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I will be there with my wife (Yvonne) for the first couple days. After that we are playing tourist in Savannah, SC and NC. Flying in on the 16th

He's so close, right now, to figuring out the poor idle in the heat problem. Those two center plugs and the dirty one next to it are huge clues. Much more informative than many of the previous posts. The clean plugs, 1, 2 and 6, tend to remove any choke setting, or carb-tuning, or fuel percolation, or Far311 camshaft issues. Unless, the fuel overflow runs straight down the 3 and 4 intake runners. With that focus a bunch of new ideas come to mind. But we need to know if the plugs are getting their voltage or not. Gotta test those plug wires.

Depends on how much oil is entering the cylinder and whether or not it's burning with combustion. You need to work on the simple checks so that you can zero in on what it really is. Focus on those spark plug wires. Here's another possibility - the newish spark plug wires aren't fully seated in the cap. That would give a sporadic misfire if there's no contact between wire and cap contact. That will show up in the multimeter test, which I'm sure you're doing while also searching the internet.

That picture should make people think about some of the published Data on some of the Flat Top pin. heights. I've always contested that the OZDat engine calculator has got the pin height wrong, as it calculates the piston crown as being below the deck surface. Same as the dished pistons. That is obviously incorrect. Very common for FT' to stick above the block deck approx 0.021" to 0.024" . And why you always check dimensions....

That is a great picture. It shows a lot. We might all ponder the various causes of fouling for a short while. As I recall from much past experience with poor running engines, a fuel fouled plug often looks like 3 and 4 here, but then when it fouls, it gets wet with fuel. And it fouls quickly and the carbon coat is not so smooth. These plugs look fairly dry, and the other plugs look almost lean, like they're not even close to fuel fouling. Weak spark fouled plugs typically look wet also, like they were wet from the beginning of missed sparks. These plugs look like they were firing well, with a good even coat of sooty carbon on everything exposed, until the spark started shorting to ground through the carbon. In short, they look like they had great spark until they didn't. #2 (or maybe #5) looks like it is fouling also. But the other three look very clean. Considering how the carbs and manifolds are set up it doesn't seem like it could be a fuel problem, unless fuel is running down the intake runners and in to those cylinders. Is that possible? Is there a path for raw fuel in to the center runners? If he parks the car on a slant so the fuel runs away from the cylinders would that be a clue? If the spark is good and the fouling is fuel or oil related, and fuel is discounted, that leaves oil. Which could be rings or valve seals. It could also be valve lash, possibly, causing poor combustion. Just some thoughts on other possible causes. On situations like this, I tend to go around in a big circle on all of the possible causes until one wins. There's definitely a cylinder specific problem though, which narrows the possibilities down.

The mast tip is different from the earliest versions. We discussed this years ago. The very earliest versions had a pointed tip where as this version has a flat tip. I don't know about the length. It IS the original manufacturer and I believe will fit all S30 models. Sorry for the rotated picture.

Just some additional thoughts toward the cost of reman products. Without looking it up and relying on my faulty memory, I believe the reman alternator for the 78 Z with a lifetime warranty was around $70 plus a $10 or $15 core charge. Basically the reman operation has an initial cost of that $15, plus shipping expenses, plus labor, overhead, parts, etc. Core costs are purely supply and demand driven. Not uncommon to have a $50-$80 core charge on newer vehicle alternators selling for $150-$200. Check out core prices for GM instrument clusters. Very often the core charge is much higher than the cost of the part. Core charge may be $300 or a little higher while the customer pays $150-$200 for the cluster. Very hard to figure out. Sometimes I wish I were a bit more involved on that end of the auto parts industries but really do enjoy the position of helping customers at the front counter solve their automotive needs. The LORD provided me this job and am thankful for it. Thanks for your time, John-Lugoff, SC.

Yeah, me too. But it's consistent. By that, I mean, it seems to build up pressure to a consistent pressure and then level off. Based on that, I believe it's working. Well that, and my tank hasn't ballooned out from overpressure.

Reply to Mark in #86 - I meant giving up on looking at all six. That would have made the 3 and 4 problem more clear. Which is why it was asked. Jalex's problem on the forum has always been that he doesn't do what people ask him to do. You asked for the other four and he only gave you one. Should have had a picture of all six in a row two days ago.

Ooookay. Doesn't seem fast on my end! Tonight's work! Before: After: Before: After: Followed by a loooong cleanup of the shop. I think I am actually finished the media blasting! At least the big stuff!