phid75 Posted September 1, 2015 Report Share Posted September 1, 2015 hi all, I have performed a rebuild of my engine recently. It is now back in the engine bay but won't start : starter runs, and when engine seems to catch up it stalls as if it had too much advance and explosion occurred before TDC I have double checked ignition timing and it seems good (to me but I may be wrong) Here is a link to how it behaves : https://youtu.be/rd-hfZhAzwk any idea of what could be the problem ? thanks Philippe Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Geko Posted September 1, 2015 Report Share Posted September 1, 2015 Dizzy off 180° or firing order (1,3,4,2 - N° 1 being at the front of the car)....after Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chilliman Posted September 1, 2015 Report Share Posted September 1, 2015 Timing is all to cock Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted September 1, 2015 Report Share Posted September 1, 2015 HI Phillipe, the posts above sound about right. Take off the rocker cover and get #1 piston valves both in the up position (Piston at TDC). Use whatever method to ensure the piston is actually at TDC. Mark the crank pulley - you may well find the mark you are using at the moment is 180' out. Annoyingly it is possible to fit the crank pulley belt guides out by many many degrees Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tim hunt Posted September 1, 2015 Report Share Posted September 1, 2015 Yes Roger, I had exactly this on my 4A when acquired in 1970 with the result that the hole in the rear half of the fan pulley did not line up with the pointer on the crank case when the engine was at true dead centre with no 1 piston on the compression stroke. I found it was actually 120 degrees out. I never understood why the ST engineers did not poka-yoke this assembly so the two pulley halves could only fit together in one orientation. Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phid75 Posted September 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2015 thank you for all the prompt answers. So timing should be the problem As I have only changed the rod bearings, rings, and worked on the head, I am pretty confident the pulley mark is good when at TDC any way I could have misplaced the distributor gear ? I'll recheck everything thanks Philippe Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phid75 Posted September 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2015 thank you gentlemen to have put me in the right direction indeed the timing advance was wrong, and voilà ! engine has started thanks again Philippe Quote Link to post Share on other sites
littlejim Posted September 13, 2015 Report Share Posted September 13, 2015 (edited) Good news. When I did mine I waited what ever time/miles the book said before re-torquing the head bolts again. The head gasket failed (gas into water cooling system.) For the next one I re-torqued it after a few runs around the place in the TR. Well before the recommended mileage. Has worked OK ever since. Dunno what the the experts recommend, might get a few comments on which is the best policy. To get at all the head bolts the tappets have to come off again. (sigh) It is the way of things. Edited September 13, 2015 by littlejim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Motorsport Mickey Posted September 13, 2015 Report Share Posted September 13, 2015 The success of the head gasket seal depends upon how assiduous the liner heights have been worked and should stand being run in it's original configuration until the head gasket is again retorqued. Bearing in mind the original suggestions were based upon a then new engine not as we have now with 50 and 60 year old units you can understand how the liners may have moved or the seal is marginal. On race engines I normally retorque after about 200 miles after which the engine is ready to race, I don't see a problem doing it this way and have successful head seals. Mick Richards Quote Link to post Share on other sites
littlejim Posted September 13, 2015 Report Share Posted September 13, 2015 thanks Mick. Suspect you know more about it than I/we ever will. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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