Weasel engine too tight?

[Darryl]

Hi all,

I wrote recently about my search for a new cranking motor for the Weasel I have here.  A NOS one arrived here yesterday so I pulled it apart, checked it all out and bench tested it.

I put the cranking motor into the Weasel and gave it a few turns with the spark plugs out.  Initially, the engine appeared to turn over okay, although my impression was that there wasn’t a lot of clearance between the fan blades and the fan shroud.  It was not binding but there appeared to be a little more mechanical noise from the front like the edge of a fan blade rubbing every now and again on the shroud.

I decided to do a compression test for starters on the cylinders and just see what that showed.  Cylinder 6 showed only 60 pounds which I thought was odd.

When I went to check Cylinder 5, the cranking motor didn’t turn and the solenoid kept going back and forth. I removed the cranking motor, checked the Bendix etc and all appeared fine.

I put a short lever in through the rear inspection hole in the bell housing just to see if I could turn the flywheel by hand.  It moved easily and appeared free enough.

I put the cranking motor back in and turned the engine over again.  Cylinder 5 showed even less compression than 6.  This is a new cylinder compression tester that I have and I started to wonder if it was working properly.  I then noticed that the engine seemed to struggle to turn over then, almost as if the battery was getting low on power.  The battery was fully charged beforehand though and we are only talking 1-2 minutes of cranking the engine.

As background, when I bought this Weasel, I was told that the engine had had a full rebuild but that the owner had not been able to get it to run.

I checked back with my contact who got the Weasel for me and he confirmed that he was told that the engine had undergone a full rebuild but that it appeared too tight and didn’t turn over well.  It looks like I am experiencing the same problems he had.

My plan today is to try another engine compression tester and see if that gives me any different results.

I’m also going to put a voltmeter on the battery while cranking it to confirm it’s not an electrical problem.   

I don’t see anything in the manual about a way to prime the oil pump.  Is there anything else I can do with internal lubrication? It has plenty of clean oil in it.

I would have thought that any reputable engine reconditioner would have checked the engine for excessive tightness at all stages of the rebuild.

So… I also would have thought the previous owner would have fired this engine up (or attempted to) on a stand before fitting it into the Weasel.

I guess one can’t be sure on either point though…..

I’m pretty sure I know the answer to this question, but is there anything about ‘the setup’ of the Weasel engine that would make it excessively tight? I’m not talking about the engine rebuild itself, more anything else after the engine was assembled.  As I say, I’m working (hoping) on the basis that the engine rebuilder knew what they were doing but something else might have been done to the engine after the rebuild.

Otherwise, it looks like my next step will be to pull the engine out and open it up and see what is going on inside.

Thanks

Darryl

[darth_kitten]

I don't think engine compression will yield much at this point. Especially if the engine has sat for a while. If it were me, I would try to get the engine running and oil circulating before I test compression.  I'm assuming that you're cranking with the plugs in? How does it perform with the plugs out?

[F-D Zernia]

Hi Darryl,

    I also had a sound near the front of the engine. My front fan pulley was not tight enough. After tightening the adjustable ring on the water pump pulley and tightening the set screw better the sound went away. The set screw was not tight enough and it moved in the grove and created a chatter. 
    After 10 minutes of initial run we checked compression. It was 60 psi on all six cylinders. I think when the rings seat it may improve. 
    I also had a time the starter solenoid would click and chatter. I moved the ground wire on the solenoid from the voltage regulator post to a chassis ground and it improved. One of the small wires on the solenoid is the trigger and the other is a ground. 
    As far as priming the oil system and pump. I pumped oil into the line for the oil pressure gauge. While the oil was moving we turned the engine very slowly about two revolutions by hand. That seemed to do the trick. 
    Double check the distributor rotation and plug firing order. My manual showed the distributor rotation direction on car engine. On the weasel with the 90 degree distributor adapter the rotation is reversed. 
    Fred

[Patrick Tipton]

This is a little hard to unpack without getting to touch and hear the engine.

