Thread: Tiny bit excited

Then you have an ignition problem - timing? firing order not correct (the bang) - redo all aspects of timing and ignition leads/firing order. If you check all this and it will not fire then you still have an ignition problem - if it fires without backfiring and will not run on petrol then you have a fuel issue.

I recently had an issue of my RV8 not starting but then firing back through the inlet - it was firing order - leads not on right.

Dose sound like you need to recheck the valve timing& dist timing . Get it up on compression stroke no 1 on top dead center & valves rocking on no6, check which post in the dist cap the rotor is pointing that will be no1 & fit leads in direction of rotation & check the leads are connected 1,5,3,6,2,4

1. firing order off the internet, understand its meaning but would have no clue how to check on vehicle
2. internet shot of 186 spark plug leads and where they go from engine to dist,
3. my leads seemed like they were wrong so re did according to photo above and no more back fire though no starting either, the lump on the side of the dist arrowed with my screw driver is offset to pic above, should i rotate this or ok to leave as is
4. this is whats left at the front, even if i could redo the timing, could i with this remaining or not?

sounds like a timing issue but I have never attempted timing on a vehicle, so its all new to me, my late father would have had this thing up and running in 5mins but not me.

896522571_tpholden 1.jpg300px-OriginalIgn.jpg To start with your distributor needs turning & the leads moving .These two photo's show were the vacuum advance should be .
Set the timing mark on the harmonic balancer on top dead centre , then turn the distributor so vacuum advance is were it should be , then slowly move the dist so the points just start to open . this should be close enough to start it. & reset the leads .
If I lived near you instead of in Qld I would come & give you a hand. Do you have a Holden work shop manual this will help you with getting your valve timing & dist timing correct.
Wayne

thanks wayne, appreciate your offer and pity your not in Sydney would of made my life easier.
But i am learning as i go along this journey. No i don't have a holden manual and need to figure out TDC with part of the harmonic balancer missing so can't align the lines so to speak. I do also look at youtube to figure some stuff out as i go along. Happy to rotate the dist but need to figure out when i have TDC first.

All this has reminded me of when i use to work on LR's with my late father on my very first LR S2 station wagon at age 18yrs and did a partial rebuild with my dad. Prior to taking it to Cobar had to drive it to the nearest motor registry to register the unreg LR in my first attempt at driving in a manual, i think i only managed to drive in 1 and 2nd gear as dad had to go to work and we were about to go the following day to Cobar. Pic attached. You can see the overspray of paint on the rear roof but we made it there and back no probs. Those were the days...

I will try to explain how to find TDC no1 .
You will need to remove the rocker cover & spark plugs .
Next rotate the motor by hand using the fan in the direction that it runs, you may need to apply some pressure on the fan belt to stop it from sliping.
If you look at the rockers on no6 cyl you need to get them on the rock were one is valve is just finishing vlosing & the other is just stsrting to open. To check that you are on TDC if you can get some one to help by puting a screw driver in no1 spark plug hole you should find the piston is on the top of the stroke. Now turn the engine back wards & forwards slightly & the screw driver should move up & down. You need the piston to be at the top of its stroke & that will be TDC no 1.
The distributor may have been taken our at some stage & not put back in corect position . If you can turn the distributor back so vacume advance is in the corect position , remove the cap & see if it lines up with one of the 6 terminals in the cap , if it dose not than you will need to remove the distributor & refit in the correct position. You need to remember when refitting the distributor the rotor will turn with the gear on the bottom so you may need to remove it again then turn the rotor back one tooth untill the rotor lines up with no 1 terminal. if it dose than you can make that one no1 lead & work from there with the 1,5,3,6,2,4 firing order. The engine should start & run but may require retarding slightly . You will need a timing light & find your timing marks to do the ignition timing.
I will have a look at your photo's on my desk top tomorrow to see why you can't find the timing marks.
Wayne

I see now why you have no timing mark, you have not replaced your broken harmonic balancer yet.

1. our dog can't understand what all the fuss is about
2. water pump removed, lots of crap left inside wow
3. hole for the water pump OMG, white stuff, is that carbon deposits???
4. used degreaser and a steam cleaner to very limited success in cleaning the block, out came the water blaster which did a better job
5. engine washed with water blaster, and the dist turned right way round...
6. do the spring bolts need to be special high tensile or could i get replacement ones from bunnings

harmonic balancer purchased of ebay, await delivery friday yay...
My plan was to see if this engine would start and was working before spending too much on it if its no good but i think the balancer is needed for the timing. I will need to jack up the front of the engine to get access to the balancer otherwise wont be able to remove due to clearance issues...

I did turn the motor over by hand and had the first spark plug at the top of its stroke using a screwdriver thru the spark plug hole.