American Motors: Ive just bought an 82 eagle..., vacuum hoses, vacuum leak


Question
I've just bought an 82 eagle wagon DL
My problem is: My engine seems to run fine,but as soon as I engage the transmission the idle drops
and the engine stalls.  

Answer
It sounds like you have a vacuum leak
(loose intake bolts or sucked in gasket,
bad vacuum hoses, carb assembly bolts
loose and the body is twistable), or the
carb is flooding from too high gas float
level, or the carb computer controlled
valve is sticking open (on the backside of
the carb. You can remove the screws and
spray lube it, or lube it through the hole
on top and then turn the key on and off
several times).
  You could also try turning the key on
and off 3 times, then unplugging the back
of the carb.
  Here's some helpful links. http://www.netheaven.com/~dwyer/amc/ http://www.jeeptech.com/engine/carter.html
There is also an AMC-list on http://www.amxfiles.com