Check the obvious first

[joe_padavano]

To prove that you're never too old to do something stupid, I spent part of the weekend working on the 84 Custom Cruiser. I had rebuilt the e-Qjet and was running the 307 to heat up the O2 sensor so I could properly adjust the carb. The water pump decides to take a dump at this point.

I replaced the pump and the fan clutch, which had quite a bit of wobble in the bearings (and which was likely the cause of the pump failure), and again warmed the engine to heat the O2 sensor. The car would not idle. I use an OTC Genisys to tap into the ALCL connector and the mixture control solenoid was locked at full rich. I ran the system check to ensure the O2 sensor and feed back circuit were working properly (they were). I disconnected the A.I.R. hose to be sure that a failed switching valve wasn't the problem (it wasn't). I raised the idle speed so the car would stay running. I played with the mixture screws. No luck. By 5:00 Sunday afternoon I was P.O.'d enough to call it quits.

About 8:00 that night it hit me that I had knocked the PCV hose loose while changing the water pump (actually, while accessing the bolts that hold the A/C compressor, one of many things required to come off in order to change the water pump on a 307). When I looked at the car this morning, sure enough, the hose was still disconnected. Of course, the fact that the hose was so hard that it wouldn't even stay connected to the PCV valve should have been a tipoff to replace it. There were several other questionable vac hoses on the motor, and I replaced them all.

Naturally, the car now runs great.

I don't know how many times I've been totally stumped like that, only to have the problem become obvious after a short break from the car. You would think I'd have learned this by now.

[Oldsguy]

My friend, it sounds like you told one of my stories, we have all done this one, or two, or three times before. Glad you got is all running well now.

[cutlassinvt]

it does happen to all of us, luckily you figured out what happened before you started just switching parts to make it run, i learned that expensive lesson the hard way

[Olds64]

Awsome that you got it running. Believe it or not I have had similar problems while servicing multi-million dollar military radars. If you don't make sure the cables are connected properly the radar ends up telling you it is broken. Either that or it shoots sparks and smoke.

[Allan R]

I don't feel so alone in some of the things I do now. You're lucky. It's August. When my water pump crapped, it was February and friggen cold. I ran the motor to get it warm and rigged up a shelter to keep the heat in while the job got done. I was a little luckier than you. My 83 Regency Brougham was built in late 82 so it didn't have oxygen sensors or electronics to worry about. Loved your story.

[Oldsguy]

I had a heater core go bad in a "76 Regency one cold winter day. Jesse and I were on a trip north of the river (about 40 miles away from home). We had nasty, slimey, water vapor all over the inner windshield and could barely see where we were going in spite of continually wiping with a cloth or paper towel. That sucked.

[joe_padavano]

Originally Posted by Allan R

I don't feel so alone in some of the things I do now. You're lucky. It's August. When my water pump crapped, it was February and friggen cold. I ran the motor to get it warm and rigged up a shelter to keep the heat in while the job got done. I was a little luckier than you. My 83 Regency Brougham was built in late 82 so it didn't have oxygen sensors or electronics to worry about. Loved your story.

I can relate. Back in the late 70s I was attending college in the Boston area. Two repair episodes that stick in my mind. One was replacing the timing chain in my 68 442 in the cold behind the dorm on the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving (yes, I did get it put back together that night). On the other hand, you haven't lived until you've changed a starter in a 65 442 in the snow.

This is why my first job after college was in SoCal.

[citcapp]

Thats why its nice to have hobby cars. When get your first job and have the your first car (usually a junker) it has to take you to work every day. You soon learn to change a starter in the rain (just so happens your parked over a low spot) rain is running in you pant leg through your crotch and out the collar of you shirt. No matter what you still have to get to work. We all have many stories like this. Makes you understand why your Dad told you to take care of your car. After this you never forget to do that.

[ijasond]

well, i had one of those moments today. I confused some of you (and myself) beyond all reason trying to diagnose a problem after the build of my 425.
I got the timing dialed in, carb tuned, changed the distributor from points to electronic, got rid of the factory resistor wire, bigger valve springs, and several other things(all things that I'm glad I did anyway) trying to figure out why my engine didn't seem to be producing the power that I knew it should. I even began to consider the fact that my cam might be too much for the mild build I just finished. At this point I'm almost heart broken that this beautiful 425 sitting in there is not much more than an anchor. Come to find out, in my haste, the connectors for the VP torque converter & kickdown were both disconnected. I probably would have figured this out much sooner, but the car isn't fit to go out on the road yet. I don't know how many times I uttered this sentence "It sounds so good when it's in park. It really roars like a beast, but when I drop it into drive & stomp it, it struggles to turn that one tire over". Where's my sign??
Granted, this is my first olds, my first engine build, and my first experience with a switch pitch. Also, I don't recall for sure, but there may have been some premature celebration the night the engine went back into the car to cause such oversight.

[brody]

do 68 cutlass drip rails interchange with other years

[Coltonis]

Originally Posted by brody

do 68 cutlass drip rails interchange with other years

LOL... Random Much?