All Small Six 226H hesitation while driving, I've tried just about everything...

This relates to all small sixes
R

REMYRANGE

New member
Hi all,
For some reason, I get a slight intermittent hesitation while driving. I've done the following, but its still doing it:
New plugs, new point, new cap, new coil, set point gap, timed(with vacuum removed from distributor), checked and adjusted valves, changed the oil, rebuilt the carb, checked the fuel pressure, taken and put back together the fuel pump, new 6v alternator, swore at car, and talked nice to the car.

Any help or ideas appreciated
 
So what year, car, truck, 226 H (1949 to 1951) Flathead engine are you talking about? But off the top of my head here are a few things to look at the Distributors Vaccum Break might not be set right or isn't holding a Vacuum, the Distributor's center shaft top bushing may have excessive clearance / Slop. Plus you might also need a new set of spark plug wires to go along with all those other new parts you have already installed, you can check those with a volt Ohm meter to see if they are still in good condistion. Sorry I missed the title heading before when you posted in the smal six forum so I moved it here to the Vintage Six forum. Best of luck Edited
 
Last edited:
When you did a compression test what kind of cranking compression PSI did each of the cylinders of your 226 have?
 
Elaborate more descriptively about the hesitation. Does it occur at cruise speed? at take off? does happen when the engine is cold? Does it go away after a while or less often? Does it get worse? Anything you can point out helps.
 
I haven't measured pressure...you thinking one or more pistons leaking by? Hense the internment hesitation while driving? If so I was contemplating that too.. I'm thinking if I can find another 226H, I could rebuild it from scratch, and still drive this one while building. I'll get a compression Tester. Good thought!
 
It hesitates pretty much all the time. I think at idle it's there...just a small hesitation you can see every so often. While driving its more noticeable. A slight 1/2 sec deceleration randomly every 3 or 4 seconds.
 
bubba22349 said:
So what year, car, truck, 226 H (1949 to 1951) Flathead engine are you talking about? But off the top of my head here are a few things to look at the Distributors Vaccum Break might not be set right or isn't holding a Vacuum, the Distributor's center shaft top bushing may have excessive clearance / Slop. Plus you might also need a new set of spark plug wires to go along with all those other new parts you have already installed, you can check those with a volt Ohm meter to see if they are still in good condistion. Sorry I missed the title heading before when you posted in the smal six forum so I moved it here to the Vintage Six forum. Best of luck Edited
Click to expand...
Thanks for edit. I will double check the wires. I did replace the vacuum advance. I'm not feeling any slop...but could be...
 
Excellent, deteriated / leaking spark plug wires can often cause just the engine running problems you are describing, sometimes on a realy dark night with a really bad wire set you will even see them misfiring and or glowing. You might be able to barrow / or rent a compression tester at one of your local auto parts stores many have a tool loaning program. For best results Warm the engine up good, then remove all the spark plugs, Make sure the Carb's choke is wide open, and also block the throttle blade so that it's all the way open. Crank until compression tester quiets moving higher up, then record the readings. Idealy you would be looking for test readings of 120 PSI on your 1951 226 H. Best of luck
 
Is this something thats been getting worse over time or came up as something new? It sounds more like your describing an engine miss(fire) as opposed to a hesitation. My description of a hesitation is that when your trying to accelerate either from a standstill or already moving along the vehicle will feel almost like your applying the brakes, holding the vehicle back.
 
sixtseventwo4d said:
Is this something thats been getting worse over time or came up as something new? It sounds more like your describing an engine miss(fire) as opposed to a hesitation. My description of a hesitation is that when your trying to accelerate either from a standstill or already moving along the vehicle will feel almost like your applying the brakes, holding the vehicle back.
Click to expand...
Ive only had the car for about three months, it ran really really poorly when I first got it, but tons better since I have tuned it up. unfortunately having a card time finding the right set of plug wires, shoebox central is out. Maybe I will buy a universal set for now and replace them. After I replace the wires I'll let you know how it runs after wires replacement....but I have a bad feeling piston rings may be the deal, I'll get a compression tester from harbor freight this weekend and try that out as well.

My big though right now, if new piston rings are the need. I do have a set of new old stock rings. I'm thinking of making this a weekend project. get a head gasket and oil pan gasket set, get a cylinder honing tool, drop the pan, pull the head, drop the pistons, cover the crank with a plastic bag, and then a towel. hone the sleeves, ring the pistons, slide them back in, gaskets and head/pan back on, see how she does.
 
You would probally need to at lest hand lap the valves to, if your going to go that far.
 
Well I measured the pressure, I do have low pressure on #3 and 4. I'm gonna try soaking them with marvel mystery oil, run her for a week, and check pressures again. Spec reading should be about 100. If the oil doesn't do the trick, im gonna do a valve and ring job on her.

Readings:
1 85
2 78
3 70
4 72
5 80
6 80
 
Update: the marvel mystery oil treatment worked. Sorta. Significantly better compression all the way around. 3 and 4 still low, mostly 3 is low. I test drove it and the hesitation, while driving is nearly gone. I'm gonna treat 3 and 4 again and see if I can get them closer to 90. If I can get nearly 90 all the way around I think I'll be happy for now. My long term plan is to get ahold of another 226H, and rebuild it slowly while driving the installed 226h for a while longer.

Latest pressure results:

1 95
2 90
3 78
4 85
5 90
6 92
 
The correct compression test check spec for a 1951 Ford 226 H is 120 PSI so your down quite a bit on compression even If you had them with in 15% it would be 102. Probally time to consider an compleate overhaul.
 
All, update a few months later now..... no more hesitation. I have a totally new ignition and fuel system, and she runs great. I can cruise on highway at 70mph with no issues. I have an autolite 1000 carb, and pertronix ignition system, and carbon fiber spark plug wires. even with my compression not being what it should(I haven't read it in a while), she runs really good! I'm guessing the hesitation was the old carb, on a second or third rebuild of the old carb I did get the hesitation to stop, so I'm guessing it was a main metering problem. Interesting note, and proof that main metering issues on carb will cause hesitation while at cruising speed, but not start up or acceleration problems.. After installing the new carb, she had the hesitation at cruising speed. I did some research and came up with boring out the main jet, because the carb was set up for a 170 or 200 ci ford six, vs my 226 flat six. so I measured the bore, it was .064. I bored it out to .076, and no more hesitation while driving at cruise speed. So my only conclusion is that my original hesitation issue was carb related and main jet was clogged or not performing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top