Let's start from the top.

1.  One to two minutes of cranking an engine consumes a lot of energy.  Most of the time, we crank for maybe 5 or 6 seconds and an engine starts.  10 seconds is a long time and starts getting starters hot.  I could see the battery discharging pretty rapidly if you have cranked on it for close to 2 minutes.

2.  When you assemble an engine, you start by installing the crank with lots of assembly lube, then you torque on one crank bearing at a time.  You turn the crank after tightening each cap to ensure that nothing is binding.  With the crankshaft torqued down, it will turn smoothly by hand but there is a little resistance (I would say mostly lubrication related surface tension because once it starts moving, it moves easily).  You then install the pistons and do the same thing, one at a time.  By the time you get all 6 pistons installed, it takes a lot of force to turn the new engine over - you need an extension bar or the like - lots of friction from rings, overcoming valve spring pressures, etc.  Importantly, though, there is nothing binding and everything will feel smooth.

Even with a brand new starter and battery, a fresh engine turns over more slowly than feels comfortable.  There is a ton of friction at this point.

Once you get the engine running, it frees up quickly ....the rings wear in, and everything sort of settles down to where most of the force you feel when you crank the engine over is compression.  But this happens after the engine has run a bit - the old "break in period" - and why lots of manufacturers have suggested break in methods to ensure that the engine will perform at peak.  The Weasel manuals have a suggested break in procedure....

Since this engine has never run, compression checks and the like are not going to mean much.  If the engine can be turned over without any obvious hard spots (with the plugs out) or noises, then I would focus on getting it running.  Get a helper if you can to watch the oil pressure.  Once the engine fires up, don't run it for more than 20-30 seconds if the oil pressure hasn't come up.  Even without special priming....you should see that oil pressure pop pretty quickly or something else is wrong.

Finally, the Weasel starter wiring is slightly goofy - so you may be losing a little starter umph if the wiring isn't perfect.  Since the engine turns over though, I would not be too concerned yet.  Also, adjusting the timing with the engine in the machine sucks...but can be done.  Make sure you have spark, find TDC #1, make sure your firing order is correct and then crank with a little choke.  If you are not getting a pop, start moving the distributor in one direction first, then the other - a little bit at a try...maybe up to 1/4 turn either direction.  if you are even close to TDC/timing, the engine should start.  Try to keep it running without racing it too high, watch your oil pressure and get it warm.  Once it warms up, it should settle down and you can start tweaking the timing and the carb to get it to idle nicely, then start working on getting it to run well across the power range.

Not sure if you are a member at www.portrayal.tv, but we have started lots of rebuilt engines and struggled with these issues.  We are working on reassembling my T24 engine right now, plus doing a quick and dirty "overhaul" on another Weasel engine.  You will find the videos helpful.  You can use code PPC and get a free month.

Hope that helps.

[Darryl]

Hi all,

 

Thanks for the replies. I spent a bit of time on the Weasel yesterday and actually covered some ground that some have suggested so it is probably easier to do a summary and then reply to individual comments after that.

 

The first thing I did yesterday was to clean up the various earth straps on the Weasel. There were a lot of individual wires going to individual tags on the hull. I've joined all these smaller wires at one point with a good earth connection onto the hull.

 

I also cleaned up the main earth wire from the battery to the hull. This was looking a bit ugly and is a lot cleaner now.

 

I removed the spark plugs again and squirted a bit more fine oil down into the compression chamber just in case valves were sticking. The valves look nice and clean but some of the metalwork around the guides looks a little rough which makes me wonder about the extent of the rebuild.

 

I used the same battery as the day before which was again fully charged. This battery has about 560 CCA so I thought that would be enough.

 

The initial cranking was better than the day before and the engine did turn over faster. I think cleaning up that main earth point helped. Spark on all plugs appears good. All valves that I can see are moving. Not sure without looking at the manual whether these are the intake or exhaust but all are moving.

 

I put the spark plugs back in and connected the fuel hose from the filter to a small can of fuel. The Weasel has an electric fuel pump and I fitted a new switch for that to the dash. The original fuel pump is on the block but is not connected. Interestingly, from what I can see, that original pump appears to be in good condition so I’m not sure why this was not connected.

 

I tried turning the engine over again. While the engine did turn over faster than yesterday it did seem to get to a point in its revolutions where it laboured a bit and then turned faster again.

 

The engine didn't appear to fire at all and I wasn't happy with the speed it was turning over so I grabbed the battery out of my White Scout Car. This has 900 cranking amps so it is a good chunky battery. This battery turned the engine over much quicker and I feel I will need to fit a decent sized battery into the Weasel.

 

Out of interest, what sort of CCA do you guys look for in a Weasel battery?

 

I checked the fuel supply and there is fuel getting to the carburettor.

 

As I say, this battery was much better and this time I started getting pops and splutters in the exhaust, as well as a bit of white smoke, no doubt from that oil I put in the spark plug holes. I think maybe one or two cylinders were firing at that stage.

 

Again though, the engine does get to a point when it is turning that it slows a bit and then spins faster again. I have tried videoing that but it was a bit hard to hold the switch down and the camera while also holding the throttle lever. I’ll see if I can upload that video. 

 

I ran out of time at that point so I called it quits and put the batteries on charge. I'm much more encouraged by what I've seen though and I think this engine will run. I’ve had no other issues with the starter solenoid chattering so I’m thinking tidying up those earths did help.

 

As Fred and Patrick have said, I am going to check the timing now and also the spark plug leads to ensure they are numbered correctly.

 

Thanks for all the advice to date and I’ll let you know how I get on.

 

Cheers 

Darryl 

 

[Darryl]

23 hours ago, darth_kitten said:

I don't think engine compression will yield much at this point. Especially if the engine has sat for a while. If it were me, I would try to get the engine running and oil circulating before I test compression.  I'm assuming that you're cranking with the plugs in? How does it perform with the plugs out?

Hi Darth Kitten

Thanks for the reply. As per my post above.

 

[Darryl]

23 hours ago, F-D Zernia said:

Hi Darryl,

    I also had a sound near the front of the engine. My front fan pulley was not tight enough. After tightening the adjustable ring on the water pump pulley and tightening the set screw better the sound went away. The set screw was not tight enough and it moved in the grove and created a chatter. 
    After 10 minutes of initial run we checked compression. It was 60 psi on all six cylinders. I think when the rings seat it may improve. 
    I also had a time the starter solenoid would click and chatter. I moved the ground wire on the solenoid from the voltage regulator post to a chassis ground and it improved. One of the small wires on the solenoid is the trigger and the other is a ground. 
    As far as priming the oil system and pump. I pumped oil into the line for the oil pressure gauge. While the oil was moving we turned the engine very slowly about two revolutions by hand. That seemed to do the trick. 
    Double check the distributor rotation and plug firing order. My manual showed the distributor rotation direction on car engine. On the weasel with the 90 degree distributor adapter the rotation is reversed. 
    Fred

Hi Fred

Thanks for the reply. I must have been reading your mind as I covered a few of your suggestions in what I did yesterday. As you suggest, the timing and firing order is next up. I still need to check that noise at the front.

Thanks 

Darryl 

[Darryl]

18 hours ago, Patrick Tipton said:

This is a little hard to unpack without getting to touch and hear the engine.

Let's start from the top.

1.  One to two minutes of cranking an engine consumes a lot of energy.  Most of the time, we crank for maybe 5 or 6 seconds and an engine starts.  10 seconds is a long time and starts getting starters hot.  I could see the battery discharging pretty rapidly if you have cranked on it for close to 2 minutes.

2.  When you assemble an engine, you start by installing the crank with lots of assembly lube, then you torque on one crank bearing at a time.  You turn the crank after tightening each cap to ensure that nothing is binding.  With the crankshaft torqued down, it will turn smoothly by hand but there is a little resistance (I would say mostly lubrication related surface tension because once it starts moving, it moves easily).  You then install the pistons and do the same thing, one at a time.  By the time you get all 6 pistons installed, it takes a lot of force to turn the new engine over - you need an extension bar or the like - lots of friction from rings, overcoming valve spring pressures, etc.  Importantly, though, there is nothing binding and everything will feel smooth.

Even with a brand new starter and battery, a fresh engine turns over more slowly than feels comfortable.  There is a ton of friction at this point.

Once you get the engine running, it frees up quickly ....the rings wear in, and everything sort of settles down to where most of the force you feel when you crank the engine over is compression.  But this happens after the engine has run a bit - the old "break in period" - and why lots of manufacturers have suggested break in methods to ensure that the engine will perform at peak.  The Weasel manuals have a suggested break in procedure....

Since this engine has never run, compression checks and the like are not going to mean much.  If the engine can be turned over without any obvious hard spots (with the plugs out) or noises, then I would focus on getting it running.  Get a helper if you can to watch the oil pressure.  Once the engine fires up, don't run it for more than 20-30 seconds if the oil pressure hasn't come up.  Even without special priming....you should see that oil pressure pop pretty quickly or something else is wrong.

Finally, the Weasel starter wiring is slightly goofy - so you may be losing a little starter umph if the wiring isn't perfect.  Since the engine turns over though, I would not be too concerned yet.  Also, adjusting the timing with the engine in the machine sucks...but can be done.  Make sure you have spark, find TDC #1, make sure your firing order is correct and then crank with a little choke.  If you are not getting a pop, start moving the distributor in one direction first, then the other - a little bit at a try...maybe up to 1/4 turn either direction.  if you are even close to TDC/timing, the engine should start.  Try to keep it running without racing it too high, watch your oil pressure and get it warm.  Once it warms up, it should settle down and you can start tweaking the timing and the carb to get it to idle nicely, then start working on getting it to run well across the power range.

Not sure if you are a member at www.portrayal.tv, but we have started lots of rebuilt engines and struggled with these issues.  We are working on reassembling my T24 engine right now, plus doing a quick and dirty "overhaul" on another Weasel engine.  You will find the videos helpful.  You can use code PPC and get a free month.

Hope that helps.

Hi Patrick

Thanks for the detailed reply.

I didn’t word things properly in my post. I only crank for about 5 seconds or so at a time. My first post mentioned 1-2 minutes, but that was total time trying things.

Yes, I understand that about the engine assembly. I can only assume that the previous owner didn’t run the engine up on a stand before fitting it to the Weasel to get everything working right in the first place.

I wonder if the demise of the original starter was due to the problems in getting the engine running and maybe them sitting on the starter button. The starter switch on the dash needed replacing as well.

I don’t see how they would have even been able to test the engine with that starter motor. And yes, to answer your previous comment, the freight cost to get a NOS starter motor to New Zealand was not cheap!

Thanks for the tips on adjusting the timing while in situ. I can see that might be a bit of a challenge.

 

Thanks 

Darryl 

[Jesse Browning]

From what you have described, definitely verify that the spark plug wires are correct, and timing is correct. Try starting it with starting fluid. 

[F-D Zernia]

As Patrick stated timing is not the most convenient with the flywheel marks. I eventually did something different. I located the mark and painted lines with a paint stick. That helped some. The best was to index the mark centered on the pointer being sure it is top dead center. I used the camera on my phone for a better view. I only took the picture to verify location. Otherwise just look on the screen rather than use a mirror. Then with a marker I put a line on the pulley and another on the timing cover so they form a straight line. Now play with timing. No more bending over and looking in that difficult to see mark on the flywheel. 
    Now I don’t mind adjusting timing. 
Fredas you can see from the picture I first marked with a V. Later I replaced it with a line. It shows up better. 

