LUVTruck.com

Question for anyone who may know... I have a 76 Luv, the engine was replaced in 87 with another rebuilt (I assume) 4 banger. It runs and drives great, but for some reason it will not shut off when I turn the key off. It is cough and sputter, and it will just keep on doing that for quite awhile so I have to pop the clutch to kill it. Pretty annoying, and I know it can't be good for the engine. Any ideas on what I need to do to fix it? Thanks for any and all info....

It sound like your "dieseling". This is mainly caused by the timing being too far advanced. Take a timing light to the truck and find out if your ignition timing is correct. This should fix it .

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

What exactly is a timing light? My truck does the same thing but not every shut-off. Sometimes it shuts off properly but most of the time it doesn't....?

A timing light is a light that will shoot out a beam of light when triggered by an ignition source. The light itself is shaped like a big pistol with 3 wire leads. A positive and negative connector that goes to the battery and another connection that you attach to the #1 spark plug lead. Every time the #1 cylinder fires, it triggers the light to shoot a beam. You point the light (gun) at the timing marker on the engine crankshaft pulley(harmonic balancer) The light is going to show when the motor is firing according to the timing marker. If the timing shows that it's not firing at the right degree( 12 degrees, 15 degrees or whatever specs that is called for) Loosen the distributor hold down bolt and turn the distributor to advance or retard the timing to get it correct. I hope this is clear enough to understand. After reading what i typed, it seems kinda long-winded.

_________________
Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

don't point that timing light across the room or it will burn through the wall.
man those things are strong.
just be careful...







snicker....snicker.....

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03Cobra

Basically, picture a strobe light like you see at the local Discoteque, er Dance Club, put a pistol grip and some wires on it, and you've got a timing light. The idea is that it flashes a light on the crankshaft pulley for just a fraction of a second at a time, so the pulley will appear to stop. You then see where the timing mark on the pulley and the non-moving mark(s) on the motor line up.

As for burning a hole in the wall, well I guess it depends on the light you use. Up until recently I was still using an old inline model so dim you had to time at night. Thing is so old it doesn't have a plastic shell, it was Bakelight. My dad used to tune up his 36 Chev with it, when he was in highschool. Now I have a chrome pistol grip model with an inductive pickup. Better, but no where near as nostalgic.

I agree! If your going to buy a timing light, make sure it's strong enough to use in the daytime. The general standard of timing lights is the Craftsman inductive pick up. It's powerful enough to use in the daytime and it doesn't have any extra features that can throw off a first time user. There are better, more elaborate timing lights available but for normal useage, it's the way to go.

_________________
Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

Mine runs for a about 3 secodns when I shut the key off........ timing..never thought of it......timing light time........