Mechanics class 101 Spark plug change

[Kim K Kaiser]

Hi again,,

next adventure into car repair,,tomorrow,, spark plug change,, 

as noted in prior post, i put in the petronix,  it states a 45 spacing,  car manual says 35 so i m gonna put in mew plugs for petronix specification,  

i have now learned from prior experience,, no such thing as a quick or easy repair,

so my question is in re plugs,, other than pulling them out screwing them in, are there any other pitfalls as they relate to the 63 cdv,, it looks cut and dried, but............

Sincerely

Kim

[Kim K Kaiser]

Continuing saga,

car ran good for couple days,, no problems no start problems,  let it sit two days while i drove the eldo around to keep it moving some.

this evening, decided to take out for a quick ride..  turned key, got only a mechanical clunk. and then nothing,, gave some gas,, nothing, just a heavy clunk.  let it alone,e came back,, finally got it to turn over, in a slow, kaklunk kaklunk kaklunk,   went under hood, pushed all my plugs cords on good, could smell some gas.. choke was flat closed as it hadn't been started in a day or so.,,, when i grabbed the battery post to see if tight, they were scorching hot... dont dow what that is about,, but anyway,, left it again,, came back,, tried again, nothing but a slow kaklunk , kaklunk, kaklunk,, not like the battery click when its dead,,,

any thoughts,,,??

[24ro8f5mbs2jc]

Your battery might be bad, but it sounds like a grounding problem. Check the grounding wire from the starter to the frame. And the grounding wire between the frame and the battery.

[2o93f8rdftyzj]

Yep, I thinkol Anders is on the money, a loose terminal or a bad lead, will see everything get hot, real hot, damn hot.

Keep in mind too, if the starter motor is about to throw the towel in the ring, that will cause stuff to get hot as well.

[Kim K Kaiser]

i did a volt test on the battery, it ran at 12.6,, 

i looked for a ground wire from the battery, i dont see one,, would it be connected to the negative post or the negative post wire???

i will have to look tomoarry at the starter to frame ground.. its going to be tough as the car is on a downhill slope,,but hopefully can see it.... is that somewhere that there ia  diagram of were the grounding wires are located....i have seem the pictures posted, but for some reason they dont seem to line up with were i am looking for them...

additionally, should i need a starter,  as this occasionally sluggishness has been with the care as long as I have had it, so i am guessing its either the grounding, starter or combo of both,,,, where would a starter be avaialbe,,parts houses or from this sites tear down car suppliers,??

[2o93f8rdftyzj]

Hey Kim, try the help pages under earth wires and see what's there.

Don't take this as me trying to be a smart ass, but i'm thinking you might be better with a sparkie looking at it for you. I'm not great with electrics, but on the basis stuff, i'm fine.....Anything sort of major, I get my sparkie around the corner to do it for me.

Just a thought.....

OK, I had a look, go to HELP on top of the page and go down to Ground Strap Locations.

[Kim K Kaiser]

thanks,, i will check that out,, i just went out an tried to give it a start,,it just goes clunk,, clunk,, clunk,, not the high pitched fast click of a dead battery, just a heavy clunk,, wont even turn over the engine once.

i did indeed find the battery strap ground and the little tiny ground by the front light, so i guess I'm good there.. have to try and sort our were those other grounds are....

trying to crank,,really makes a heavy clunk sound,, doest sound real good,,

[Jason Edge]

Did you check the right frame rail to back of engine at starter ground?  Check this and ALL grounds, but start with the frame to starter ground. Here is a link to the Help Page article showing Ground Strap locations:
- Ground Strap Locations

Here is a copy and paste of the frame to engine ground info:

Right Frame Rail to Engine:
Very large heavy gauge ground strap from right frame rail just underneath the firewall cowl area, over to engine block at transmission. This is the main culprit for ground related starting problems. Here is a picture mounted on the frame which is just above the front transmission cross-member location:

[24ro8f5mbs2jc]

I'm with Kevin in this. You really should try to get some help from a car electrician. It will be worth it.

[Kim K Kaiser]

well,, i was going to pull the starter out myself,, the car is on such an incline,, i dont know if it can be towed due to its length an location of where i parked it,, even getting under it is going to be a challenge, 

Should a solenoid also be purchased since I'm there??

[Jason Edge]

Did you check the Frame to Engine ground strap?

[Kim K Kaiser]

i haven't yet,, i need to refer to the pictures under help to try and figure out where it would be,, 

i have noted what looks like a ground end on the upper control arm, there is a little loop type clip held on by a screw, but no wire, on both sides, but i have no idea where these go.. 

[Jason Edge]

There is a very large ground strap from the frame to the back of the engine at the starter. Open your hood, look in the engine compartment, look over to the left, follow the right frame rail back under the car with a flash light. You will  come to a large strap attached to the frame rail via a 9/16 hex head bolt. It will be straight across and adjacent to where the starter is located. The strap is about 1" wide, maybe  10" long goes across to the back of the engine at the starter. You can reach the attaching bolt on the frame from inside the engine compartment. You will need to get down under the car at back off engine by the starter to check the other bolt. the main culprit is usually the frame bolt which again you can access just by popping the hood.

I cannot stress enough THIS IS THE GROUND YOU NEED TO CHECK! This may not be the cause of your problem, but IF THIS GROUND IS LOOSE, IT WILL CAUSE THE PROBLEM YOU DESCRIBE. So with a 9/16" wrench you can check the 2 connection points.  Before you think about rebuilding starters, etc, I would do this simple check.

Here is a picture of that very large frame to starter ground strap: