got the Dasher back together but wont start

[82vdub]

I don't think there's anything you messed up with the compression by the job that you did. I also don't think anything inside the IP is damaged either. If the locking pin held the IP pully, then the belt slipped (apparently on the crank) when you turned the key causing the pistons to hit the valves.

If the engine has consistant cranking speed, it's probably fuel and timing related. I've purchased a reconditioned head that in fact had 4 of the valves that were shimmed to never close, and 2 valves that would barely close. The engine started very hard and sounded like death, but it did run. If you have any valves that aren't closing, you will hear issues with the cranking speed when trying to start the engine. It will not have a consistant sound to it and you'll hear a skip or difference in the cranking speed, there could be a valve that's staying open. Rebuilt heads should be properly set up, but mistakes happen.

You've got smoke coming out of the tailpipe, so it's getting fuel. I'm on the timing being off. Loosen the IP and rotate it towards the head to advance the timing.

[texcl]

Ok, I'm a dumb ass. I went out to check the timing again, this time I checked for the notch on the i/p. Well the notch didn't appear when it was at tdc. So I rotated it 180 degrees and the notch appeared, I never touched the i/p so I have no clue how it could have gotten 180 degrees off but it was. So I re-timed the whole thing this time lining all the notches up on the i/p, bracket and sprocket, then set the advance at .90. I'm charging the battery and heating the block, so we will see what happens.

[texcl]

well, after I realized (after several people told me check it) that my i/p was 180 degrees off, I fixed it and she sputters to life (for short periods). I drained my battery so it's charging now and will get her going if it kills me. For the life of me I don't know how it got 180 degrees off, but I should of checked reguardless.

[bscutt]

Yep it's a lot like the old "measure twice cut once" principal. A few months back I swapped out my IP with another so I could reseal the first one. The second one didn't run well so I went back to the first one and could not get the car to start. I was 100% sure the first pump was still full of fuel so I didn't check and just ordered a rebuilt pump. Went out the next day, checked the pump and of course it was out of fuel - I never drained it, don't know where the fuel went but I was "sure" it was still full...

So of course it started right up after I filled it with ATF. I'm still glad I bought the rebuilt one though, it runs better than any of my old used ones.

So, always double check your assumptions twice (at least).

[texcl]

yup, that's for sure. Well now I got her idling but she sounds horrible and is beltching out lots of white smoke. I adjusted the i/p by ear and she quieted down a little but is still beltching white smoke, and when I accelerate it makes a horrible knock.

[coke]

Sounds like your cam timing could be off. Just an opinion. Or your pump is 180 degrees out.

[Fatmobile]

White smoke is usually left over fuel after the burn,.. or air in the fuel.
You haven't talked much about the fuel line going back to the tank,.. if it's clear, if it's full of foam or air?

Retarded timing can cause white smoke, shot in too late to burn.
My first advice would be to advance the timing the width of a pencil line and see what happens.
.. but a knock can be caused by advanced timing too.

... oooor it could be a bad injector,.. that could also cause the knock.
Though no knock at low RPMs but knock at high RPMs might not fit an injector knock.

Well it runs.
Make sure fuel is flowing freely through the pump and adjust timing acordingly.

[82vdub]

Your bad knock noise could also be when a cylinder or two fires at an incorrect time leading to that hard diesel knock noise. It could be worse, but if the engine isn't running smoothly, that's probably all it is. I'd try advancing the timing as fatmobile said. Does the engine running condition/noise change when you pull the cold start cable?

[texcl]

yes, it changes a bit. I can see air bubbles (pretty good sized ones) every foot or so of the clear line between the filter and the i/p, I guess I should address that first. I'm going to put the dial indicator in and see where it is at as a refrence point, then advance it. Also the injectors are new bosch rebuilds, I know that they could still be bad though.

[texcl]

I advanced it a bit and it did sound a bit better but still blows huge clouds of white smoke and has a bit of a knock and when you rev it the knock gets really bad. I've advanced and retartded this thing all over the place while it's running and nothing seems to fix it, how exact does this have to be? At idle the car sounds decent now but with lots of white smoke but when you rev the engine it sounds like something is going to blow. I'm going to recheck the whole timing job again and see if something didn't move.

[82vdub]

Depending on how bad the rings are from setting, it may have low compression. That could be the source of the white smoke (from poor combustion) and possibly the sound of the knock (if it's a diesel knock noise).

[Fatmobile]

From what I've heard even new injectors need tested.
Figure out why there is air in the fuel.

If it's a fuel line restriction, it will get worse as RPMs increase.

[texcl]

yup, time to buy a compression tester. If it has low compression how hard would it be to re-ring something like this. I know there are no oversized pistons available so I'm at the mercy of the cylinder wall conditions (which look great with cross hatch and no scoring).

[82vdub]

While a compression tester is a great tool (every garage should have one), I'm still thinking that you may be able to solve it by making more final adjustments. Rig a jar of fuel up that's elevated. This removes the entire fuel distribution system and (should) removes air in the incoming fuel line. If this clears up the running issue, then solve the air issue. If not, try adjusting the timing a little more. Does the engine run better with the cold start cable pulled out? If so, advance the pump. If you think the rings may be stuck, get a can of sea-foam and dump it (or most of it - whatever the directions say) into the crankcase and some in the fuel. This may clean up stuck rings. However, tweak the timing more and see what happens. Too advanced will have the engine get really loud (diesel knock), and too retarded is poor combustion, white smoke and lack of power. Find the sweet spot. You may have to slip the timing belt a tooth to rotate the pump enough.

[texcl]

I looked at the timing again and it moved a little although I don't know if it would make that big of a difference. With the cam locked in place the flywheel mark is off by maybe an 1/8" to a 1/4". is that enough to mess up the compression? I know there is no piston to valve contact.