Pump not pumping?

[82vdub]

Did you replace the starter bushing and lube the new one when you replaced the starters? That could be a source for some binding, and are you sure the bolts are tight on the starter so it's not installed cockeyed a bit?

[bc]

Thanks for the tip 82vdub. Unfortunately I did not lube the starter bushing. I know it's in there nice and tight. My concern is the piston rings are too tight. is that a possibility?

[82vdub]

The piston rings could be too tight. Did you check the end gaps before installing the rings on the pistons and if so, did you check the gaps towards the bottom of the cylinder bore where it has less wear? Did you use an oversize ring for the cylinder bore/piston size without resizing the end gaps to be within spec? If the end gaps are too tight, sometimes the ring end gaps overlap and it breaks the ring land on the piston. can

A couple tests that you can do. First, when you were assembling the engine, did you rotate the engine by hand (wrench) when assembling the pistons back in the cylinders? If there was issues with the rings, you would have felt it when you would try to turn the engine over by hand. Did you notice any of this?

Ok, so you can pull out the glow plugs or injectors and put a wrench on the crank and try to turn it over by hand. If it's really hard to turn over, then it likely has nothing to do with the starter. Did you mesh the engine/trans together properly, or is there interferrence somehow in this area? Do some more troubleshooting to see if you can narrow down the area that you need to look into, or at least start to eliminate items from the list of possible items.

[bc]

I put standard size piston rings on these pistons. It's the only thing I can think of that might be binding up. Maybe i'll do a quick compression test, but it looks like I'm tearing back in to the block.

[82vdub]

Even though you put standard rings back in, my question is did you measure the end gaps? The rings could be manufactured wrong or boxed wrong is the point that I'm stressing here.

Personally, I would do some more testing before I go back into the motor to rule out other items. The big one is if you can turn the engine over with a wrench easily, then it's likely not something inside the motor. I would also redo the starter bushing before pulling the engine apart. Things like that.

[bc]

I did not measure the ring gaps. Prob should have. Lol.
As for turning the engine by hand, it does take some effort in spots. More so then turning a worn in engine. I also don't hear that hissing sound from compression taking place like normal. My gut is telling me something is wrong in the block. I'll lube that starter bushing and do a compression test and see what that shows. Thanks for the advice 82vdub!

[82vdub]

If you can turn the engine over with a wrench by hand and have not removed injectors or glow plugs (to eliminate compression) and don't have to really, really work hard at it, then, IMO, the resistance to turning the engine over likely isn't inside the motor.

[bc]

So if the head is rebuilt, what else could it be? I also lubed the starter bushing but no difference.

[TylerDurden]

Gotta be one of these:

• Compression
  Fuel
  Timing

[bc]

So I pulled the head and cranked the block with the starter. It spins fast. My theory now, maybe an incorrect head gasket? I tried measuring the piston height but may have done it incorrectly. I put in a 1 notch. So now i'm thinking that the resistance i felt was piston/valve contacting slightly. Any suggestions on getting an accurate piston height measurement?

[bc]

I tried a hillbilly measure and i'm thinking that I need a 2 notch head gasket.

[bc]

Ok, so I installed a 2 notch head gasket and the same story. Engine cranks slowly not building compression or pumping fuel. The block cranked fast with the head off and the injection pump pumps fuel with a drill. But once everything's back together, it cranks slow. Any other ideas out there?

[bc]

And one more afterthought, is it possible that the wiring to the starter is incorrect? The car has a new battery too.

[82vdub]

I went back and re-read this post, or your posts and skimmed the others. See if I got this right. Recenly rebuilt engine, but it ran fine until you rebuilt your IP. All problems started with cranking speed and starting issues after the IP rebuild, correct? I think that's where we're at.

Before you pulled the head to inspect things, you said that you aren't getting any fuel to the injectors when you crank the engine. Is that still correct - irregardless of engine speed? Even if it cranks over slow and without any injector that the system has to pressurize and make the injector pop, you should be getting a little glob of fuel out of each line every time the injector is supposed to fire. Does that happen?

I'm going to assume that it does not. If it still does not move fuel, then my base assumption is that the rebuild of the IP wasn't properly done. Since I've never been inside one of these, this is where I'd have to pass and let someone else respond. But, if it's not moving fuel, and it was before your rebuild, somethings wrong inside. Can you confirm all these unanswered questions?

Also, I've put the fuel inlet hose on the output banjo and the output line on the input bango on the IP. It was hell to get the car to start. Since you bottle fed it before, I assume that the lines are correct, but you may want to double check these and confirm for us that it's bottle fed and you're going to the inlet of the IP (and you're not using the banjo fitting with the small oriface on the inlet side).

[bc]

Thanks for the reply 82vdub. As of now, I'm using an injection pump I did not take apart. I gave up on my rebuild, lol.
I am bottle feeding it directly to the pump on the inlet banjo. The interesting thing is, when I spin it with a drill, I get fuel to the injectors and it pulls the fuel from the bottle very fast. But when I crank the engine with the starter, there is no fuel at injectors. It just seems like the starter is not turning the engine fast enough. Maybe I'll do another compression test while I'm at it.