Please Help! Rouph Idle on 88 Vette!

[1988 Corvette]

Ok im getting desperate here, had a mobile mechanic come by my house to change the oil, he noticed my headgasket was leaking, so he replaced head gaskets and valve covers, when he delivered the car back to me, it idled very rouph and kept stalling, and would only start when the accelerater was to the floor, now i know i have to change the wires, plugs and distributer as they are the original ones, but before he did the work on it it purred very smoth, now its like a stage4 cam. very rouph and stalls out when i put it in drive, please help, dont want this guy to rip me off!! Ohh yeah its a 1988 Corvette L98

 

[Riley P]

Outside of thinking that it is a vacuum leak, I would phone this guy and tell him to correct his repair.

 

[HLN A55]

It could be a number of things. I had the same thing (or similar) with my L98 trans am (89). My head gasket was determined to be leaking by a local dealership. When I got the car back it had almost no power, barely ran and started also.

After gettIng my car to a different dealer, turned out that the motor was history. I got the oil sent away and it was contaminated. Most likely from the wire brush that he used to clean the surface of the engine block where the head gasket seats. This caused the main bearings to salute and exit stage left.

By the time I got the car back they had obviously had to have the car running to move it and top up the antifreeze etc and it was done.

I hope yours is a vaccum leak, mass air flow sensor or fuel issue but there is always the chance I suppose.

 

[Manny@Dasilva]

It could also be that he did not set the valves properly , after re-installing the heads . Those rocker on the L98 can be a pain to set .

 

[Woodstock Car Guy]

I am with Manny on his diagnosis as we experienced this problem when he changed the valve seals in my car this past spring. It would hardly run until the valves were set properly and now it idles very nicely again.

 

[1988 Corvette]

thanks

hi guyus thanks for the help, much appreciated! im thinking its the valve seals, makes sence! any other opinions would be more than welcome.

 

[Riley P]

I am so glad there are people that know more about these cars than I do (that's not really saying much I guess). Good to know about setting the valves, that would never have crossed my mind.

Let us know how the repair goes!

 

[1988 Corvette]

Hey guess what , the valves were too tight! brought the car to a good mechanic this time and a comprestion leak, everything is fixed and the car is running better then new, woohoo!! Feels nice! thanks again everyone!!!

 

[Manny@Dasilva]

Hey guess what , the valves were too tight! brought the car to a good mechanic this time and a comprestion leak, everything is fixed and the car is running better then new, woohoo!! Feels nice! thanks again everyone!!!

Good to hear , and glad to be of service

 

[Crusher]

Manny is the man

 

[Woodstock Car Guy]

Glad your problem is solved.

 

[CCO]

I hope you got to those "wires, plugs and distributer" -- since they were the originals.

Make sure who does it puts the right wires back on the right plugs or you'll have that rough idle again.

C.