I'll try to make this as short as possible.My car is 1980 Pymouth Volare 225 slant six 1brl that I rebuilt 1000 miles ago.Now my problem;I went to leave last week and my car didn't want to start,so I got it to start but it sounded like some wires went bad or the cap was cracked or something along those lines.I started checking things and discovered it was only firing on the 1 and 5 piston,so I swaped out a couple of wires and plugs but that wasn't it,so then I put on a new cap ,no change,next I changed distributers,no change,just for the hell of it I tried a third distributer,same thing.Next I changed the electronic ignition box,again nothing changed,I even tried a different coil,again no change.The part that really gets me is that no matter what I do the problem stay's the same the 1 and 5 pistons are firing the others aren't.I tried some other small things with the same results.I know some of the things I tried wouldn't cause this problem but I'm getting desperate.

Does the engine crank over like it has compression in all cylinders? Run a compression check, you could have valves hanging open.
Have you changed all the spark plugs?
DD

maybe I wasn't clear it only has spark on the 1 and 5 pistons.It starts and idles but is only firing on those 2 pistons the other 4 have no spark.

had a similar problem..it could be a few things...mostly related to valves..intake or exhaust valves..

You checked the spark on each, one by one? ...hard to believe it would even stay running at an idle with only 33.3% of the cylinders firing. From what you describe, it's definitely ignition related.

D/W

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If it ain't broke, fix it!

my car did that, too. can't remember what i did to fix though. down four cylinders and it still runs smoother than a harley. i love slants!

zedpapa

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1970 dodge dart w/225 /6 bored .040" over, holley 390cfm w/vac. sec., compcams 252s, clifford shorty headers w/2.5" exhaust w/flowmaster, f-body 11" front discs, aluminum A-833OD, 8 1/4 w/3.21 SG
soon to have 5 gears!!!

Sure sounds like it must be the valve train, as swapping electrical had no effect. Did you use the proper assembly lube on lifter faces and cam, and did you pre-lube and prime when you re-assembled the engine? If not it doesn't take long to wipe out the cam. Might run progressively worse, then one day just refuse to go any farther.

Stuck lifters are a good possibility. Try removing the valve cover then either turn it over by hand or fire it up at a slow idle and see if the rockers and pushrods are doing their thing on all cylinders. If you've got a dial caliper and magnetic base check the lift. Hopefully it's just stuck lifters, but pretty unusual to have 4 simultaneously stick and refuse to budge....how's the oil pressure?

...sure sounds like it must be something other than ignition, huh?

D/W

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If it ain't broke, fix it!

O.K. it sure sounds like you should have fixed the problem when you replaced all the parts you mentioned.

A stumper like this requires more information about your testing process.

How did you determine that it only has spark on 1 and 5. What type of testing device are you using and how are you using it. The more details the better because you've missed something in the details and it's not gonna be easy to guess.

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1980 Aspen 225 super six

Thanks D/W, I misread the post.......

well it turns out I must have had a stuck valve,because a couple of my pushrods got bent so now it sounds better when it starts[key word being when] I'm still having spark problems [/img]