged, but it ran.

 

[blueflamed03]

look for a vacuum leak. If you sure on the placement of the distributor and your not 180 degrees out, and wires are right, start looking for vacuum leak.

 

[Jabba's Barge]

for evap? i don't remember there being too many vaccum lines involved, but i will check.

 

[blueflamed03]

intake too...