hey guys I have a real problem here. I got stuck in traffic and my car got kinda hot not terribly hot just almost to the red line but not past it. but after I got out of the traffic I stopped at a stop light and the car died, and wont idle anymore anytime I let off the gas boom it dies. and I think it lost vacumn to because I dont have power breaks anymore cept when I really run it out to like 4k. the car runs like crap also untill I put it to the floor and then it seems to open up and be alright. One more thing I noticed is the tach is really shaky it kinda twitches not allot maybe 2mm the actual rpm's I dont think are changing cus I dont hear a difference in tone in the exhaust but the needle on the tach shakes, and it never did this before. PLEASE HELP!!!

 

Is your check engine light on?

 

Hey, man i got same problem, my Rpm Meter is shaky like hell, and the car wont idle, and overheats... im gunaa stay tuned in this post along with u man,

 

yea it has been cus I have the sensor on the carb unplugged the car wouldnt run with it plugged in, ive had it unplugged for months though
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hows it run when your driving though brandon? and do your power brakes work?

 

Sounds like you pushed a head gasket out of it. They don't run well when waters pouring in!

 

+1....water in the oil? Oil in the water? Burning either?

 

Sounds to me more like a vacuum line came off. Maybe even, the power brake line.

Troubleshoot it instead of automatically assuming something.

The factory designed these cars to run hot. "Just almost to the red" one time isn't enough to hurt anything, except an ego.

 

My temp gauge always reads at the 1st line.The line b4 the halfway line

 

yea I have ran it to the red line quite a few times. it was to hot to check for oil in the water earlier im gonna go check it in a few. I couldnt see the brake booster line off, I dont think its that cus when its in the upper rpm's it gets power brakes back. and the car runs alright at like 4k so that leads me to believe the head gaskets alright. thats the wierd thing

 

If your car overheats better change the tranny fluid because once tranny fluid gets burnt theres no going back unless you change it

 

In Higher Rpm's, the brakes still gotta be pumped, i think i jkust gotta bleed the line, itd been sittin for about a year, but as far as driving, it can Barley even Start, it try's then it "Gurggels" and dies, i think i just gotta clean the gas tank out after sittin for so long, and then check all my pumps, haven't done that yet, power steerings out tho, so maybe other pumps are out Also, Q: where is the water pump Located, "77 Chevy 350"

 

Follow the big rubber hoses from the radiator.

 

I was thinking that first also but that won't cause an overheating issue like a headgasket will. Do you have access to or the ability to do a compression test. That will tell you if you have lost compression in a cylinder. You could take it to a shop and have a dye test done to confirm.

 

Actually, vaccum leaks can cause overheating. Vaccum leaks create a lean condition, and we all know lean conditions can cause cars to overheat. Just a thought. Check the little stuff before you waste money by replacing big stuff.

 

You should put a vacuum gauge on it and have somebody get it to hold a reasonable rpm....close to normal idle as possible.....see if you get any kind of manifold vacuum. Put it on a small port on the manifold, not the brake booster line or any port by the throttlebody....a port like an FPR port or HVAC port. Course if theyre having to open the throttle to get it to idle the reading is gonna be on the low-side anyways but if you get a ridiculously low number it might give you an indication.

Also get the thing to idle and try spraying some brake cleaner or throttlebody cleaner around various vacuum ports and around the intake, see if the rpms jump up. If they do there's your vacuum leak.

I wonder if youve got some really old ****-poor manifold gaskets and heating it up really good was enough to do one of them in giving you a vacuum leak... It'd be a real oddball but I've seen some pretty weird sh--, so....