The Mighty 258 > General Service and Diagnosis

HELP I have a dead Eagle

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LeesSummitEagle:
Hello all. I have a 1988 Eagle that was running fine until Christmas Eve. Was on a trip of 135 miles and the car ran great in the highway. When I got to my destination and stopped at a stop light, the car started to bog down, backfire, and almost stop until it shiffted and then it ran OK. This did this at several more stoplights. When parked, it would idle smooth with no miss. The next day, I tried to start it and it would not start. After multiple tries, it finally started but quickly died and gas and smoke blew out the carb top. Thought I had a stuck float and did a carb overhaul. It did not help and is doing the same thing - blowing smoke and gas out of the carb if is does start and dies. Any ideas where the problem is? Will have to be towed to the repair shop next monday and I am stuck. Again, this is a 1988 modle with onl y 42,000 miles. It has the old style carb and the computer is out of the loop. ECM Test bypass on ingition. Any help will  be appreciated.


Thanks

Jurjen:
Could be a number of things.
Basically you need compression, fuel and spark to get it running.
Easiest is to check ignition. Remove a spark plug cable or the central lead from the ignition coil.
Fix it with the tip in a position about 1/8" from a grounded part.
Have someone start the engine, a steady train of of fat blue parks should be visible.
If not, I would suspect the ignition coil , pick-up in the distributor (the flexible wires going in) or the engine grounding.

rmick:
Could have also skipped a tooth on the timing chain.

Nightpath:
I've seen this before on 2 different Eagles, it ended up having to do with electrical/ignition. This is the route to follow :

Check these :

- ground wire(s) - these WILL make an engine seem like it's dying and on it's last legs. Add a few grounds around on the car.

- starter solenoid - this is ALWAYS the first thing I check after grounds. I've had this make it look like the engine was dying, fuel pump bogging, plugs need swapping and even the timing skip. It's a cheaper than heck replacement, and I prefer the older ones rather than the new ones.

- distributor cap - remove it to make sure the rotor and cap inside are still good. Also ensure it's not swiveling around (causes timing issues)

- plug wires -  use a timing light on each wire. A broken wire will cause a load of issues.

- plugs - alternatively, remove the plug and wire, pop the plug back into the spark plug wire and sit it on a grounded point, watch for a spark

If the plugs, distributor and wire look good check the timing. Some people have reported a skipped timing chain but I haven't seen it happen (even on pulled engines getting to run).

My guess is the solenoid, or the intake/exhaust manifold gasket blew a chunk. It will also cause these exact same issues. The carb can blow out the top if you keep trying to start it...that's normal.

Give that solenoid a few smacks and see what happens, or tap it while it's turning over.

IowaEagle:
Ignition module is what I always check first.  Its the least reliable component, in my opinion.

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