quick question

[Dustin]

Does seperating the engine from the transmittion and or rotating the crankshaft with tranny and engine sepperated affect timing at all.

[Dave]

No. Not at all.

There's two kinds of "timing" in your engine. Valve timing and ignition timing. These refer to the time at which the valves open and your ignition sparks, relative to the position of your crankshaft. They have nothing to do with the position of your crankshaft and your transmission.

[S Allen]

Dave is correct. The only time you have to worry about screwing things up is if you pull the dizzy and rotate the crank. That is not a show stopper but you have to make sure the crank(pistons)#1 TDC, oil pump drive(at around 11:30 mark) and dizzy are put back in so everything lines up. Alot of people get the dizzy 180 degrees out and the car will not run. Depending on how you put the dizzy drive in wil decide on how the dizzy goes back in. There is a fairly good description of this sequence on the main site. If I intend to rotate the crank I usually do it with the distributor in place. Pulling the motor from the engine has nothing to do with the timing.

Steve

[Dustin]

thank you, a simple question to settle a minor dispute. I simply could not explain well enough that one thing has litterally nothing to do with the other. Even after rotatating the flywheel as many strokes as you please. the dristributor was not manipulated in any relevant way by removing the tranny. Therefore engine timing would not be my first troubleshooting for starting problems after a clutch install. On to electrical troubleshooting. Boy if she reads this I'm dead.

[oilleak]

An easy way to see that the two are unrelated is to note that every time you step on the clutch with the engine running, the crankshaft moves but the trans input shaft doesn't (at least not at the same speed). Thus can not be a relationship.

[Dustin]

Damn my spelling sucks.

[S Allen]

Join the club. I am all thumbs when it comes to typing.

Steve

[nomadtrash]

You should always check the easiest things first. Does it have spark and does it have gas. If it ran before the clutch job and not after then it sounds like something didn't get hooked back up. Check the wires to the distributor and coil. Make sure the ground strap has been installed to the motor. I've melted too many throttle cables because of that little omission.

Andy

[Dustin]

I have a fully charged battery, and have checked everything I can think of. It will turn over about twice. Lights are bright, ammeter seems fine. It just feels like all current is discharged immeadiatly. Can't jump it.

[Datrock]

Have you tried to push start the car? If it won't start while pushing, it may be more to it than a power drain.
With the headlights on and the starter engaged do the headlights go out or stay the same brightness?
When your are trying to start the car, is the car out of gear and the clutch pedal press to the floor?
Was the engine a runner before this problem or is it a fresh start up from sitting or rebuild? Sorry about all the questions, just trying to help figure it out. Bill

[SLOroadster]

That sort of sounds like it could be a bad starter, mine was doing that, until it did nothing at all one day. Not a click, even when I jumped the terminals on the starter it didn't do anything.

Just a guess,

Will

[dbrick]

If the engine ran before the transmission work, and you did not remove the dist cap or wires, timing issues are most likley not the problem. If you remove the coil wire and it cranks over freely without spark to the cylinders, then look at timing.

Will the engine turn freely with a wrench all the way around? I assume from what you said that the starter rotates the engine a few times and then is unable to keep it spinning. This would be in neutral, clutch in, as Bill said. You should be able to push the car with the clutch in and the trans in gear.

If the car will push start, this points firmly at the starter or the starter wiring. A voltmeter across the battery terminals will tell you whether the starter is drawing too much power (below about 8 or 9 volts while cranking) and the starter "stalls" or if the power isn't getting there (above about 11.5). Is anything getting hot?starter, battery terminal or battery cable?

If you already checked the ground wires from battery to frame/engine/starter, check the connections at the battery.
You can bypass the ground cable by CAREFULLY using a jumper cable from battery negative to the starter ground or frame. I wouldn't try this on the positive side, you could get a quick lesson in Arc Welding.

If any doubt about the starter, go get the forklift starter and replace it, cheap insurance.

Hate to sound like a lawyer, but for safety, wear eye protection when doing all this stuff, high amperage draws make the battery release alot of gas, and sparks happen. (I usually don't either)

[67 1/2 1600]

DopeRide,

Where are you located?

Joaquin

[Dustin]

Ok first, I'm located in Puyallup WA. I have not tried to push start it yet, but do live at the top of a large hill and fear getting it stuck at the bottom. The ground to the motor gets warm after trying to start. I replaced the starter with a rebuilt unit from Rallye. Will take voltages at the starter tonight. She allways ran nice and strong but has been sitting for about two months. Headlights dim when trying to start. I have tried with clutch in, car in neutral and even with back wheels off the ground.

[Datrock]

Wow, This is a good one...Brain storming.... You mentioned earlier about sliding your engine forward to do the clutch job. Could your crank pulley be sitting on the cross frame thus not allowing the enine to turn over and overheating the cables? Just a thought! Can you turn the engine over by hand or by pushing forwards in 4th gear with key off? Almost sounds like something is in a bind not allowing the engine to turn over,
As for the Negative Battery cable heating up... supersize...I have at least 3 more ground cables than just the oversized battery ground to the block. starter bolt to frame, alt to frame, and battery to body.
Keep us updated... Bill