Well, tore off the front end and didn't find what i was hoping to find. The timing is oriented as it should be, so I guess that means it's the rings. I had been contemplating pulling the engine anyway to repair leaks and freshen up the restoration, so why it's out why not freshen up the engine so that I know what I have.
Well, hmmm. OK. Had a little time this evening to look at the motor a little more. The dots on the cam & crank gears were at 3:00 with twelve pins between them, just as in the picture from a couple days ago. Used a piston stop and found exact TDC, then installed the degree wheel. Popped of the valve cover and noticed that the valves on #1 weren't loose, so the engine was on the exhaust stroke. Turned it 360 degrees and the cam gear dot was at 9:00, as you would expect. When I popped the distributor cap, I see that it was 180 degrees from #1. Turned it again to get the rotor pointed at #1 and that leaves the cam gear dot back at 9:00. Can you install the cam in a Y block 180 out, or is it only possible to install the distributor that way, like on other motors? Either way, how could it run this good with something 180 out?
Nothing wrong with what you found. With the dots lined up as described the #6 cylinder is on the compression stroke. Turn crank one revolution to bring #1 to the top and ready to fire.
Wont run 180 degrees off. Did you PM McTim64 like he offered? It would be a mistake not to take him up on his offer!
I'm no Einstein on Y's, but I used to have a couple, and was well read on some of their idiosyncrasies . This may be way off in left field, and it certainly wouldn't address any suspicious timing issue, but as far as fuel goes; seems to me that there were two different length push rods that ran from the cam lobe to the fuel pump depending on the production year. Love those Y's, still have half an engine worth of speed parts when I can find a good rebuildable block with standard bore cylinders ... FTE has an engine forum dedicated to Y's for some old school experience. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Yes, I have PM'ed him. While at TDC on the compression stroke, both valves closed, the contact of the rotor is at #6 on the distributor. It lines up with #1 on the exhaust stroke, which is when the timing dots are "aligned". And it does run and drive. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOMI_Hp88oE
A better check on cam timing turn #1 up on TDC exhaust watch the exhaust close and the intake start to open at TDC both should be open close to the same amount.
Change your oil - the oil may be diluted with fuel - causing it to run rich. I have experienced this MANY times in the past.
And I highly doubt the engine would run at all if the cam was timed with the marks straight up vs at 90* like they're supposed to be. It might run at one tooth off in either direction, but more than that and it simply would not run.
I've never seen a motor run 180 out, and I doubt this one would either, but I did expect to see the rotor pointed toward number 1 on the compression stroke, not the exhaust.
If you'd like to be entertained, check this thread I started a few months ago when I was struggling with a y-block myself... You wanna talk about frustration....I was ready to eat nails and shit barbed wire!
I don't know the answer to your problem , but I think you should pull the eccentric off and check the Key location as it relates to the photos. The cam key and the crank key should be in the location shown. It is a possibility that the gears are wrong , or marked wrong. Probably after market parts. Another possible thing is the cam is wrong for the engine? Might want to count the number of teeth on the gears and compare to the shop manual photos. I know this sounds like odd stuff , but you have an odd problem. I wouldn't tear the engine down until you verify the timing is right. Also check the manual as to timing the distributor. Is it supposed to be at #6 when the marks line Up ? Was your vacuum gauge tapped into manifold vacuum , or at the carb? Good luck .
Maybe you got some dirt dobbers in your intake manifold - get a bore scope and check it. lol...I'm actually serious.
Sorry, I posted the info over at the Ford Barn and Y Block forum, as well as directly to Tim, who has been kind enough to spend some time helping me, but forgot to post it here. Finally had time to do a cam timing check this afternoon, and here's what i came up with: Intake valve opens at 29° BTDC vs. Ford spec of 12° BTDC Intake valve closes at 85° ABDC vs. Ford spec of 54°ABDC Exhaust valve opens at 89° BBDC vs. Ford spec of 58° BBDC Exhaust valve closes at 41° ATDC vs. Ford spec of 8° ATDC All opening and closing measurements were taken at .020" to compensate for valve lash, dial indicator inside of pushrod cup. The intake lobe center angle came out to 112°. Intake valve lift measured .278" (.298" - .020") vs. Ford spec of .264" Exhaust lift measured .281" (.301" - .020") vs. Ford spec of .262"
OK, leak tester built and it appears to work, based on a lot of correlation with the compression test. All the cylinders but two had between 25 & 35% leakdown. One cylinder only had 6%(!), and one had 75%. That one might have a problem. I went back and checked it again and got the same reading. Moving the crank back and forth made no difference, nor did tapping the valves. I followed that with a couple squirts of oil and retested. The pressure came out about 5 psi, but you could hear the air blowing through the oil. I guess this tells me that I better go ahead and open it up while it's out of the car.
OK, the engine is out and everything but the rotating assembly has been taken apart. Here's my initial observations while tearing it down. Relatively clean inside, piston tops have a bit of carbon, more than I would have expected. Flat top .060" over pistons, no ridge at the top of the cylinders, just a layer of carbon. The cylinder walls have a nice glaze, no crosshatching is visible. The cam is out, and it's labeled CRANE F-294-2. A search of Crane's website and a Google search don't come up with anything. I did find some stuff about an F-294 cam for an FE, but no telling if it has the same profile. Once I get the garage back in order, I will pull the bottom end apart, starting with #4 (the one with 75% leakdown). I'm guessing the ring lands are full of carbon, but we'll see. More: #4 piston is out, but the rings weren't stuck like I was suspecting. However, the compression ring gap overlapped about 50%, so that should explain the leakdown for that cylinder. I did a quick check on the bore and came up with 3.860", which can't be right. I don't have a bore gauge, so I have to do it with dividers and caliper, but that should be close enough for a rough measurement. I triple check, even changing calipers, but get the same reading. How could it be .110" over and be running .060 pistons? Could this be a 312? So I check and see the stock bore for a 312 is 3.800". Looking at McMaster's & Mummert's sites confirms that it's a 312. Casting number is ECZ-6015-C and it has ECZ main caps. The heads are the ECZ-G.
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