Thread: Series III's in action.

Originally Posted by JDNSW

The crankhandle is listed as a part for both engines. Although the crankhandle is supplied with the diesel, it is not possible to start a diesel with it (presumably intended for servicing). The 2.25 engine is easy to hand start if properly tuned and in good condition, I can't comment on the six, as I have never owned one, but it is probably just as easy.

John

interesting, would be fun to try

Originally Posted by JDNSW

The crankhandle is listed as a part for both engines. Although the crankhandle is supplied with the diesel, it is not possible to start a diesel with it (presumably intended for servicing). The 2.25 engine is easy to hand start if properly tuned and in good condition, I can't comment on the six, as I have never owned one, but it is probably just as easy.

John

you can crank start the diesel, takes a lot of prep work and patients though.

the 6 is just about as easy to crank as the 4 and the early v8s also have the crank boss on them to allow crank starting. I think that was a county only thing though.,

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

you can crank start the diesel, takes a lot of prep work and patients though.

.........,

Yes, I can imagine you would go through a few helpers who would become patients - strained muscles, wrist injuries, heart attacks etc. Take a lot of patience as well!

John

Originally Posted by JDNSW

The crankhandle is listed as a part for both engines. Although the crankhandle is supplied with the diesel, it is not possible to start a diesel with it (presumably intended for servicing). The 2.25 engine is easy to hand start if properly tuned and in good condition, I can't comment on the six, as I have never owned one, but it is probably just as easy.

John

Went and had a look before at the car and it has the hole in the bumper and the adapter on the front of the engine, then I thought, I wonder if that handle behind the seat is the crank handle.... BINGO it fits!

So what is the procedure to start them with the handle ??

Originally Posted by matbor

Went and had a look before at the car and it has the hole in the bumper and the adapter on the front of the engine, then I thought, I wonder if that handle behind the seat is the crank handle.... BINGO it fits!

So what is the procedure to start them with the handle ??

I assume you are talking a petrol engine - for the 2.25

Cold. Handbrake on, neutral gear. Prime fuel pump unless you are certain the carburetter is full. choke full out, ignition on.

Insert crankhandle, and engage it into the dog. Grasp the handle with the thumb on the same side as the fingers. Pull until you hit a compression, resetting the dog as necessary, then pull briskly over compression. Repeat if necessary - if it does not fire within five compressions, try putting the choke half in. Failure to fire means it is out of tune.

Hot, same procedure, but use the hand throttle if fitted to give a fast idle, if no hand throttle learn the choke setting that increases the idle without enriching the mixture and use this. Should start first pull if it has just been running.

Never have the thumb opposite the fingers and Never push the crankhandle. Always keep other parts of your body clear, and be aware that if the engine fires before top dead centre (which is quite common!), it will pull the handle out of your hand and if you are not smart in moving it, get your knuckles on the way round. There is also a slight chance that when the engine starts, the dog will not disengage, and spin the crank at high speed.

John

Originally Posted by JDNSW

I assume you are talking a petrol engine - for the 2.25

Cold. Handbrake on, neutral gear. Prime fuel pump unless you are certain the carburetter is full. choke full out, ignition on.

Insert crankhandle, and engage it into the dog. Grasp the handle with the thumb on the same side as the fingers. Pull until you hit a compression, resetting the dog as necessary, then pull briskly over compression. Repeat if necessary - if it does not fire within five compressions, try putting the choke half in. Failure to fire means it is out of tune.

Hot, same procedure, but use the hand throttle if fitted to give a fast idle, if no hand throttle learn the choke setting that increases the idle without enriching the mixture and use this. Should start first pull if it has just been running.

Never have the thumb opposite the fingers and Never push the crankhandle. Always keep other parts of your body clear, and be aware that if the engine fires before top dead centre (which is quite common!), it will pull the handle out of your hand and if you are not smart in moving it, get your knuckles on the way round. There is also a slight chance that when the engine starts, the dog will not disengage, and spin the crank at high speed.

John

cool, thx... I have the rover straight 6, 2.6lt.

yep mines a straight 6 2.6 and no trouble doing the crank

I used to start my Series III 4 cyl petrol quite often with the crank handle.

Summer was no problem, but when the battery was in its fifth, sixth and even seventh winter, I only had one chance to start on the starter motor. If it didn't start when the first piston reached TDC, the battery didn't have enough power to bring a second piston up.

It rarely took more than one or two pulls on the crank handle to fire up, so I can verify that John's instructions work well and work safely.

If I didn't have the crank handle, a battery that would have been useless after four years could be stretched to seven years.