Question: 86 Corvette coupe gray/gray

[james hench]

Hi I am new here so if I make some mistakes forgive me in advance, I am 74. I recently traded my 2000 Jeep Rangler Sport, for a 1986 Corvette coupe. Just the other day while drivving along at 60 MPH the engine died, it did this 6 times in the next 40 miles. It started right back up after stopping, no engine lights came on, and it was'nt overheating. There was a faint odor of gas. The last couple of times it started popping off thru the carbs as it was slowing down I am currently using low octane gas, could anyone help me solve my problem. Should I use a higher grade of gas, and some fuel injecter solvent? HELP !!!!!

 

[Loubiere]

Even with no check engine light, I would check for codes. You can find a how to do this on one of the threads.

87 octane fuel should not cause this. Bad gas or plugged fuel filter could contribute. What happens under full acceleration?

 

[james hench]

86 corvette

Even with no check engine light, I would check for codes. You can find a how to do this on one of the threads.

87 octane fuel should not cause this. Bad gas or plugged fuel filter could contribute. What happens under full acceleration?

when I put my foot in it, it gets up and goes, no hesition or stalling or popping off thru the carbs

 

[mr.beachcomber]

when I put my foot in it, it gets up and goes, no hesition or stalling or popping off thru the carbs

This is the second time that you mentioned "carbs". Did someone convert the engine from fuel injection (TPI) to throttle body injection/actual carbs, or are you referring to the throttle body? This part of your post isn't clear.

From your description of the problem plus the lack of symptoms at full throttle, I would suspect a vacuum leak somewhere post throttle body leaning out the air-fuel mixture during cruise conditions. Split hoses for the PCV valve and/or brake vacuum booster are the usual suspects. Hope this info helps. Good Luck tracing down the problem.

 

[james hench]

from jim hench tomr beachcomber

This is the second time that you mentioned "carbs". Did someone convert the engine from fuel injection (TPI) to throttle body injection/actual carbs, or are you referring to the throttle body? This part of your post isn't clear.

From your description of the problem plus the lack of symptoms at full throttle, I would suspect a vacuum leak somewhere post throttle body leaning out the air-fuel mixture during cruise conditions. Split hoses for the PCV valve and/or brake vacuum booster are the usual suspects. Hope this info helps. Good Luck tracing down the problem.

in regards to backing off thru the carbs, that was an expression used back in the day, i am sorry in my ignorence i wasn't aware there was no carbs. SORRY. I checked myOVC valve, and checked the hoses on both sides a;ll seemed ok. i will check my break vacuum hose next, thanks for the help

 

[mr.beachcomber]

in regards to backing off thru the carbs, that was an expression used back in the day, i am sorry in my ignorence i wasn't aware there was no carbs. SORRY. I checked myOVC valve, and checked the hoses on both sides a;ll seemed ok. i will check my break vacuum hose next, thanks for the help

No harm, no foul. I just wasn't sure if we talking stock TPI or an aftermarket setup. If you can't find a split hose or other obvious vacuum leak, try looking for a leak around a gasket on one of the TPI components, e.g., throttle body, runners, manifold base, etc.

If you're careful, you can spray small amounts of starter fluid near the runners or throttle body (with the intake hose on) while the engine is idling to see if the RPMs increase (denoting the vacuum leak source). Don't spray too much starter fluid as the ether is extremely flammable.

Good Luck!