Hey everybody-
Here's the low down:

swapped in a 12A SP, basically moved everything over from the old motor to this one (Distributor, Alternator, Mikuni 40PPH Carb + Mani, RB Headers, no accessories...)

I'm trying to get this to start and it just doesn't seem to want to happen. Heres the list of answers to the basic "Do you ?'s":

My fuel pump is clicking on, I DO have fuel, the battery IS fully charged, I DO have spark.

I'm about to test for compression, but its a fresh rebuild that shouldn't be an issue.

Any ideas...I really appreciate any help, I know we're all sick of seeing no start threads, but I'm honestly stumped. and I feel like a noob
a frustrated zach

 

Make sure:

Plugs are spotlessly clean and dry
Fuel pressure is where it's supposed to be, @ 4.5 psi.
Pour some oil down the carb and crank the engine over without fuel to build compression.
Spark, timing, battery and cranking speed need to be spot on.

 

Thanks Trochoid! ok, lets see plugs look somewhat iffy, so I'm going to go get some more here in a second, fuel pressure is a little low- its @ about 3.7...could that be it?

Just checked compression (yes it was with a piston comp tester...) but the highest of the three in the front was 51 psi and the rear was lower @ 43 psi. I've heard that with porting, the compression goes down? is that true? because those #'s really scare me.

Is there a way to set my timing without the motor running? I have TDC marked, but I did move my distributor over from the old motor and just set it where I had it on the old motor? Is that wrong? How can I check it?

Also when I was checking my compression, there was a kind of dark fluid coming out of the holes, I put some oil down the ports a while ago while the motor was sitting to just keep things lubed up, but it was definitely a mix of gas and I'm just going to assume oil, could that be another possibility? I think I got most of it out when checking the compression....

 

There's your problem.

Add oil (Or MMO) to the combustion chamber. I'd use the leading plug holes and a 99c turkey baster from Wally World.

Turn it over one full rotation with the belts by hand and inject some more.

 

Ive found fresh motors to have scary low comp. give apex time to wear in

 

Starter may not be strong or fast enough to turn a newly rebuilt motor ( i had the same problem). My solution, i pulled it behind my other car threw it in second and popped the clutch. Started right up.

 

rawk! thanks guys! will give it a go in a few minutes, need to find some batteries for the flashlight...ooooooh the things I would do for a garage........but thats why I'm going to college right?? I'll post back with news shortly.

Jamest2- how long should it take for them to wear in? a few hundred miles?

1rx7owner- I'm definitely about to take that route...I did think about that...

 

yea it might be the starter i had the same problem.
good luck with the start up!!!

 

Someone needs to get a like 1HP electric motor that's about the same size as our alternator or A/C compressor... Bolt it in place and put the belt on. Crank the engine for a few hours like that.

That should do it...

I had to tow a T2 several miles with a tow rope behind my Civic to get it to start reliably on it's own.

 

IT RUNS!!!!! what what *insert stupidly large grin here* awesome, with the help of the roomies we pushed it down the street and popped it in 2nd and it fired right up! I guess I didn't have enough juice in the starter to crank it fast enough, hurray!! Drove it around the block like twenty times haha checking for leaks and such, have a new clutch in there- six puck sprung...it's a little different now haha! now the hard part is going to be breaking everything in. maybe a drive up the Ocoee and back, then maybe to Atlanta...obviously numerous starts and stops in between....oh the joy of having a car again! Thanks for the help everybody!!! Now to start worrying about the rest of the car....need to figure out how to wire up blinkers, finish wiring up the gauges (again...), oooh and a cd player! that would be nice... Let the Tuning Games begin!!!

 

glad u got it going. is this a brand new rebuild or has it got some miles on it already, and if so any idea how many? there's verying opinoins on the best way to breakin a rebuild. i think city driving is best for the first 500 miles revving no more than 3-4k. unless it's a DD and u have to drive the interstate to get anywhere. but it's still possible to keep it under 4k. it's the sustained RPM's for lengthy periods that could cause problems. the area i live is more city than any other. i never really HAD to drive the interstate during my breakin. and the engine has over 25k now and still runing strong. good luck with urs.

 

rxtasy3- its supposedly a brand new rebuild, it was only started once, before I got it, was told it has zero miles on it. It is a DD, so it will be getting around town plenty. Dually noted, what kind of problems could sustained rpm's cause? I'm searching around to find more information on break-in theories...