dannorth

Hi all, I'm new here and am looking for info and experienced input on my recently acquired 1972 Chevy van. It has a number of issues but seems to run pretty good. It's a 6 cyl with an automatic. I've already sorted the water in the gas tank issue, a pain but I'm past that. Next I have to solve the intermittent ignition issue. It'll start up fine the first or second time I try but it has this habit of randomly not doing so after that until I wait awhile. When this symptom occurs, I get nothing but the gen light, no engaging of the starter, no noise nothing. I suspect the switch. I'm handy with a volt meter so I want to go there and check it but I am need of a wiring diagram and info on how to pull the switch. Any help with this would be very much appreciated. One thing I've found is whatever safety it has has been bypassed since it will start in gear and moving the shift lever has no affect on starting it so I think I can eliminate that as a possible culprit.

Thanks for your time,
dan

2wd-K5

starter solenoid is bad, they get worse as they heat up, try banging the small solenoid on the top of the starter, you can either replace the solenoid ($10) and the whole thing later down the road, or just change the whole starter

dannorth

Well I tracked it down to a faulty repair around the neutral safety switch. The PO was not very good at this sort of thing it seems. I went to a wrecking yard today to grab bits off another one that I knew was headed for the crusher soon. I grabbed the wiper transmission, ashtray and interior door handle circlips. I hope to have functioning wipers now yay! I have to get inside the driver's door to figure out why it won't open and hopefully if I need something I can get it from that parts van but I only have 2 days left until it's gone. Wish me luck,
dan

2wd-K5

awesome im glad u got it fixed, i didnt know '72's had a neutral safety switch (or any safety measures for that matter lol) just grab the door off the parts van while it is still there then u have the time to figur out your problem

dannorth

I'm going to try and get that door if I can. It's wing window actually works instead of flopping about like mine lol. This van has been very neglected. I replaced the fan belt today which was the size of a piece of string. It needs a tuneup really bad too. The gas gauge decided to work for about a minute today too. I only put in 10 bucks but the gauge showed full then empty then half the full then empty. Now it doesn't work again. At least there's hope I can get it working properly. The sending unit is new so that leaves the wire (likely) and the gauge as culprits. There are still tons of issues left to fix since it has been off the road for quite awhile but I'm having fun. One problem is it is really hard to get gas into it. If I pump too fast gas gushes out the neck like a geyser. You can hear it coming with a gurgling noise then Whoosh! It'll shoot about a foot into the air. When I had the tank out I blew air through the vent portion of the neck and it seemed fine so I'm a bit baffled by that one.

2wd-K5

yea thats strange, old chevys usually guzzle gas, not spit it out, a tune-up in that thing will do wonders, it is a points type distributor too, so make sure u get the new points set-up. the gas guage may just be a ground, it would be very wise to go out and pick up a can of electrical conection cleaner and a wire brush, clean every connection in the truck, and put dielectric grease on all connections. in my blazer when i bought it the guy sold it cheapp because nothing electrical worked, only the engine, i cleaned everything on the truck and everything works now

dannorth

Well I thought it needed a tune up really bad but turns out that everything is fairly new and just fine. So while I'm pondering a rough idle and missing upon acceleration I decide to check compression and all is well there too, not perfect but good enough. 75 lbs in 1 and 2 and 125 in the rest. Could be better but doesn't explain the rough running.
Later, I had to go somewhere in a hurry so rather than waiting to warm it up (it notoriously wants a long warm up to stay running) I decide to drive off with the choke pulled out. Surprisingly I find it runs much better that way. Idle is too high like this but is much smoother. I found that adjusting the choke somewhat while I drive makes it actually almost okay.
I need to give some background info before I proceed. When I got it there was quite a bit of water in the tank and the gas was rather rusty orange. It ran terrible and that is why I dropped the tank and flushed it and the lines and pump. I also took the carb apart and cleaned it too. Since then I have changed the filter a couple of times but it's way better than it was.
Anyway, driving it with the choke pulled made me think that it must be set really lean. Maybe I just need to adjust it some, and then I remember from cleaning it, I never did see a mixture screw. Next I look at it again and for the life of me I swear there isn't one. I was really **** about clearing out all the passages and putting it back together exactly the way it was (note: the carb apparently is a recent rebuild, the box it came in is still in the back of the van). Now, I am good with some things vehicle wise, electrical for example, but carbs are just not my thing. I'm no dummy though, well usually, but now I am scratching my head. This is my first Rochester monojet. Is it possible there just isn't a mixture screw? If so what the heck do I do to adjust it? Does it sound like I am even on the right track?

2wd-K5

idk there man, i never touched one of them, i dont know if they still sell rebuilt ones either, if u have the cash a 4 barrel intake and edelbrock will take care of things, take a look at the plugs if they are really light tan, then it is lean

dannorth

Yeah light tan plugs. You're slipping though, even I know a four barrel is not good on a 6 cylinder LOL. Anyway the carb is available rebuilt for around $225 cheapest I've found. But heck this one is still fresh and clean looking. I really think it just needs adjusting. Seriously there is no mixture screw which I find totally weird/lame. I've been scouring the net for info but have come up empty. Possibly something about bending a metering rod. At this point I need a monojet guru. Where do you find one of those?

On another note I got the driver's door open and found the problem; a broken spring. I'll fab something up to fix that. It's nice to not have to climb in through the passenger side anymore.

A bummer event yesterday, the gas tank sprung a leak. There appears to be a pin hole on the bottom. Any cheap fix ideas for that?

2wd-K5

oh yea it is a 6, sorry man, im in small block thought lol, check for vacum leaks and tighten the carb base plate again if there is an idle mix screw it will be at the bottom at the base on the front of the carb, some of them on rochesters dont have the regular screw and have little flat tip (not slotted for screwdriver) that u grab with pliers and it is not sticking out of the carb either it is countersunk a bit. this is what i have seen on quadrajets i have never worked on a monojet, but the theory is the same as a 4 barrel, vacum leak is what i would be looking for try using a vacum guage to see if it has any