***please help*** losing my mind

[Agresticish]

Can someone PLEASE HELP. I know very little about engines, and all of my recommendations have come from friends that have tried to help.

I have a 1973 Se3a Ray 200 with a Ford 460 Engine with a Holley Carb on it. For some reason the thing wont start. It ran fine all last year, and then it sat over the winter, and when I pulled it out, it would barely turn over. I replaced the battery, and it still would barely turn over, so I replaced the starter. Turns over great now, but wont start still.

It has good compression (ranging from 130 to 160), spark, and is definitely getting fuel. Our first thought was the spark was not hot enough, so I replaced the ignition module (per friends recommendation). Still nothing, so I swapped out the coil with another (used), and it didnt change anything.

For some reason, there is fuel misting/spraying up out of the carb, rather than down into the carb. If you put your hand over the hole, you can feel air pushing up out of the carb rather than being drawn down into it. I thought the carb could be the problem, so I bought a rebuild kit, thoroughly cleaned everything and rebuilt it. Same problem, still gas spraying up out of it when I turn it over.

Even tried giving it a shot of Starter fluid, and it wont start for even a second (guessing its because the starter fluid is just being spit back out of carb rather than down into engine), just turns over and over .

When I first started messing with it, I would get smoke coming up out of the carb, as if something was igniting, but now I am not even getting smoke, just turns over and over.

Also, someone mentioned that the new starter could be wired wrong/backward, and could be turning over the wrong way. Does anyone know which way it should be turning over? Right now, if I am facing the front of the motor where the harmonic balancer is, and the exhausts are facing out the rear, the engine is turning counter-clockwise.


If anyone could give me any recommendations, on what to try, or knows the solution, please let me know. I am clueless, frustrated, and my wife is getting pissed because I keep spending money, and am still not fixing the problem. If anyone would like to call me to ask questions, discuss further, or to walk me through things right over the phone, I would GREATLY appreciate it, and it would help make the whole process a lot quicker. Call me at (413)354-1014...ask for Jeremy.

If someone helps me solve the problem I will gladly pay $25 dollars or so through paypal, or even just regular mail. I know its not a lot, but all you have to do is talk...I am an honest person, and you will def be compensated. PLEASE HELP...LOSING FAITH IN MY FRIENDS....

(413)354-1014...ask for Jeremy

 

[mwph]

Hang on Jeremy. Help is on the way. I myself am not qualified, however, there are plenty here that are. It seems as though you've provided enough details for someone here to help you out. Relax, take a deep breath & check your thread often. My guess is that it won't be long before someone helps you solve the problem. There is a great bunch of guys here. Hang in there!

 

[JediJD]

OK...let's start back at the beginning-with the compression test. I read you to say that during start up, there is blow back through the carbureator? If so, that can ONLY happen if an intake valve is open (or broken or burned) while a piston is coming back up to the top of the cylinder (normally, an intake valve is CLOSED when the piston is rising and open when it is falling...it is the falling piston that creates a negative pressure differential-vacuum). For that to happen, you cannot possibly have reasonably even compression across all cylinders.

The first thing to do is take a deep breath, and go back to square one and do some double checking. Take compression readings of every cylinder, then go back and squirt a little spritz of 30 weight in the cylinder and take the compression again (the first is a dry reading, the second is wet). See if all of the cylinders are close (within 20 percent). They should be. If they are, the next thing is to double check that the spark plug wires are going to the correct cylinders (possible, but unlikely, that a couple of wires are crossed). Check the firing order against the distributor cap and plugs. Blow back through the carb is not usual, or good, and pretty tough to do with good compression.

Let's start there, and see where we get. I'll monitor this pretty closely and so will others, I'm sure. The next step would be to check to see if it has jumped a timing chain, but that will be chapter two.

 

[stuckinforward]

it should turn clockwise looking at it from the front, i dont remember any right hand 460's, engine built by Harmon??? i know its a ford but harmon did the internals with an aluminum front water pump block off cover

 

[Firerooster]

Stick with Jedi he is got u going in the right track.... I am also thinking it is a stuck intake valve. Given the info on the carb. But I am also think possible clogged fuel filter, or weak fuel pump.

 

[1stSeaRay]

Do you still have the old starter? Sounds like it's rotating the wrong direction, you can reinstall it to compare. This would cause the blow back from the carb AND explain why you still have compression.

 

[stuckinforward]

yes, he pulled the old starter that didnt crank enough, purchased a marine starter which typically mounts from the back on inboards, on Fords, which now is probably side mounted giving you wrong rotation. from the front of the engine the harmonic balancer MUST turn clockwise...this is NORMAL rotation, the only righties in those days were the twin screw 427's, not the 460's. btw, forums are free, so is information