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Difficulty starting engine

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angelfj said:
I may be wrong but I don't believe we (or Dale) have any idea as what engine work was done, e.g. how fresh the valves are or in fact if anything was done to the cyl. head and valve train.

Dale: Can you confirm this?

fja
Click to expand...


<span style="color: #660000">Confirmed- zero ideas what might have been done to
the engine itself. I've had the valve cover off twice- once to find TDC and
another time to adjust the valves. If DPO Pedro didn't spend the cash for
an oil change in the 3 years he owned the car, I seriously doubt his junkyard
mechanic attempted any major engine work.

My car starts, that's not the issue here.
The issue is it used to start much more easily, like
on the first turn of the key. Paul is probably correct
with his weather theory. It is much cooler now.

regards,

d</span>
 
Dale;
The more miles the engine runs, the greater the tendency for your valves to press in tighter in their seats. When this happens the valve stem begins to raise up higher, closing the small gap between the rocker arm and the top of the valve stem, effectively holding the valve slightly open.
This can cause piston pressure to escape though this slightly opened valve, and actually blow your gas mixture out of the carburator throat, making it hard to start. once started it may seem to run ok.
So valve lash is the adjustment of the small gap between the valve tip and the rocker arm, when the valve is fully closed.
Most people retorque their head bolts and readjust valves at some point after an engine rebuild.
Emmett
 
Thanks for the valve advice Emmett but I think I better
not go there just now. It scared me half to death adjusting the valves the first two times.

I'm not very mechanically adept and my valves seem
operational and don't make a bunch of clatter. I added
the bottle of recommended fuel treatment and drove the
car for an hour this morning.

I think for now, I'll just enjoy driving the car until
it's next breakdown event. Here's my plugs at 1620 miles without
a breakdown. They look fine to me - nice toasty tan.

regards,

dale

plugs1600.jpg
 
Dale,
When something similar happened with my TR3 it turned out that the choke was not fully working. The mechanism had become stiff and although I thought I was pulling the choke all of the way out, it was in fact not pulling it all the way out at the carburettors. (Thanks to this forum for resolving that one for me.) Once you have pulled the knob fully out at the dashboard, check that the mechanism has moved its full travel at the carburettors. There may be a little adjustment required. (On my TR3 the jets were not pulling down as far as they should and all I was doing was increasing the idling speed.) So check that everything is happening as it should.
I would have thought that if you were giving it too much choke, then it may start and then falter, or it would flood and not start at all.
Good luck.
Nick
 
When my 6 got hard to start I found the points had closed up to about .008. I regapped to .015 and all was well; easy to check.

Jeff
2xTR6
 
Watch that "standing outside and turning the key" business...

I was working on my (sadly long gone) tricarb AH3000. Had pulled into the level driveway in front of the closed garage. Popped the hood, fiddled around a bit, and decided I needed to start it. Stood outside the drivers door, turned the key and hit the starter, then watched amazed as the Healey dutifully fired right up and lunged through the wooden garage door before I could catch it and yank the key to off.

Yes, I had forgotten it was in gear.

Makes me wonder how many oldsters got squished hand cranking their model T's...
 
about the same number that got squished by their tractors, I would imagine. There was a fatality around here a few years back by that very thing, went to start an antique tractor and it pinned him against the barn wall.

I wonder if Dale's issue here was the leaky booster vacuum line.

Edited to fix my @#$@ speeeling
 
71MKIV said:
about the same number that got squished by their tractors, I would imagine. There was a fatality around here a few years back by that very thing, went to start an antique tractor and it pinned him against the barn wall.

I wonder if Dale's issue here was the leaky booster vacuum line.

Edited to fix my @#$@ speeeling
Click to expand...

<span style="color: #990000">Nope Steve, slow start not corrected. I admit
I've done very little to fix it. (other priorities and some health
issues at the moment.

The car does start, after several cranks, and then
settles into a decent idle. It seems to lack a little get up
and go on the highway, so I'm thinking I could have messed up
the timing when I installed the new plug wires and dizzy cap.

d</span>
 
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