mr2ncc

Hi, I am new to this forum and I am looking for some help on figuring out what is wrong with my car. I have a 1986 Chevy El Camino SS, Choo Choo Custom, with a 305, AT and 182 K Miles on it. It needs a lot of work and has many issues.

The first issue is that it starts fine, but after it warms up the idle increases significantly. the car also overheats so I cannot keep it running for a long period of time. but when I shut it off, it diesels and I have to place it in gear to finally shut it off. The carburetor runs smooth, and the MC Solenoid clicks when it first starts, so I know that it is working. None of the gauges work properly ( they all read high or bounce all over the place)and the oil pressure gauge doesn't work at all. I tried to hook up the OBD-1 scanner to it, but the scanner cannot read any codes... it states, there is no link...so maybe the ECM? I am currently replacing the ECM, however it wont be here until Wednesday. I just want to know what else I can check for.

As far as the overheating, I think it may be the water pump as it is very noisey, might be the bearings. I did a compression test of all the cylinders and they all are at 210 PSi, except cylinder1, which is at 200. I thought perhaps a head gasket issue? but I am not sure Also the readings seem high to me, perhaps carbon buildup in the cylinder heads? Also the engine is smoking from the engine and not the exhaust, thick white smoke, i thought it was the valve covers so I replaced the gaskets, but it is still smoking. No water in the crankcase and no oil on the ground under the engine....

Like I said any help with ANY of these issues would be greatly appreciated, and Thank you for any help or suggestions you can give in advance...cheers!

mr2ncc

200 plus people checked out my post and no one has a clue huh? I guess I'm screwed

seriously, if ayone has any idea abou the idle speeding up after it warms up that would be a great start.

thepossumface

check your throttle cable if its efi or carb im not sure. but could be you cable or spring for the throttle. vic versa.
as for overheating make sure your gauge works personally I would use a sunpro or mechanical temp gauge instead of the crappy gauges in cars (personal preference)
but could be your waterpump that sounds like the issue but I could be wrong

David64

over heating and water pump problems.... May be that the water is not circulating the cooling system could be stopped up This could make the water pump sound different.Plug off the heater core,take the radiator cap off and watch the coolant level when you rev the motor.The level should go down when you rev the motor. You may have tried this already,it was just a thought. Good luck!