Posted by Patrick on Sunday, March 16, 2003 at 10:30PM :
Hi guys, I am looking for advice on my 230 flathead. The last two times I started the engine it has been running REAL rough. The whole truck shakes and tons of black smoke is coming out of the exhaust pipe. The truck always starts up right away. The distributor/coil and points,etc. are all less than a year old. The truck ran excellent 2 weeks ago. I drove it for several days than parked it for 2 weeks. The exhaust noise now is very sporadic like short machine gun bursts.I would guess mulitple miss fires. Also, I now have a rythmic thumping that increases and decreases with the engine speed. Its not the mechanical clanking/rod knock sound. (though I have never heard a flat head with a rod knock.) The engine was depot rebuilt in 68 by the govt. (truck is a 52 M-37 with 40K) the carb and governor are new (two years old). I am going to pull the plugs on Tuesday, check them, then replace them. I also have new points and condersor to swap in. I was wondering if I have a stuck valve? I am hoping it's dirty points or bad plug wires. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks, Patrick
Follow Ups: