Rebuilt engine: no power and running rich

[jimrat]

Hi

Looking for some pointers please, as having problems getting rebuilt engine to run. It's a 2.1 DJ waterboxer, and it's had a top-end rebuild: new cylinder heads/valves, gaskets and seals and various ancillaries. I didn't touch the crank case, pistons or liners.

Symptoms are lots of smoke from exhaust (more white than blue); no power (can't get above 30mph); and plugs are really sooty (= running rich?) after 1 mile of driving.

I adjusted the tappets as per Ratwell to 0.15mm lash, as the tappets are soft. The tappets are still very noisy after 30 minutes of running, but guess they take a while to bleed down?? I have checked the compression and have 200 psi / 14bar on each cylinder when warm, which is right at the upper limit according to Haynes. Is this a problem?

I've checked the firing order / plug leads and also set the static timing with a strobe. The engine seems to idle OK, but I noticed it gets hot quicker than it used to (though that may be due to new thermostat).

I've cleaned all the earth points. Its had a new temp 2 sender, and I checked the throttle switch and can hear it clicking just as it opens. Air filter is all OK and air flow meter flap moves freely. Van was running fine before rebuild.

I ran out of time tonight to check sensor voltages but could an electrical/sensor issue cause this much over-fuelling? Running out of time as need the van this weekend

Cheers
Jim

[jimrat]

Should also add:

I've also got the oil buzzer of doom, but this may be due to 2 new pressure sensors, wiring, new oil pump or new, too thick oil pump gasket. Haven't had chance to investigate this at all......

[mrhutch]

timing... first thing to check mate.. not an expert on wasserleakers thou

[silverbullet]

Buzzer not good but bad continuity or earths will set it off anyway.
Thick oil pump gasket may not help either.
200bar sounds healthy.
The trouble with a top end rebuild is the risk of the barrel top seal grooves being corroded, so they dont seal properly.
I set the tappets at 1 turn from first contact on each firing cylinder.
If its getting hot and smoking that does suggest that the timing is is out.
Is it idling lumpy or just gutless?

[jimrat]

Idles OK on drive - no obvious misfire or fluctuations. Just has no power and white smoke when driven.

I did dismantle the dizzy and lubricate the centrifugal advance. I only set the static timing (10 degree BTDC) so I'll check the vac and centrifugal advance first tomorrow. All seemed OK on the bench tho.

Should I set the tappets to 1 turn regardless of how firm they are?

Bit peeved about the oil buzzer as it was OK before the rebuild - hopefully it will be a connection, but knowing my luck it will be the oil pump seal.

I had the injectors professionally cleaned and tested so don't think they are the issue. I don't think I've got any inlet air leaks.

Maybe nothing, but it felt to me like the exhaust was 'blowing' more than before - exhaust gas has more velocity at tail pipe - could that be timing - spark when exhaust valve opening?

[kevtherev]

Were the lifters renewed?
White smoke?
Is that condensation?
Plug colour is irrelevant after 1 mile of driving.

[jimrat]

The lifters weren't renewed but I removed them to check they were all in one piece. I dismantled one of them, mostly out of curiosity, but then had problems getting it back together when filled with oil (as described by Ratwell!). Most of the lifters appear to have drained down by themselves, as 6 of the rockers are spongy.

Yes I wondered about white smoke = steam. There's not lots of steam and there's no sweet smell. Would a cylinder head leak show up on the compression test?

[jimrat]

Thinking about it, the white smoke could be water in the exhaust silencer packing. It's a stainless steel exhaust that I bought second hand on this forum, and I left it out in the rain for a month. I did leak water all over the shed floor when I found room to bring it inside . I noticed it also had quite a bit of oil coating the insides of the pipes too.

So ignore the white smoke comments as this might be a red-herring. Basically, engine down on power, but compression good.

Cheers
Jim

[silverbullet]

Timing. With 200psi it should pull like a train.
Does it start easily i.e. just a flick of the key?
Exactly how did you set the timing statically?

[mrhutch]

defo sounds like timing

[ghost123uk]

Could I just point out the perhaps you shouldn’t be driving it and worrying about why it's down on power etc whilst you have got oil pressure warnings going off. That would be my first priority. Personally I would not be running it at all until I had got a proper wet oil pressure gauge hooked up to see what is going on there.

Fingers crossed for you that it's just timing and a dodgy wire on the oil sender circuit (both of which are highly probable by the sound of it).

[jimrat]

I set the timing as per the Haynes/Bentley procedure - bypassed the idle circuit, disconnected the green wire at yellow connector, blanked of the vac pipes etc. and set it to 10 degrees BTDC using a strobe gun. The dizzy looks to be in the same position based on photos I took before the rebuild. I only checked the timing at idle (1000 rpm using rev counter), but it was rock solid and not bouncing around versus the reference point. I couldn’t get the idle speed below 1000 rpm, but this is an old problem from before the rebuild..... it sat idling OK, and would rev OK in neutral (though noisy due to tappets).

It starts first flick of the key (when warm). The starter motor behaved a bit oddly when I first tried to turn the engine over with no plugs - it clicked but did not turn. I got it going eventually- not sure what I did (jiggled a few connections, charged the battery) and it span freely with no plugs to build up some oil pressure. With plugs fitted it takes quite a bit of effort to turn the engine over using a socket on the crank, so I definitely have plenty of compression. The heads are ‘nearly new’ AMC units that I bought on this forum. I didn’t have them pressure tested, but they looked almost brand new – the valves were very clean and heads nice and flat using a steel ruler.

[ajsimmo]

Sounds like your valves are only partially opening due to (6 of 8 ) hydraulic tappets not filling up. This would explain spongy rockers, ok tickover but noisy tappets and no power. Could be lack of oil pressure, could be wrong oil, could be cavitation in filter so no flow, could just be you haven't run it for long enough. Did you not prime the lifters before fitting? Next job is make sure you have oil pressure before doing anything else.
Ps I set tappets to 1.5 turns

[ghost123uk]

Silverbullet posted recently about a problem with exhaust valves and AMC heads. Might be nowt to do with it, but he may be along soon to comment.

[jimrat]

I didn’t prime the lifters, but at the time I re-assembled the engine only the one I dismantled was soft, and I reasoned that this would sort itself out. The tappets are really spongy (rockers can be pushed down 5-10mm).

I filled the oil filter with oil before fitting. It’s the correct grade oil, topped right up on the dipstick, and left for a day to fill the pump oilways (read that on here somewhere?) and I span the engine for about a minute with the plugs removed. It might be a dodgy connection which is setting off the buzzer (haven’t checked yet), but as mentioned above all the sensors, wires and connectors are new, so I doubt it.

It is a brand new oil pump. The clearance between the rotor and front plate wasn’t sufficient to omit the gasket. I didn’t have any grease-proof paper so used the gasket supplied by Reinz.

Anything else I can do to get the pump primed?

I’ve seen that oil pressure is measured by removing the pressure sender by the push-rod tubes. Can anyone post up links to the parts I need on fleabay??

Thanks
Jim