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TexasKnucklehead
Jedi Knight
Offline
We all know that if you have to call a tow truck to get home, you broke down. But what if you just pulled over to check your point gap? Does that constitute ‘breaking down’? What if you pull off to let the engine cool because you have ‘some cooling issues’, is that breaking down? What if you pull over because something is bugging you and you make some adjustments, is that breaking down? How about if you have developed an obvious miss, are compelled to pull over and correct the issue? How about if you drift off the road into a parking lot, make some ‘duct tape’ repairs, and limp home, is that breaking down? I mean where is the line between ‘having a problem’ and ‘broke down’?
I ask because my car, before today, broke down only once. I’m not sure it ‘broke down’ today, because I did make it home without outside assistance. It refused to start this morning (which I don’t consider breaking down on the road because it never got there –it wouldn’t start). I’d replaced the points and rotor yesterday and it drove around the block OK, but didn’t start this morning. I think I flooded it, but I installed a flex washer on top of the points’ wires that shorted the wires to the mounting stud. Took me an hour to figure out and I missed the club ‘polar bear run’ to breakfast. I still went, and it drove the 50+ miles without a problem -averaging about 75/80mph.
After breakfast, I started towards an opposite corner of town where my girl friend lives, and developed a miss at about 75mph. Slowing to 70mph, the miss was hard to detect. After a while, I was sure it was there. Pretty sure. So I pulled off. Checked the gap, closed it a little and noticed that the cap on the coil hadn’t been reconnected from my fiddling in the morning. Put it back on and hoped for the best, but headed toward my home instead (another 40+ miles). Cruizing the beltway at 65mph and the miss comes back. Slowed down to 60mph and the miss is barely noticeable. When I get to the toll booth, the miss comes back, strong. It stutters through the EZtag lane, and is suddenly getting much worse. I merge across 4 lanes, and head to the exit ramp. I merge across 3 more feeder lanes, and the engine stalls as I drift into a parking lot.
I call my girl friend. ‘I’ll be a little late, I’m having a little car trouble’. ‘Do you need me to come get you?’ ‘No, I’m sure it’s nothing… but I’m going home to get the truck’. ‘Oh.’… Now the car won’t even start, and I’m feeling like I broke down. I replace the rotor with the old one and the car starts right up, seems fine. I head back on the road sticking to small secondary roads, with only another 15 miles to go. At slow speeds with low tach, the car pulls fine, no miss. About 5 miles left, I accelerate to 55mph and the miss is strong. It doesn’t go away when I slow down. I have to stop again. Check the gap yet again. Look for loose wires. Send a text message ‘Almost home’. Car starts back up, and I’m gingerly accelerating the last 2 miles. Engine is cutting out pretty often, but not stalling. As I stammer up the driveway and into the garage it runs terrible. Without any load, in neutral, accelerating is not smooth and it will not rev high. But, it idles very smooth. Water temperature is normal, voltage normal, oil pressure normal. After it sits for ½ hour, it seems OK again, but I’m not driving it until I know what’s wrong.
Did I break down? What do you think is wrong with my TR6? All I changed yesterday was the points and rotor –and lubed the speedometer cable.
I ask because my car, before today, broke down only once. I’m not sure it ‘broke down’ today, because I did make it home without outside assistance. It refused to start this morning (which I don’t consider breaking down on the road because it never got there –it wouldn’t start). I’d replaced the points and rotor yesterday and it drove around the block OK, but didn’t start this morning. I think I flooded it, but I installed a flex washer on top of the points’ wires that shorted the wires to the mounting stud. Took me an hour to figure out and I missed the club ‘polar bear run’ to breakfast. I still went, and it drove the 50+ miles without a problem -averaging about 75/80mph.
After breakfast, I started towards an opposite corner of town where my girl friend lives, and developed a miss at about 75mph. Slowing to 70mph, the miss was hard to detect. After a while, I was sure it was there. Pretty sure. So I pulled off. Checked the gap, closed it a little and noticed that the cap on the coil hadn’t been reconnected from my fiddling in the morning. Put it back on and hoped for the best, but headed toward my home instead (another 40+ miles). Cruizing the beltway at 65mph and the miss comes back. Slowed down to 60mph and the miss is barely noticeable. When I get to the toll booth, the miss comes back, strong. It stutters through the EZtag lane, and is suddenly getting much worse. I merge across 4 lanes, and head to the exit ramp. I merge across 3 more feeder lanes, and the engine stalls as I drift into a parking lot.
I call my girl friend. ‘I’ll be a little late, I’m having a little car trouble’. ‘Do you need me to come get you?’ ‘No, I’m sure it’s nothing… but I’m going home to get the truck’. ‘Oh.’… Now the car won’t even start, and I’m feeling like I broke down. I replace the rotor with the old one and the car starts right up, seems fine. I head back on the road sticking to small secondary roads, with only another 15 miles to go. At slow speeds with low tach, the car pulls fine, no miss. About 5 miles left, I accelerate to 55mph and the miss is strong. It doesn’t go away when I slow down. I have to stop again. Check the gap yet again. Look for loose wires. Send a text message ‘Almost home’. Car starts back up, and I’m gingerly accelerating the last 2 miles. Engine is cutting out pretty often, but not stalling. As I stammer up the driveway and into the garage it runs terrible. Without any load, in neutral, accelerating is not smooth and it will not rev high. But, it idles very smooth. Water temperature is normal, voltage normal, oil pressure normal. After it sits for ½ hour, it seems OK again, but I’m not driving it until I know what’s wrong.
Did I break down? What do you think is wrong with my TR6? All I changed yesterday was the points and rotor –and lubed the speedometer cable.
