Expert: Ben Deutschman - 8/19/2008

Question
The car turns over but will not idle, while my brother was driving the car today locally,  when the car had to slow down for (traffic, light) it would stall. Now it will turn over and not stay on. Any ideas?

Answer
I'm assuming of course that the engien does at least try to fire when you turn it over. With that in mind, and given how the car behaved before, I'd suspect possibly a clogged Fuel Filter, which on most GM Rochester Carburetors, is located in the Fuel Inlet to the Carburetor, and with care, can be changed easily. The big thing to be careful of, is NOT to strip the threads in the Carburetor Inlet, when reinstalling the Filter and housing. If the Filter is not clogged, it could be a problem with either the Float, or Needle and Seat assembly, which may require an overhaul of the Carburetor, something best left to a professional. The last possibilty, is a bad Fuel Pump, which can be determined by removing the Fuel Line at the Outlet side, and briefly, very briefly, turning the Engine over. If the Pump is working, Fuel will spurt out of the Outlet. BE CAREFUL not to have any source of ignition nearby, and clean up any Fuel that comes out of the Pump when you test it.

If the engine turns over, but does not fire, the problem could be a bad Ignition Module, which is located in the Distributor.