Hi guys, new to the forum, not real new to Jags.

This is my first rebuild of the head on my 85 VDP. Got the head on, wires in place finally.

I have a couple of vacuum lines I need to put on, but was told they shouldn't affect the way the engine runs. This is a pretty dumb question, but will the engine run poorly without the air filter installed?

I have it all together, AFM is open to the air on the intake side. Does the filter housing causes a pressure change that is critical for the AFM to operate properly?

The symptoms are that the engine will not remain running unless I hold my foot on the pedal. Engine was put back together at TDC, starts with effort, now looking at the timing to see if it is out.

 

Welcome to the JF. I don't believe the AFM should affect the running and certainly not the starting. You are correct in assuming timing...being off a few degrees will affect starting and smooth running.

 

I should have stated that the engine only idles with accelerator pressure. Never touched the idle speed.

Any thoughts?

 

Dial in the timing before fiddling with idle speed. If you mess with the speed before timing it, you may have to change it back again after timing.

I assume your cams were set properly?

 

I am surprised I even need to touch either since the motor ran fine, all that happened was a gasket failure.

Do you think that I should be playing with idle if it ran properly before?

 

If it ran fine before then there should be no reason to mess with it now.

 

assuming nothing else has been touched, reconnect the air filter canister and all the vacuum lines.

 

Never mind, during a backfire, the EAV hose popped off. Reattached it and all is well with the car now.