AndyMenon
Member
It was not the timing. Some of the inlet valves were open on the compression-ignition stroke.
Unable to Fire up Motor
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AndyMenon
Member
I really appreciate your response. The motor just fired up this evening. I'm not sure where the *fact* about my distributor moving to the front of my motor originated. I don't recall ever stating that.
You're right. If the motor's good, the focus must be about getting it to fire up.
Best,
Andy
AndyMenon
Member
LOL! Sorry about the late response. Some other errands (delegated by the boss) kept me out of the shop for a couple of days. Agreed, that is one long haul!
AndyMenon
Member
I will bring the movie. A 30-second clip of my motor firing upYou get the Popcorn,or Peanuts, I'll get the beer....think we can sell tickets?
Mike J
Member
Thanks so much for all your valuable inputs. The # of pages that this discussion rolled into is a testament to the fact!
That said, I'm not one of those individuals who gives up so easily.
OK, I have pasted pictures just to make sure that I was right about the way I had set up the cam, and that there was nothing extremely out of whack with the set up . I just could not recall all the details as this was all put together back in 2010. Therefore, I had to retrace my steps and this is what I did:
- Gentleman, I am happy to report that my ride has fired up!
- My apologies for the size of the text!
- Please don't ban me from the forums. But the font size reflects the magnitude of my happiness!
- I have made a video on my cell phone and will post the YouTube link here as soon as I sync my phone to my laptop.
- Took off the distributor. Confirmed the position of the timing mark by comparing it with the stock timing cover.
- As mentioned in my post #71 yesterday, I made sure that my TDC-position was indeed the compression-ignition stroke.
- Then, loosened the rocker arm nut for the inlet, and re-tightened the nut 1/2-turn at a time just enough for the push-rod to stop turning, followed by a quick quarter-turn. Further, I made sure that the exhaust valve is closed.
- If #1 was at TDC correctly , it means each cylinder in the firing order would hit compression-ignition for every 90-degrees of the crank rotation.
- Rotated the crank by 90-degrees and repeated the process on each of the inlet valves for each of the cylinders in the firing order 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2 .
- Reinstalled the distributor pointing to the #1 cylinder and cranked it. It fired up instantly!
Cheers!
Andy
So what do you think it was, distributor off or valves misadjusted or both? Anywho, Good to know it's "alive"Thanks so much for all your valuable inputs. The # of pages that this discussion rolled into is a testament to the fact!
That said, I'm not one of those individuals who gives up so easily.
OK, I have pasted pictures just to make sure that I was right about the way I had set up the cam, and that there was nothing extremely out of whack with the set up . I just could not recall all the details as this was all put together back in 2010. Therefore, I had to retrace my steps and this is what I did:
- Gentleman, I am happy to report that my ride has fired up!
- My apologies for the size of the text!
- Please don't ban me from the forums. But the font size reflects the magnitude of my happiness!
- I have made a video on my cell phone and will post the YouTube link here as soon as I sync my phone to my laptop.
- Took off the distributor. Confirmed the position of the timing mark by comparing it with the stock timing cover.
- As mentioned in my post #71 yesterday, I made sure that my TDC-position was indeed the compression-ignition stroke.
- Then, loosened the rocker arm nut for the inlet, and re-tightened the nut 1/2-turn at a time just enough for the push-rod to stop turning, followed by a quick quarter-turn. Further, I made sure that the exhaust valve is closed.
- If #1 was at TDC correctly , it means each cylinder in the firing order would hit compression-ignition for every 90-degrees of the crank rotation.
- Rotated the crank by 90-degrees and repeated the process on each of the inlet valves for each of the cylinders in the firing order 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2 .
- Reinstalled the distributor pointing to the #1 cylinder and cranked it. It fired up instantly!
Cheers!
Andy
AndyMenon
Member
Thanks! was the inlet valves. there isn't a real easy way to conclude that the inlet valves are closed shut on TDC with the intake manifold bolted on. I must've given them one turn too many.So what do you think it was, distributor off or valves misadjusted or both? Anywho, Good to know it's "alive"
AndyMenon
Member
Thanks for speaking my mind bowtie! Yes in retrospect it was not very hard. It was just too time consuming.
Given that my fuel line was loaded with gas, taking everything apart was not a very good proposition either. But I'm glad that I was able to fix the issue without having to start from scratch.
AndyMenon
Member
I'll open up the valve covers tomorrow and make sure that has not happened.
But here's my question. If I back out the rocker nut by a 1/4-turn, the push rod rotates, but that aside, the rocker arm moves from side-to-side a little because the nut is not tight enough. This side-to-side movement may lead to excessive wear when the engine runs.
Thoughts?
AndyMenon
Member
The V305 is embossed on the casting of the engine block. It 's on the d-side, near the firewall , on the transmission tunnel surface. The motor was pulled out of the truck from the person I bought it from. It had a stock cover that I posted in the pic. The timing mark is part of the plastic valve cover (that looks hideous, one reason I took it off).
And I have written this down someplace. The pattern of numbers on the engine engraved on the side of the water pump port on the p-side confirms that it is a GM 305 V8.
bigblk1177
Member
Glad to hear you got it going. Way to hang in there!! I really like the stick showing everyone the rotor is pointing to # 1 cylinder. You can actually start with # 1 plug wire anywhere on the distributor cap as long as # 1 is up on compression stroke and rotor is pointing to that position.. Just saying for future reference Anywho like I said glad to hear it's alive. Have a Blessed Day. Is that the Boss calling? LOL
Screaming Metal
Active Member
Now, we're proud of ya!....do a burn out for us! Hahaha....
AndyMenon
Member
Yep, in fact she has warned me not to go back into the garage again until tomorrow.
Now that the motor's fired up, it's time to button up rest of the stuff and I'm keen to finish up the project so that I can drive it around.
As for the distributor, it was not an issue at all. The fact that it plopped right into place and lined itself up with #1 after I turned the crank 2 full turns (as I had described earlier today), proves that the distributor was set up correctly. It was the valves that did me in .
Thanks much for the kind words, and it has been back-breaking and yet, a great experience!
AndyMenon
Member
LOL! Thanks much! I will try
TriodeLuvr
Member
Congrats on getting it running! I'm confused about the problem - are you saying the valves were too tight, or was the distributor installed incorrectly (or both)?
Jack
Jack
TriodeLuvr
Member
Ooops, where did all those other posts come from? Nevermind, I see it was the valves.
Mike
Well-Known Member
Oh, I can help you out with what it means. Take a look at the total number of posts in this thread, which will get you headed in the right direction on what it means. This thread went on for 98, unnecessary posts. And if you don't believe me, just read on.
Not sure where you got the term 'loser', because I don't see that one in EX JUNK's post. You wouldn't be trying to put words in anyone's mouth, would you? For the record, if Jim's comment about this thread being a hoax put you out, then knowing I view it as a circus stunt run amok is really going to light you up. But, there you have it.
I like how you suggested to EX JUNK that everyone 'stay on topic'. That was pretty priceless, to be honest. When it comes down to the fact that you weren't able to follow your own advice. EX JUNK is a moderator on this site because he has a solid grasp of the forum rules and forum etiquette, so howzabout you stop wasting your time trying to offer him moderating advice?
I've no problem with anyone taking the hard path, and thereby learning lessons they would have otherwise missed, but when people come here to ask for help and then ignore those trying to help them, I really start wondering what that is all about.
Just to hammer down the fine point, in this 100th post of the thread, I want to ask you to go back and read post #2. Yessir, the 2nd post of this thread, submitted on the same day as your initial question, contained the solution to your problem. But, on the same day, you assured everyone you had adjusted lifter preload correctly. (I'm still trying to determine how you set TDC with a piston stop, because stops are adjustable and require one to determine TDC before setting the stop.
) Duke gave you some simple advice in post #25. Screaming Metal tried to hammer that point home in post #26. Both of those posts were made the day after your original post. But in post #32, you once again reassured everyone you had set the valves, although you did highlight the observation on you bi-metal choke thermostat getting hot 
, as if that had anything to do with the problem.And the excuse you were too busy to get back in here is a dog that just ain't gonna hunt, because I've been paying close attention to this thread and to your forum activity for a week, ever since the day I asked you to answer just three, simple questions about your engine. You see, I couldn't understand why I was seeing you online, reading this thread, without providing any responses to any of us who were attempting to help you.
So, whilst it is good to read you managed to get the engine running again, imagine how wonderful it could have been, had you simply taken the advice you were offered within hours of your original post.
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