curtiswyant

Hi all, I have a question. I noticed yesterday that my truck (87 pickup, 22R carbed) was missing a little at idle, and would sometimes stumble when accelerating from low rpms. I had the same problem last year and it turned out to be a burnt spark plug. Anyway, the truck's exhaust is ghetto (no cat, small muffler, exits just behind cab) and I'm wondering if that would have anything to do with my engine burning through spark plugs. It's been extremely cold around here for weeks and I've heard of "bad things" happening after shutting off a warm engine with short exhaust in cold weather. And, yes, I'm finally going to get off my ass and get a new exhaust system made in a few days. Thanks!

fillsrunner4

Check your plugs, wires, cap and rotor first if you havent already. Its an easy and cheap fix if their bad. It definetly sounds like you need a new exhaust, so that should fix that and see if it keeps happening. Check your radiator also it may be dirty or low on coolant. Good luck

drew303

if its been cold, could be carb ice... it can cause sputtering..

Do the visuals, look for abnormal things, bad plugs, wires, rotor, cap etc.. then when it warms up and doesnt get better, could of just been carb icing.

you said accelerating and low rpm..low rpm is usual situatioin for carb ice to form (butterflys are more or less closed)

Targetnut

The exhaust will not cause it to "burn" spark plugs.

Check the ignition parts, look at the plugs. If they are black and sooty looking, check to make sure your choke is working properly. if that's OK check the Auxillary Accelerator Pump (AAP) diaphram.

curtiswyant

Thanks for the advice guys. I did a little troubleshooting this morning. I let the truck warm up and idle in the driveway. It seems to run fine at speed once it's warmed up, and it idles find in "high idle." But when the truck is cold, it sputters a bit and hesitates/stumbles/drops rpms when I barely tap the gas pedal (but then smooths out with just a bit more gas). I definitely think it's carb related, and it might just need a little carb cleaner or warmer weather. When I had bad plugs, it would stumble throughout the rpm range and at speed.