[Patrick Tipton]

1 hour ago, F-D Zernia said:

 No more bending over and looking in that difficult to see mark on the flywheel.

I am not sure that is even fair😂

[OZM29C]

On 3/3/2024 at 8:31 AM, Darryl said:

Out of interest, what sort of CCA do you guys look for in a Weasel battery?

@Darryl I just used a standard N70ZZ(I think) 4wd battery available from any reputable aftermarket accessories store. I can check the CCA if you need that info. I did slightly modify the repo battery retaining clamp to fit a modern battery. BTW, I am taking my weasel down to Corowa next week so if you are coming over to Oz for that get together, please make a point of introducing yourself?

Edited March 4 by OZM29C
Added more to the post

[Darryl]

Hi all,

I spent a few more hours today working on the Weasel and thought I’d provide a quick update. I’ve found working on a Weasel is quite different to the M8 and M20 I’ve been working on lately, and I am working out fast how little room there is when you are dealing with an engine problem!

 

There were more surprises when I got in the back of the tub. The first thing I noticed was the pool of oil under the bell housing. The oil is clean engine oil and it appears to be coming from between the back of the block and the bell housing. It is a significant leak and while it is always hard to guesstimate how much is there, I’d suggest it would be half a cup of oil. It has only been a few days since I was working on it so not a good sign.

 

I am as yet unfamiliar with these engines but from what I saw in the manual the cause appears likely to be the gasket/seal on the back of the oil pan. I guess it was either not replaced, installed incorrectly, or has failed. Would the resident experts agree?

 

The likelihood that the engine has to come out just went up and I’m really wondering about this ‘full rebuild’ thing …..

 

Anyway, I tried to put that aside for a minute while I had another look at the engine. I firstly checked the plug leads themselves. The plug order itself was correct so I thought I’d get the distributor set up to be able to adjust it. I noticed the locking screw and nut that hold the distributor shaft against the mounting plate was loose and covered in a bit of rust. Another ominous sign I thought.

 

To cut a long story short, I found that the distributor appears to be frozen in its shaft in the block and I couldn’t get any movement in it. I removed the small bolt on the mounting base plate that secures the distributor to the block. With the bolt out, that plate rotates around the distributor body so I’m not sure yet whether the problem is within the distributor itself or how it is sitting in the block. Either way, I can’t rotate the distributor either clockwise or anti-clockwise. Cranking the engine a bit made no difference and I haven’t been able to pull the distributor out yet.

In the meantime, I thought I would give the engine another try, this time using a bit of starter fluid as Jesse suggested.

Unfortunately there was no improvement and all I got was a few splutters and some popping in the exhaust and the engine wouldn’t fire up.

Access to the distributor area is not great so I decided to remove the dash panel and the large panel that sits between the driver and the engine. This would at least give me better access to the engine itself. Frustratingly there were again a combination of imperial and metric bolts used to hold this plate in place.  

I will have another play around with the distributor tomorrow but regardless, the engine is going to have to come out. Aside from the leak from the oil pan, there are other problems. Some of the wiring is a bit rough and needs tidying up. There has also been a coolant leak and I note that there is oil on the temperature gauge sensor bulb, so that’s something else that will need investigating.

I’ll keep you posted!

Thanks

Darryl

 

 

[Darryl]

On 3/4/2024 at 5:24 PM, OZM29C said:

@Darryl I just used a standard N70ZZ(I think) 4wd battery available from any reputable aftermarket accessories store. I can check the CCA if you need that info. I did slightly modify the repo battery retaining clamp to fit a modern battery. BTW, I am taking my weasel down to Corowa next week so if you are coming over to Oz for that get together, please make a point of introducing yourself?

Thanks OZM29. I see that battery has a better CCA than the one I was initially using. I'll keep that in mind, thanks. I do need to get back to Corowa. I went in 2010, 2013, and 2016 so am well overdue but unfortunately it won't be this year. I'll keep in touch though. 

