1970 Pontiac Iron Duke 4 cyl. I/O stalls

Slickster1000

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Jul 10, 2004
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3
I recently purchased a 1970 Arrowglass with a 120 HP I/O. The previous owner called it a Pontiac Iron Duke. He stated that the engine was overhauled 3 years ago and that it was run only a handful of hours since. The problems I'm having are that after 20 to 30 minutes of running at 3500 to 4000 RPMs, I try to idle down and it will stall. I can restart by putting the throttle about 2/3 open, but when I bring it back to idle and drop it into gear, it stalls. I read in the manual that this engine is notoriuos for vapor lock, so I installed two vents in the engine housing. One on top of the carb and the second on the side so air would blow across it. This did not solve the problem, so I installed a 4" bilge blower to blow outside air on the carb. This did little to solve the problem also. After letting it set for 20 or 25 minutes I was able to restart, idle down, drop it into gear and by very slowly pushed the throttle up I was able to get it up to speed. I held it down to about 2500 RPMs in hopes of getting back to the dock, but after about ten to fifteen minutes, it stumbled a few times and died. I was able to restart with the throttle at 2/3, but it died every time I'd put it into gear. I finally had to resort to my emergency motor to get me to the dock. <br /><br />Also, if I try to open the throttle too fast, like for towing a skier or tuber, it will stumble and stall even when it's cold. The previous owner warned me about this, adding that he had rebuilt the carb twice to try to solve the problem without any luck.<br /><br />Has anyone else run into these situations? Has anyone figured out how to fix it? <br /><br />I have run out of ideas for keeping it running when it's hot.<br /><br />Please help.
 

moderator1

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Dec 5, 2002
Messages
1,668
Re: 1970 Pontiac Iron Duke 4 cyl. I/O stalls

Moving to I/O questions. (Mercruiser/OMC, etc)
 

Blk-n-Blu

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
May 12, 2004
Messages
821
Re: 1970 Pontiac Iron Duke 4 cyl. I/O stalls

I might suspect the choke not operating correctly or possibly bad fuel or clogged fuel filters. Have you changed the filters,especially the one in the carb where the fuel line attaches?have you tried running with the fuel tank cap off (possible fuel tank vent problem)
 

Slickster1000

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Jul 10, 2004
Messages
3
Re: 1970 Pontiac Iron Duke 4 cyl. I/O stalls

I have not changed filters as the previous owner stated that they were changed during the overhaul. I don't believe it's a fuel tank vent problem since the vent works all too well when filling the tank.
 

anesthes

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 5, 2003
Messages
186
Re: 1970 Pontiac Iron Duke 4 cyl. I/O stalls

Originally posted by Slickster1000:<br /> I have not changed filters as the previous owner stated that they were changed during the overhaul. I don't believe it's a fuel tank vent problem since the vent works all too well when filling the tank.
Ugg. isn't that a pita?<br /><br />Think your coils getting hot?
 
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