OT: '79 305 Buick revisited

Slowpoke

Well-known Member
Still working on the Buick Regal. I managed to find the timing mark behind the water pump and get the timeing close, but the idle varies. The owner ran it daily at high rpm to use up most of the 20 year old gas, then put in 92 octane. One day he started it and blew off the converter from the exhaust pipe, which was only on about a 1/2" anyway. It ran much better, but still won't idle for long. He backed it down the 20' driveway sans muffler & converter with barely any power available. I said we will never get it on the street and it took every ounce of power to get it back up the driveway. We got out and discovered an 8" wide trail of tranny fluid about 10 feet long. There is no fluid on the tranny pan, so I have no idea how it got out. The stick shows no fluid.
Anybody want to buy a '79 Buick Regal with 53,000 miles?
Just needs a little TLC!
 
Just a wild guess on the transmission.
A mud-dauber has plugged the vent and the fluid blew out the the front seal. The motor sounds like a timing problem. Check the advance weighs in the distributor for rusting.
 
Did the catalytic converter tear a hole in the transmission pan, or crack the case when it came off?
 
No, the car was parked in the driveway at the time. I think the converter is plugged due to problems with the engine.
 
I replaced the cap and rotor earlier. The center contact in the cap was fried and didn't even touch the rotor. The weights move freely. But it looks like moisture got in someway.
I also discovered oil was 6" past the full mark on the dipstick. I managed to get it down buy sucking it out with a hand vac pump.
The owner is 87 and says he didn't put the oil in.
Someone must have come up the driveway and added 3 qts!
 
It sounds like it is seeping gas past the pistons and going into the crankcase, not running proper and fuller on oil gives me that guess! If it is you may want to change the oil before it takes out any bearings! Tom
 
A 53K mile '79 305 is probably needing a camshaft. Does it pop out the carb. I agree the over full oil is probably gas. That year of 305 could barely pull a greased string from a cat's butt anyway.
 

The modulator diaphrap may be leaking and the engine is sucking in tranny fluid. Had it happen on an olds 98. Do you get white smoke?
 

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