Thanks 

Darryl 

[Patrick Tipton]

Indeed, sounds like you are going to save a lot of headaches by just pulling the engine at this point and doing a very thorough inspection.

The "rear main" on the original Champion 6 is a labyrinth seal - always amazes me that they work.  There is an aluminum half circle (not sure off hand of the proper nomenclature - might call it a baffle) that fits into the oil pan that has a seal on it as well.  Then the oil pan itself has a multipart cork seal.
 

 

[Darryl]

Hi Patrick

Sounds a bit like the setup on the oil pan of the Hercules JXD in the White Scout car.  My engine is rebuilt and I was never confident about that seal arrangement.  Sure enough...it seeps oil.

Anyway, more surprises for me today with the Weasel and I guess this won't be helping with why the distributor won't move.  There is a pile of junk/debris in amongst the moving parts.

As far as removal goes, everything is stuck in there at present.  I will get the manual out again shortly but I'm guessing that screw on the little distributor drive pinion shaft on the block is a normal right hand thread?  It looks like one that I'll need to put an impact driver on it, but I don't want to be turning in the wrong direction. 

From what I can see I might have to get this pinion off and then remove the whole assembly from the block so I can get the distributor shaft out.

A late edit/update.....

I've managed to clean a lot of the debris out and it doesn't look as bad as I first thought.  I'm not sure what the debris is as there doesn't seem to be too much metal in amongst it.  The debris might even include bits of a cork gasket- just not sure yet. Anyway, everything is still stuck so I'll need to somehow get the distributor off and clean it all out. 

 

 

Edited March 6 by Darryl

[Jesse Browning]

Ive learned that “rebuilt engine” can mean just about anything. Sometimes it means “new spark plugs”. Once it meant that they pulled the head, and honed the cylinders with the pistons still in them. The honing compound was dripping down into the oil pan. That engine wouldn’t have ran long. Another time, the engine sat in a machine shop after ”rebuild”. It was full of metal chips, and mice, and had a water pump hole drilled too deep, and into one of the cylinders. I never run an engine, from any source, until it has been completely disassembled and gone thorough by me. If a seller says he’ll “get it running” first, it’s a deal breaker. The worst thing you can do with an engine that has sat for many years is to run it. Not that I’m any genius, I just want it done right. I dont want my customers coming back to me with complaints.

Edited March 6 by Jesse Browning

[Jesse Browning]

Shouldn’t the distributor just lift out without removing any gears? Its been a long time since I worked on a weasel.

[Darryl]

26 minutes ago, Jesse Browning said:

Ive learned that “rebuilt engine” can mean just about anything. Sometimes it means “new spark plugs”. Once it meant that they pulled the head, and honed the cylinders with the pistons still in them. The honing compound was dripping down into the oil pan. That engine wouldn’t have ran long. Another time, the engine sat in a machine shop after ”rebuild”. It was full of metal chips, and mice, and had a water pump hole drilled too deep, and into one of the cylinders. I never run an engine, from any source, until it has been completely disassembled and gone thorough by me. If a seller says he’ll “get it running” first, it’s a deal breaker. The worst thing you can do with an engine that has sat for many years is to run it. Not that I’m any genius, I just want it done right. I dont want my customers coming back to me with complaints.

Hi Jesse 

Sounds like some horror stories there. Yes, this one is proving to be a bit of an eye opener. 

[Darryl]

12 minutes ago, Jesse Browning said:

Shouldn’t the distributor just lift out without removing any gears? Its been a long time since I worked on a weasel.

