Semantics I guess? Everyone is on the right track I think and your heart is in the right place russco, good on you to go help. Keeps me from heading to Illinois (lol) Wish the air went in before the rockers came loose, damn ! As far as 3 in a row being out of adjustment ? Anything is possible I guess, but I wasn't there to see how it happened. It seems highly unlikely but at this point what exactly do we have concrete and solid to go on? Which test results do we consider accurate and build a thought process off of?
Just borrowed the leak down tester from Russco and will try to mess with it this weekend. Gonna pump some air in and see where it goes.
I truly hope it's something simple , I( I, ME )would rather be embarrassed by a missed step that can be fixed rather then chasing my tail because i got bad parts from someone.(probably not the problem in your case but i just don't trust the lifters were getting any more) Good luck----------Jack
I agree. I worked at a dealership for a few years. I always did a compression test first. If I found any low cylinders, I would only do a leak down on those cyl's. No point on leak-down testing a good cyl, right? Also, be careful adjusting hyd lifters that already have oil in them. Depending on the lifter, it may take an hour or so before the oil bleeds out of the lifter after you tighten them down. They will hold open the valve until that happens
Here's the latest, hooked leak down tester to it. Two of the cylinders had 4 psi difference between gauges and one had 12 psi difference. No air coming out the exhaust, carb or bubbles in the radiator. I did feel a little pressure at the dipstick tube but that could be rings. My guess is at least two cylinders had valves adjusted to tight and possibly the third also. Next step is to readjust the valves and check compression again and go from there. If the compression is good I will button it up and see if it fires. If that takes care of the problem great, but why all of a sudden did the valves on those cylinders become a problem and cause it not to run when it ran fine before???? Just doesn't make sense. Anyway I'll wait and see what happens and go from there.
Valves probaby were adjusted too tight when new, then once the engine ran for awhile the Lifters filled with oil (like they are supposed to) and pumped up holding the valves open. Might have just taken a bit to get all the air out of them. Did you run it at 2k to break in the cam???
That's kind of what I was thinking too the lifters finally pumped up. Just run them again carefully. At this stage, (if you are unsure on the adjustment) a bit loose would be better than too tight. You can adjust them again after you get it running if they are noisy. They aren't Morel lifters are they?
Just a good explanation here. It would have been nice if the air went in with the engine in its no-start condition before the rockers got loosened.
The air would have come out the intake or exhaust and you would know for certain that the valves were the problem.
If you left it alone and put air in the cylinder you would have heard it come out the ports, then back off the rocker and it would have stopped....then you really would have know.
It's kind of like Daniel Boone's answer when asked if he'd ever been lost. He said he'd been a might puzzled for a few days but he'd never been lost. I've had jobs where I'm the one that troubleshoots what others can't find and I've always found the problem; eventually.
What ever happened to this "piece of the head gasket sticking out"? Just a red herring or is there really something to it?
Nothing to it. There is a piece sticking out that I caught my finger on but it wasn't blown out, just a sharp edge.
Kinda funny, 'cause I was going to mention this. I'm surprised that the engine didn't pop or puff at all...even with compression issues on one bank. Yet it's getting "fuel" and spark. Although, I guess with enough disruption in the air/fuel mixture, it could keep it from firing. Being really flooded could keep it from firing too. So OP, you're sure it's gas in the tank and not kerosene?
Yea what's the word man? I'm gettin anxious waitin to hear what you found. Spark fuel and air make a pop! At least some kind of burp Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
This 383sbc is his new born baby,new born baby's can't tell ya whats wrong, you got to figure it out while the baby is screaming. Be patient dad will figure it out
I'm gonna try and work on it some tonight and tomorrow afternoon. Not kerosene, I don't even have any of it around. I didn't get as much done last weekend on it because I had to put a new fuel pump on the wife's car. Had to drop the tank, etc. I was surprised that I wasn't getting a backfire or sputter of some kind. I guess having 0 compression on 3 cylinders was enough to prevent it. Strange how the valves on three cylinders suddenly started hanging open because of the valve adjustment. I have hours of running time on it with no problems. Thanks again for all the input. I'll keep you posted.
I have built a few engines but don't call myself a pro. by no means only someone with some concerns,(IF)your lifters were over adjusted to the point that your valves touched the pistons(your leak down test should have answered that) and if they did, did they push your rocker studs up and out any,just something to check. On the valve adjustment ,(i think) if you over adj. them there is a hole in the side of the lifter that the oil pressure comes into the lifter, if adjusted too far the oil can't enter the lifter's. I'll end this by asking 31Vickey how far off center am i on the lifters old gray matter ya know
Awe hell, my gray matter ain't no better ! There's a whole bunch of different ways to do lifters and adjust valves - guys will argue this shit until they are blue in the face. Every method ( see my post about methods) has its merits and work. Some will argue that other methods are flawed and only theirs work correctly. Some will argue theres no need for extra steps. Ill tell you my method later at the end. Then lifters don't seem to be what they used to be. There's a bigger percentage of screwed up ones to good ones. I can speculate why, but I'm pretty sure it boils down to profits and cost of doing business instead of a mindset of delivering 100% quality parts. My methods, these are mine and they work for me so far 100% as to detecting faulty parts before installed, finding problems before buttoned up, and valves being adjusted correctly. I say so far because it could change tomorrow. There are extra steps and if it was a timed event many other methods will beat mine unless there is a problem and my methods come out on top. Basically the old adage of " there's never enough time to do things right the first time but there always is enough time to do them over" First, I give a good visual and cleaning of the lifters. Common sense right? I soak my lifters in oil, try for overnight but most times I get at least 4 hrs. Second, I pump them up in that oil. This does a few things: they are ready, bled of air, and if there is a problem with them pumping up wouldn't you want to know before they are installed? I do that's why I take the extra time. Maybe 30 mins to pump 16 lifters. How long to get a bad lifter out of running engine? When it comes to valve adjustment I run one cylinder at a time doing both valves. I start with #1 and adjust to 0.00 free play by feel and stop there for now. Next I roll the next cylinder in the firing order up to its compression TDC and do both valves the same way. Just continue on with all cylinders. While I'm doing this I pay attention to how the engine rotates, how things feel. Ok so all cylinders' valves are adjusted at 0.00. Some times I do a quicky leak down or compression test by mounting the starter and jumping it. Takes a few mins but if you have a problem you find it fast and easy. Ok so if the intake is off, I measure the preload on the lifter by measuring the distance the plunger moves. This I also do both valves and rotate crank and follow the firing order. If the intake is on, I just tighten the nut what ever the spec is 1/4 turn to 1 turn what ever is specked. Yes there are extra steps and it takes longer but (so far) I've never missed a bad part, not noticed a rotational problem, or had a trouble or lost my place when the phone rings. Some times I find stupid shit before its an issue & easily correct it. Sometimes it's even my fault but I find it before its an issue. I also like to do a final adjust with the engine running. It's not a problem or a mess for me most of the time. You do what works for you.
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