Hi Jesse, 

Yes, that's what I would have expected to. I just wondered if it might have been easier to get that housing off the block and then try and get the distributor out. I've tried giving the bottom of the distributor body a few light taps but it seems to be stuck fast in the housing. I've put a screwdriver under the mounting plate to see if I can lift the distributor up that way but that just bends the plate.  At this stage, I've put some penetrant under that plate hoping that it might get into the housing and free up the distrutor shaft. I had wondered if there was more rubbish inside the housing which might be binding the pinion on the bottom of the distributor shaft in some way but I don't see how that is possible. What I might try tomorrow is warming up the housing attached to the block while using an oil filter removal tool around the distributor body and see if that gives me some leverage on it to get it to free up.  I don't see how the timing could have been set up in the first place if the distributor won't move. 

[M29C3284]

Here's a picture of the distributor drive.

 

With screw that holds it to block removed you should be able to remove the distributor with the drive in place.

[OZM29C]

@Darryl I have posted this information in other posts in this forum but I think that the information below will be relevant to your post as well. When you re-assemble your distributor and angle drive, you will need to more than likely replace the old cork seals. Below is a picture of a modern equivalent that I used in my weasel. I got these from Fluid Seals and Packing in Sydney but I am sure that they would be available over your way.

[Darryl]

Hi all,

Thanks Patrick for the photos and instructions on the removal of the distributor drive and housing.  I removed the housing yesterday.  The debris that was inside the housing included cork and lots of pieces of silicon. Clearly the previous owner had shares in a silicon product company as there was a proliferation of silicon on all the surfaces, including under the distributor mounting plate. Ultimately, the silicon was part of the problem in why the distributor wouldn’t move. 

Even once I got the distributor drive  out of the block I couldn’t get the distributor out of the shaft in the housing.  I tried some heat on the housing but that didn’t free it either.  In the end, I had to prise open the distributor mounting plate and gradually work my way around the shaft picking out all the silicon that had worked its way down between the shaft and the cork gasket.  I eventually picked out enough of the silicon and what was left of the cork gasket and the distributor came free.

While I don’t think the silicon was the only cause, it certainly provided an oil proof seal from the top and no amount of penetrating oil was going to be able to work down into the area between the cork gasket and housing and the distributor shaft. I'd say this engine has been sitting a bit as well and the distributor and the cork/silicon had 'become one'.

Anyway, I cleaned everything up, painted the housing, reassembled it and fitted with new gaskets and Loctite flange sealant.  I also took the time to mount the coil properly on the block. 

 OZ – I couldn’t find any of those square profile seals that you sent photos of here.  No doubt they might be available in some of the bigger centres here but locally they weren't available.  I have used O rings for the moment and will see how they work out for the bit of testing I have left to do on the engine.  I am still curious to see if I can get this thing to run before I pull the engine out. 

Does anyone have any tips for finding TDC on cylinder 1 with the engine in the vehicle?  I was going to try something I saw on another forum which involves a small wire probe with a bent piece (leg) on the end.  The suggestion was that it could be mounted with a little wire guide so that the leg sat on the top of the piston and you could see the wire going up and down as the engine was spun.  The location of the generator and the water pump elbow makes that tricky though.

I can see there is some white paint on the flywheel but it is more of a 'spray' of white paint rather than a line, so don't know if the stamped mark on the flywheel is about to come into view or has already gone out of view.  I haven't yet been able to spin the engine in a way that I can find the line on the flywheel.  I guess I could drop the starter motor again and rotate by hand but I still need to ensure cylinder 1 is at TDC.

Any tips?

Thanks

Darryl

 

 

 

 

[Patrick Tipton]

Sounds like good progress. 

I get grief for finding TDC this way, but it always works.  Pull the #1 sparkplug, put your finger over the hole and crank the engine over.  Release the crank when you feel the pressure start to build.  By the time the engine stops spinning, you will be close enough to TDC to install the distributor.  You will be close enough to get it to fire...then start adjusting the timing until the engine starts....once its warm, you can further refine the timing until she is running smoothly.

[Darryl]

Hi Patrick. Awesome. Thanks. I had thought of that as well but wondered if there was a more technical option. I'll give that a try. 

Thanks 

Darryl